scholarly journals Positive emotion enhances conflict processing in preschoolers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Berger ◽  
Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Conflict Processing ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Conflict Effect ◽  
Attentional System ◽  
Neutral Conditions ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior ◽  
Action Tendencies

The rapid detection and resolution of conflict between opposing action tendencies is crucial for our ability to engage in goal-directed behavior. Research in adults suggests that emotions might serve as a ‘relevance detector’ that alarms attentional and sensory systems, thereby leading to more efficient conflict processing. In contrast, previous research in children has almost exclusively stressed the impeding influence of emotion on the attentional system, as suggested by the protracted development of performance in ‘hot’ executive function tasks. How does emotion modulate conflict processing in development? We addressed this question applying a modified version of a color flanker task that either involved or did not involve emotional stimuli in preschool children (N = 43, with preregistered Bayesian sequential design, aged 2.8 – 7.0 years). Our results show a robust conflict effect with higher error rates in incongruent compared to congruent trials. Crucially, conflict resolution was faster in emotional compared to neutral conditions. Furthermore, while efficient conflict processing increases with age, we find evidence against an age-related change in the influence of emotion on conflict processing. Taken together, these findings provide first indication that emotion can trigger efficient control processes already from early on in life. In contrast to previous findings and theories in developmental psychology, this indicates that, depending on the role that emotion has in conflict processing, emotion may show a facilitative or impeding effect.

scholarly journals Age-related differences in the attentional white bear

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1870-1888
Author(s):  
Brandon K. Ashinoff ◽  
Yehoshua Tsal ◽  
Carmel Mevorach
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Proactive Inhibition ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Attentional System ◽  
Empty Location

Abstract The cognitive aging literature suggests that aging populations exhibit impairments in the proactive inhibition of attention. Although proactive inhibition is often preceded by the allocation of attention toward the predicted or known spatial location of to-be-ignored stimuli, proactive allocation of attention has not been assessed in aging populations. In this study, an older and younger cohort engaged in the attentional-white-bear paradigm which measures proactive allocation of attention. In this task, on 80% of trials, participants must identify a centrally located letter surrounded by congruent or incongruent flanker letters. The flanker locations are fixed and predictable within each block of the study. On 20% of trials, they must identify which of two dots appear first on the screen. One dot appears in the same location as the flanker, and one appears in an empty location during the flanker task. The typical white-bear effect is that, despite the dots appearing at the same time, participants more often report the dot in the location of the flanker (i.e., the potentially to-be-ignored location) to appear first. The magnitude of this effect is interpreted as the magnitude of attentional allocation prior to inhibition. In Experiment 1, there was no difference in the magnitude of the attentional white bear between younger and aging cohorts. However, when the attentional system was sufficiently taxed by reducing the flanker presentation (Experiments 2a and 2b), age-related differences emerged. In particular, older participants showed a reduced white-bear effect, reflecting a potential impairment in the proactive allocation of attention toward the location of expected distractors.

Impulsivity and Conflict in the Stroop Task

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke M. Lansbergen ◽  
Erika van Hell ◽  
J. Leon Kenemans
Keyword(s):  
Stroop Task ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Stroop Interference ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Impulsive Behavior ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Conflict Processing ◽  
Enhanced Sensitivity ◽  
Brain Correlates

Abstract. It has been suggested that impulsive behavior can be attributed to weaker interference control. The present research used a Stroop task to test whether impulsivity within the normal population is associated with weaker interference control. Sixteen high- and 16 low-impulsive healthy volunteers performed a Stroop task, which varied in the proportion of incongruent trials to induce high conflict and provoke more impulsive behavior. Event-related brain potentials (ERP) were recorded to assess the brain correlates of Stroop interference (N/P450 and SP [sustained potential]), which have been suggested to reflect conflict processing and attentional control, respectively. Higher conflict resulted in more Stroop interference and enhanced N/P450 and SP. Source analyses indicated that the neural generators of the N/P450 and the SP may both be located near the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), suggesting that both may reflect aspects of conflict processing. Differences in Stroop interference in terms of error rates, but not in terms of reaction time were found between high and low impulsives. This result may reflect enhanced sensitivity to the surprise value of unexpected stimulus categories, rather than enhanced interference. High impulsive participants did not differ from low impulsive participants with respect to the N/P450, but the SP seemed to originate from a more posterior and right-sided cortical network in high impulsive relative to low impulsive participants. In conclusion, high impulsiveness within the normal population as assessed by an impulsivity questionnaire is not associated with relatively early processes during response inhibition, but the present results may suggest an association between impulsiveness and further, more complex conflict processing.

scholarly journals Examining cognitive training and executive function in older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meggan Porteous ◽  
Sheida Rabipour ◽  
Patrick Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hit Rates ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline ◽  
Back Task

Studies have shown that cognitive functions decline with increasing age. As the population of older adults (OA) has grown, interest in cognitive training programs (CTP) has steadily expanded. The present study investigated whether CTP can lead to improvements in the performance of OA on cognitive tasks. Thirty-five adults (OA; 60-87 years) were recruited to complete 25 sessions of a CTP over five weeks, with assessments completed before and after the program. Thirty-two young adults (YA; 17-27 years) were also recruited to complete one assessment for baseline comparison with OA. During assessments, participants were evaluated using tasks of executive function, including the N-back task of working memory and Flanker task of inhibition. The response time (RT) and hit rates of YA and OA on these tasks were examined at baseline, as well as changes in OA pre- and post-training. Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated a reduction of pre- and post-training RT for the Flanker task. There was no post-training change in RT on the N-back task. While OA hit rates did not change significantly pre- and post-assessment on the Flanker task, they showed increased hit rates post-training in the N-back task. In both tasks, OA and YA hit rates and RT were significantly different, with YA demonstrating lower RT and hit rate compared to OA. Follow-up studies will determine whether other factors can also lead to improvement. Determining whether CTP can improve cognitive performance in OA can help determine the potential of such approaches to prevent or rehabilitate age-related cognitive decline.

scholarly journals Time-lagged associations between cognitive and cortical development from childhood to early adulthood

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Estrada ◽  
ROBERTO COLOM
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Cortical Structure ◽  
Age Related

[Paper in press. Accepted for publication in Developmental Psychology. Copyright by APA] Throughout childhood and adolescence, humans experience marked changes in cortical structure and cognitive ability. Cortical thickness and surface area, in particular, have been associated with cognitive ability. Here we ask the question: What are the time-related associations between cognitive changes and cortical structure maturation. Identifying a developmental sequence requires multiple measurements of these variables from the same individuals across time. This allows capturing relations among the variables and, thus, finding whether: (a) developmental cognitive changes follow cortical structure maturation, (b) cortical structure maturation follows cognitive changes, or (c) both processes influence each other over time. 430 children and adolescents (age range = 6.01 – 22.28 years) completed the WASI battery and were MRI scanned at three time points separated by ≈ 2 years (mean age t1 = 10.60, SD = 3.58, mean age t2=12.63, SD=3.62, mean age t3=14.49, SD=3.55). Latent Change Score (LCS) models were applied to quantify age-related relationships among the variables of interest. Our results indicate that cortical and cognitive changes related to each other reciprocally. Specifically, the magnitude or rate of the change in each variable at any occasion –and not the previous level– was predictive of later changes. These results were replicated for brain regions selected according to the coordinates identified in the Basten et al.’s (2015) meta-analysis, to the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT, Jung & Haier, 2007) and to the whole cortex. Potential implications regarding brain plasticity and cognitive enhancement are discussed.

scholarly journals The exhaustive genomic scan approach, with an application to rare-variant association analysis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Kanoungi ◽  
Michael Nothnagel ◽  
Tim Becker ◽  
Dmitriy Drichel
Keyword(s):  
Rare Variant ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Rare Variant Association ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractRegion-based genome-wide scans are usually performed by use of a priori chosen analysis regions. Such an approach will likely miss the region comprising the strongest signal and, thus, may result in increased type II error rates and decreased power. Here, we propose a genomic exhaustive scan approach that analyzes all possible subsequences and does not rely on a prior definition of the analysis regions. As a prime instance, we present a computationally ultra-efficient implementation using the rare-variant collapsing test for phenotypic association, the genomic exhaustive collapsing scan (GECS). Our implementation allows for the identification of regions comprising the strongest signals in large, genome-wide rare-variant association studies while controlling the family-wise error rate via permutation. Application of GECS to two genomic data sets revealed several novel significantly associated regions for age-related macular degeneration and for schizophrenia. Our approach also offers a high potential for genome-wide scans for selection, methylation and other analyses.

scholarly journals Uncertainty Tolerance & Cognitive Control

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp A. Schroeder ◽  
David Dignath ◽  
Markus Janczyk
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Cognitive control refers to the ability to make correct decisions concurrent to distracting information, and to adapt to conflicting stimulus configurations, eventually promoting goal-directed behavior. Previous research has linked individual differences in cognitive control to psychopathological conditions such as anxiety. However, a link with uncertainty tolerance (UT) has not been tested so far, although both constructs describe cognitive and behavioral performance in ambiguous situations, thus they share some similarities. We probed cognitive control in web-based experimentation (jsPsych) with a simple flanker task (N = 111) and a version without confounds in episodic memory (N = 116). Both experiments revealed two well-established behavioral indices: congruency effects (CEs) and congruency-sequence effects (CSEs). Only small-to-zero correlations emerged between CEs, UT, and need for cognitive closure (NCC), a personality trait inversely related to UT. A subtle correlation (r = .18) was noted in Experiment 2 between NCC and CSE. Throughout, Bayesian analyses provided anecdotal-to-moderate evidence for the null-hypotheses.

The sensitivity to context modulates executive control: Evidence from Malayalam–English bilinguals

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Riya Rafeekh ◽  
Ramesh Kumar Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Control ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Dynamic Adaptation ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Conflict Effect ◽  
Control Hypothesis ◽  
Interaction Phase

Abstract In two experiments, we examined the hypothesis that bilingual speakers modulate their cognitive control settings dynamically in the presence of different interlocutors, and this can be captured through performance on a non-linguistic attention task. We introduced Malayalam–English bilinguals to interlocutors with varying L2 dominance through a pre-experiment familiarisation and interaction phase. Later, participants did the Flanker task while the interlocutors appeared before each trial. While in experiment one participants did the Flanker task with equal distribution of trials, in experiment two we manipulated the monitoring demands by changing the frequency of trials. Results showed that high-L2 proficient bilinguals had lower conflict effect on the Flanker task in the presence of balanced interlocutors in both the experiments. The results provide strong evidence of dynamic adaptation of control settings in bilinguals with regard to different passively present interlocutors. The results further extend the predictions of the adaptive control hypothesis with novel manipulation.

The Effects of Aging on Controlled Attention and Conflict Processing in the Stroop Task

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert West
Keyword(s):  
Stroop Task ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Context Processing ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Conflict Processing ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Controlled Attention ◽  
Effects Of Aging

Recent computational modeling and behavioral work indicate that age-related declines in the ability to represent task context may contribute to disruptions of working memory and selective attention in older adults. However, it is unclear whether age-related declines in context processing arise from a disruption of the encoding or maintenance of task context and how age-related declines in context processing interact with mechanisms supporting conflict detection and resolution processes contributing to efficient selection of task-relevant information. This study examines the effects of aging on the neural correlates of context and conflict processing in the Stroop task using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Age-related differences in the time course of modulations of the ERPs associated with encoding (P3) and maintaining (slow wave) task context were observed. There were also age-related differences in the N450, conflict SP, and ERN associated with conflict processing that interacted with task context. These data indicate that aging is associated with declines in the efficiency of those neural mechanisms supporting both context and conflict processing, and that the effects of aging are not pervasive but rather interact with task context.

scholarly journals NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): Validation of Executive Function Measures in Adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 620-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip David Zelazo ◽  
Jacob E. Anderson ◽  
Jennifer Richler ◽  
Kathleen Wallner-Allen ◽  
Jennifer L. Beaumont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Dimensional Change ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Card Sort ◽  
Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

AbstractThis study describes psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) executive function measures in an adult sample. The NIHTB-CB was designed for use in epidemiologic studies and clinical trials for ages 3 to 85. A total of 268 self-described healthy adults were recruited at four university-based sites, using stratified sampling guidelines to target demographic variability for age (20–85 years), gender, education and ethnicity. The NIHTB-CB contains two computer-based instruments assessing executive function: the Dimensional Change Card Sort (a measure of cognitive flexibility) and a flanker task (a measure of inhibitory control and selective attention). Participants completed the NIHTB-CB, corresponding gold standard convergent and discriminant measures, and sociodemographic questionnaires. A subset of participants (N=89) was retested 7 to 21 days later. Results reveal excellent sensitivity to age-related changes during adulthood, excellent test–retest reliability, and adequate to good convergent and discriminant validity. The NIH Toolbox EF measures can be used effectively in epidemiologic and clinical studies. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

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