scholarly journals Changes in working memory facilitate the transition from reactive to proactive cognitive control during childhood

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree ◽  
George Buzzell ◽  
Nathan A. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Memory Ability

Cognitive control develops rapidly over the first decade of life, with one of the dominant changes being a transition from reliance on “as-needed” control (reactive control) to a more planful, sustained form of control (proactive control). While the emergence of proactive control is important for adaptive, mature behavior, we know little about how this transition takes place, the neural correlates of this transition, and whether development of executive functions are a precondition for developing the ability to adopt a proactive control strategy. The present study addresses these questions, focusing on the transition from reactive to proactive control in a cross-sectional sample of 79 children – forty-one 5-year-olds and thirty-eight 9-year-olds. Children completed an adapted version of the AX-Continuous Performance Task while electroencephalography was recorded and a standardized executive function battery was administered. Results revealed 5-year-olds predominantly employed reactive strategies, while 9-year-olds used proactive strategies. Critically, use of proactive control was predicted by working memory ability, above and beyond other executive functions. Moreover, when enacting proactive control, greater increases in neural activity underlying working memory updating were observed; links between working memory ability and proactive control strategy use were mediated by such neural activity. Collectively, the results provide convergent evidence that the developmental transition from reactive to proactive control is dependent on neurocognitive development of specific executive functioning skills. Developments in working memory appear to be a precondition for adopting the more mature, and adaptive, proactive control strategy.

Consequences of not planning ahead: Reduced proactive control moderates longitudinal relations between behavioral inhibition and anxiety

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree ◽  
George Buzzell ◽  
Daniel Pine ◽  
Heather Henderson ◽  
Nathan A. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Specific Control

Objective: Children with the temperament of Behavioral Inhibition (BI) face increased risk for developing an anxiety disorder later in life. However, not all children with BI manifest anxiety symptoms, and cognitive-control-strategy use may moderate the pathway between BI and anxiety. Individuals vary widely in the strategy used to instantiate control; the present study examined whether a more planful style of cognitive control (i.e. proactive control) or a more impulsive strategy of control (i.e. reactive control) moderates the association between early BI and later anxiety symptoms.Method: Participants were part of a longitudinal study examining the relations between BI (measured at 2-3 years) and later anxiety symptoms (measured at 13 years). Cognitive control strategy use was assessed at age 13 using the AX variant of the Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT).Results: BI in toddlerhood significantly predicted increased use of a more reactive cognitive control style in adolescence. Additionally, cognitive control strategy moderated the relation between BI and anxious symptoms, such that reliance on a more reactive strategy predicted higher levels of anxiety for children high in BI.Conclusion: The present study is the first to identify the specific control strategy that increases risk for anxiety. Thus, is it not cognitive control per se, but the specific control strategy children adopt that may increase risk for anxiety later in life. These findings have important implications for future evidence-based interventions given that they suggest an emphasis reducing reactive cognitive control and increasing proactive cognitive control may reduce anxious cognition.

scholarly journals Proactive Control Mediates the Relationship Between Working Memory and Math Ability in Early Childhood

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunjie Wang ◽  
Baoming Li ◽  
Yuan Yao
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Math Performance ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Math Ability

Based on the dual mechanisms of control (DMC) theory, there are two distinct mechanisms of cognitive control, proactive and reactive control. Importantly, accumulating evidence indicates that there is a developmental shift from predominantly using reactive control to proactive control during childhood, and the engagement of proactive control emerges as early as 5–7 years old. However, less is known about whether and how proactive control at this early age stage is associated with children’s other cognitive abilities such as working memory and math ability. To address this issue, the current study recruited 98 Chinese children under 5–7 years old. Among them, a total of 81 children (mean age = 6.29 years) contributed useable data for the assessments of cognitive control, working memory, and math ability. The results revealed that children at this age period predominantly employed a pattern of proactive control during an AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT). Moreover, the proactive control index estimated by this task was positively associated with both working memory and math performance. Further regression analysis showed that proactive control accounted for significant additional variance in predicting math performance after controlling for working memory. Most interestingly, mediation analysis showed that proactive control significantly mediated the association between working memory and math performance. This suggests that as working memory increases so does proactive control, which may in turn improve math ability in early childhood. Our findings may have important implications for educational practice.

scholarly journals The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control (DMCC) project: Validation of an on-line behavioral task battery

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongxiang Tang ◽  
Julie Bugg ◽  
Jean-Paul Snijder ◽  
Andrew R. A. Conway ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Behavioral Task ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Context Processing ◽  
On Line

Cognitive control serves a crucial role in human higher mental functions. The Dual Mechanisms of Control (DMC) account provides a unifying theoretical framework that decomposes cognitive control into two qualitatively distinct mechanisms – proactive control and reactive control. While prior behavioral and neuroimaging work has demonstrated the validity of individual tasks in isolating these two mechanisms of control, there has not been a comprehensive, theoretically-guided task battery specifically designed to tap into proactive and reactive control across different domains of cognition. To address this critical limitation and provide useful methodological tools for future investigations, the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control (DMCC) task battery was developed to probe these two control modes, as well as their intra-individual and inter-individual differences, across four prototypical domains of cognition: selective attention, context processing, multi-tasking, and working memory. We present this task battery, along with detailed descriptions of the experimental manipulations used to encourage shifts to proactive or reactive control in each of the four task domains. We rigorously evaluate the group effects of these manipulations in primary indices of proactive and reactive control, establishing the validity of the DMCC task battery in providing dissociable yet convergent measures of the two cognitive control modes.

scholarly journals Neuromodulation Special Issue Effects of HF-rTMS over the left and right DLPFC on proactive and reactive cognitive control

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matias M Pulopulos ◽  
Jens Allaert ◽  
Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt ◽  
Alvaro Sanchez-Lopez ◽  
Sara De Witte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Left And Right

Abstract Previous research supports the distinction between proactive and reactive control. Although the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been consistently related to these processes, lateralization of proactive and reactive control is still under debate. We manipulated brain activity to investigate the role of the left and right DLPFC in proactive and reactive cognitive control. Using a single-blind, sham-controlled crossover within-subjects design, 25 young healthy females performed the ‘AX’ Continuous Performance Task after receiving sham vs active high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) to increase left and right DLPFC activity. Reaction times (RTs) and pupillometry were used to assess patterns of proactive and reactive cognitive control and task-related resource allocation, respectively. We observed that, compared to sham, HF-rTMS over the left DLPFC increased proactive control. After right DLPFC HF-rTMS, participants showed slower RTs on AX trials, suggesting more reactive control. However, this latter result was not supported by RTs on BX trials (i.e. the trial that specifically assess reactive control). Pupil measures showed a sustained increase in resource allocation after both active left and right HF-rTMS. Our results with RT data provide evidence on the role of the left DLPFC in proactive control and suggest that the right DLPFC is implicated in reactive control.

scholarly journals Frontal midline theta differentiates separate cognitive control strategies while still generalizing the need for cognitive control

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarrod Eisma ◽  
Eric Rawls ◽  
Stephanie Long ◽  
Russell Mach ◽  
Connie Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Response Conflict ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Prepotent Response ◽  
Frontal Midline Theta

AbstractCognitive control processes encompass many distinct components, including response inhibition (stopping a prepotent response), proactive control (using prior information to enact control), reactive control (last-minute changing of a prepotent response), and conflict monitoring (choosing between two competing responses). While frontal midline theta activity is theorized to be a general marker of the need for cognitive control, a stringent test of this hypothesis would require a quantitative, within-subject comparison of the neural activation patterns indexing many different cognitive control strategies, an experiment lacking in the current literature. We recorded EEG from 176 participants as they performed tasks that tested inhibitory control (Go/Nogo Task), proactive and reactive control (AX-Continuous Performance Task), and resolving response conflict (Global/Local Task-modified Flanker Task). As activity in the theta (4–8 Hz) frequency band is thought to be a common signature of cognitive control, we assessed frontal midline theta activation underlying each cognitive control strategy. In all strategies, we found higher frontal midline theta power for trials that required more cognitive control (target conditions) versus control conditions. Additionally, reactive control and inhibitory control had higher theta power than proactive control and response conflict, and proactive control had higher theta power than response conflict. Using decoding analyses, we were able to successfully decode control from target trials using classifiers trained exclusively on each of the other strategies, thus firmly demonstrating that theta representations of cognitive control generalize across multiple cognitive control strategies. Our results confirm that frontal midline theta-band activity is a common mechanism for initiating and executing cognitive control, but theta power also differentiates between cognitive control mechanisms. As theta activation reliably differs depending on the cognitive control strategy employed, future work will need to focus on the differential role of theta in differing cognitive control strategies.

scholarly journals Cognitive flexibility improves memory for delayed intentions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth R. Koslov ◽  
Arjun Mukerji ◽  
Katlyn Rose Hedgpeth ◽  
Jarrod Lewis-Peacock
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Attentional Demands ◽  
Dynamic Task

Cognitive control involves the allocation of cognitive resources in order to successfully navigate and interact with the world. Oftentimes, control involves balancing the demands brought on by performing immediately relevant tasks and those required in order to perform future intended actions. For example, directing attention towards navigating through traffic on a highway while also needing to remember to exit the freeway at a particular street. This ability to delay execution of a goal until the appropriate time in the future is referred to as prospective memory (PM). The dual mechanisms of cognitive control (DMC) framework posits that individuals can use two different strategies to remember an intended action: a proactive control strategy involving working memory maintenance of the goal and monitoring of the environment, or a reactive control strategy relying on timely retrieval of goal information from episodic memory. Previous research on prospective memory has demonstrated that performance improves when individuals engage these control strategies in accordance with the demands of the task environment. However, it is unclear how people select a control strategy, particularly in situations with dynamic task demands. We hypothesized that if people flexibly adapt their strategy in response to changes in the environment, this should facilitate prospective memory. Across two experiments, we asked participants to identify the reappearance of a picture target (a prospective memory intention) while at the same time performing an ongoing visual search task. The attentional demands of the ongoing task were manipulated to monotonically increase or decrease on a moment to moment basis. The selection of control strategies was identified using reaction time costs and neural measures of intention maintenance. Results showed that people fluidly modified control strategies, shifting towards proactive control when the attentional demands decreased, and shifting towards reactive control when attentional demands increased. Critically, these adaptive shifts in control strategy were associated with better prospective memory performance. These results demonstrate that fine-grained control of attention and memory resources serves an adaptive role for remembering to carry out future plans.

scholarly journals Executive functions and emotion regulation in substance use disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Bandeira Formiga ◽  
Melyssa Kellyane Cavalcanti Galdino ◽  
Selene Cordeiro Vasconcelos ◽  
Jayston W. J. Soares Neves ◽  
Murilo Duarte da Costa Lima
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Substance Use Disorder ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tobacco Use Disorder ◽  
Multiple Substance ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

ABSTRACT Objective The executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation (ER) and their relationship with the substance use disorder (SUD) were analyzed. Methods A cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of 130 volunteers divided into three groups: group 01 (n = 60), composed of participants who did not meet the diagnostic criteria for any type of SUD; group 02 (n = 51), with users with alcohol and/or tobacco use disorder; group 03 (n = 19), with users with multiple substance use disorder, including at least one illicit substance. Results Group 02 presented worse performance in EF and ER when compared to group 01, and showed a significant correlation between the working memory and the use of maladaptive ER. Group 03 showed great losses in EF and ER when compared to the other groups. Conclusion This study supports the idea that EF, ER and SUD are related. In addition, it was observed that people with SUD had worse performance in EF and ER when compared to people without SUD, greater damage being observed in people with SUD of polysubstances.

scholarly journals Evaluar la creatividad y las funciones ejecutivas: propuesta para la escuela del futuro

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Sánchez-Macías ◽  
Jairo Rodríguez-Media ◽  
José Luis Aparicio-Herguedas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Toma De Decisiones

Se presenta un estudio que pretende proponer estrategias de intervención didáctica y de evaluación para desarrollar y mejorar el funcionamiento ejecutivo y la creatividad en el alumnado de secundaria. Dicho estudio parte del análisis de las variables creatividad y funciones ejecutivas (memoria de trabajo (actualización), planificación, inhibición (verbal y motora), flexibilidad y toma de decisiones) medidas a través del Test de pensamiento creativo de Torrance(creatividad), la Escala de inteligencia de Weschler (WISC-IV, memoria de trabajo), Torre de Hanoi (planificación), Stroop (inhibición verbal), Go/no Go (inhibición motora), Test de Categorías de Wisconsin (flexibilidad) y el Iowa Gambling Task (toma de decisiones). Se han buscado las posibles relaciones entre las variables a partir de un diseño descriptivo, correlacional y transversal, en el que los resultados muestran que flexibilidad y creatividad se relacionan (r=) e inhibición verbal y creatividad también se relacionan (r=). A la luz de estos resultados se proponen estrategias metodológicas basadas en la investigación y la resolución de problemas y de evaluación formativa que insten, activando las funciones ejecutivas, a la autoevalución crítica, participada, la evaluación compartida con iguales. A study is presented that aims to propose didactic intervention and evaluation strategies to develop and improve executive functioning and creativity in secondary school students. Said study starts from the analysis of the variables creativity and executive functions (working memory (updating), planning, inhibition (verbal and motor), flexibility and decision-making) measured through the Torrance Creative Thinking Test (creativity), Weschler Intelligence Scale (WISC-IV, working memory), Tower of Hanoi (planning), Stroop (verbal inhibition), Go / no Go (motor inhibition), Wisconsin Category Test (flexibility) and the Iowa Gambling Task (decision making). The possible relationships between the variables have been sought from a descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional design, in which the results show that flexibility and creativity are related (r =) and verbal inhibition and creativity are also related (r =). In light of these results, methodological strategies based on research and problem solving and formative evaluation are proposed that encourage, activating executive functions, critical, participatory self-evaluation, shared evaluation with peers.

scholarly journals Toward a formal theory of proactivity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Lieder ◽  
G. Iwama
Keyword(s):  
Computational Models ◽  
Model Comparison ◽  
Formal Theory ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Proactive Behavior ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
Future Work

AbstractBeyond merely reacting to their environment and impulses, people have the remarkable capacity to proactively set and pursue their own goals. The extent to which they leverage this capacity varies widely across people and situations. The goal of this article is to propose and evaluate a model of proactivity and reactivity. We proceed in three steps. First, we model proactivity in a widely used cognitive control task known as the AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT). Our theory formalizes an important aspect of proactivity as meta-control over proactive and reactive control. Second, we perform a quantitative model comparison to identify the number and nature of meta-control decisions that are involved in the regulation of proactive behavior. Our findings suggest that individual differences in proactivity are governed by two independent meta-control decisions, namely deciding whether to set an intention for what to do in a future situation and deciding whether to recall one’s intentions when the situation occurs. Third, we test the assumptions and qualitative predictions of the winning model against data from numerous experiments varying the incentives, cognitive load, and statistical structure of the task. Our results suggest that proactivity can be understood in terms of computational models of meta-control. Future work will extend our models from proactive control in the AX-CPT to proactive goal creation and goal pursuit in the real world.

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