Six-Minute Walking Test Performance Relates to Neurocognitive Abilities in Preschoolers

This study investigated the relationship between six-minute walking test (6MWT) distance walked and preschool-aged children’s academic abilities, and behavioral and event-related potentials (ERP) indices of cognitive control. There were 59 children (25 females; age: 5.0 ± 0.6 years) who completed a 6MWT (mean distance: 449.6 ± 82.0 m) to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness. The Woodcock Johnson Early Cognitive and Academic Development Test evaluated academic abilities. A modified Eriksen flanker, hearts and flowers task, and auditory oddball task eliciting ERPs (N2, P3) assessed cognitive control. After adjusting for adiposity, diet, and demographics, linear regressions resulted in positive relationships between 6MWT distance and General Intellectual Ability (β = 0.25, Adj R2 = 0.04, p = 0.04) and Expressive Language (β = 0.30, Adj R2 = 0.13, p = 0.02). 6MWT distance was positively correlated with congruent accuracy (β = 0.29, Adj R2 = 0.18, p < 0.01) and negatively with incongruent reaction time (β = −0.26, Adj R2 = 0.05, p = 0.04) during the flanker task, and positively with homogeneous (β = 0.23, Adj R2 = 0.21, p = 0.04) and heterogeneous (β = 0.26, Adj R2 = 0.40, p = 0.02) accuracy on the hearts and flowers task. Higher fit children showed faster N2 latencies and greater P3 amplitudes to target stimuli; however, these were at the trend level following the adjustment of covariates. These findings indicate that the positive influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on cognitive function is evident in 4–6-year-olds.

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Interplay Between Systemic Inflammation, Visceral Fat, and Cognitive Control in People with Excess Fat Mass (OR32-06-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz052.or32-06-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Corinne Cannavale ◽

Melisa Bailey ◽

Caitlyn Edwards ◽

Anne Walk ◽

Sharon Thompson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Inflammatory Cytokines ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Flanker Task ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Peak Amplitude ◽

Human Cognition ◽

Low Grade ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Low Grade Inflammation

Abstract Objectives Excess fat mass has been associated with poorer cognitive function. Elevated visceral adiposity (VAT) has also been associated with cardiometabolic risk factors including chronic systemic low-grade inflammation. Whereas the cognitive implications of inflammation have been extensively studied in preclinical models, the influence of inflammatory cytokines on human cognition is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relations among VAT, inflammatory cytokines and cognitive control. We hypothesized that elevated VAT and inflammation would be related to poorer performance during a cognitive control task. Methods Participants between 25–45 years (N = 77 48 females) with overweight/obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) underwent a DXA scan to quantify VAT. A Flanker Task was used to assess cognitive control while Event-Related Potentials were recorded. Following an overnight fast, blood was collected to quantify plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations using ELISAs. Spearman's correlations were used to analyze relations using a 1-tailed approach. Results Greater VAT was related to lower congruent (r = −.19, P = .05) and incongruent trial accuracy (r = −.26, P = .01), as well as lower congruent P3 peak amplitude (r = −.23, P = .02) and slower latency (r = .37, P < .001). Similarly, elevated CRP and IL-6 were associated with poorer congruent (rCRP = −.22 pCRP = .03; rIL6 = −.20 pIL6 = .03), and incongruent (rCRP = −.33 pCRP = .002; rIL6 = −.32 pIL6 = .002) accuracy. Additionally, CRP was related to slower incongruent P3 peak latency (r = .22, P = .02). Partial correlations controlling for CRP and IL-6 showed that VAT was no longer associated with cognitive performance (all p's > 0.07); however, the association between VAT and P3 peak amplitude (r = −.26, P = .01) and latency (r = .35, P = .001) persisted even following adjustment for CRP and IL-6. Conclusions This work replicates previous research indicating that VAT is related to poorer attentional abilities; however, we extend the literature by elucidating the role of low-grade inflammation as a contributing factor in this relationship in adults with excess fat mass. Funding Sources This work was supported by funds provided by the Dept of Kinesiology & Community Health at UIUC & the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project 1009249. Partial support provided by the Hass Avocado Board.

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Cognitive Control Over Visual Motion Processing – Are Children With ADHD Especially Compromised? A Pilot Study of Flanker Task Event-Related Potentials

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2018.00491 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bettina Lange-Malecki ◽

Stefan Treue ◽

Aribert Rothenberger ◽

Björn Albrecht

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Visual Motion ◽

Flanker Task ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Motion Processing ◽

Children With Adhd ◽

Visual Motion Processing ◽

Related Potentials

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Investigating the link between linguistic and non-linguistic cognitive control in bilinguals using Laplacian-transformed event related potentials

Neurobiology of Language ◽

10.1162/nol_a_00056 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-60

Author(s):

M. N Mendoza ◽

H. K Blumenfeld ◽

R. T Knight ◽

S. K Riès

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Flanker Task ◽

Current Source ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

English Word ◽

Matching Task ◽

Unrelated Control ◽

Control Processes ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Partial Overlap

Abstract Bilinguals’ need to suppress the activation of their other language while speaking has been proposed to result in enhanced cognitive control abilities outside of language. Several studies therefore suggest shared cognitive control processes across linguistic and non-linguistic tasks. Here we investigate this potential overlap using scalp electroencephalographic recordings and the Laplacian transformation, providing an estimation of the current source density and allowing to separate EEG components in space. Fourteen Spanish-English bilinguals performed a pictureword matching task contrasting incongruent trials using cross-linguistic false cognates (e.g., a picture- foot, overlaid with distractor text: English word- PIE, i.e. the false cognate for the Spanish “pie” meaning “foot”) with congruent trials (matching English picture names and words, i.e., picture-foot, overlaid text: English word FOOT), and an unrelated control condition. In addition, participants performed an arrow-version of the Eriksen flanker task. Worse behavioral performance was observed in incongruent compared to congruent trials in both tasks. In the non-linguistic task, we replicated the previously observed congruency effect on a medialfrontal ERP peaking around 50 ms before EMG onset. A similar ERP was present in the linguistic task, was sensitive to congruency, and peaked earlier, around 150ms before EMG onset. In addition, another component was found in the linguistic task at a left lateralized anterior frontal site peaking around 200 ms before EMG onset, but was absent in the non-linguistic task. Our results suggest a partial overlap between linguistic and non-linguistic cognitive control processes and that linguistic conflict resolution may engage additional left anterior frontal control processes.

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The Persistent Influence of Concussive Injuries on Cognitive Control and Neuroelectric Function

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-49.1.01 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 24-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Robert D. Moore ◽

Charles H. Hillman ◽

Steven P. Broglio

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Flanker Task ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Response Accuracy ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Oddball Task ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Reaction Time Response

Context: Increasing attention is being paid to the deleterious effects of sport-related concussion on cognitive and brain health. Objective: To evaluate the influence of concussion incurred during early life on the cognitive control and neuroelectric function of young adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Forty young adults were separated into groups according to concussive history (0 or 1+). Participants incurred all injuries during sport and recreation before the age of 18 years and were an average of 7.1 ± 4.0 years from injury at the time of the study. Intervention(s): All participants completed a 3-stimulus oddball task, a numeric switch task, and a modified flanker task during which event-related potentials and behavioral measures were collected. Main Outcome Measure(s): Reaction time, response accuracy, and electroencephalographic activity. Results: Compared with control participants, the concussion group exhibited decreased P3 amplitude during target detection within the oddball task and during the heterogeneous condition of the switch task. The concussion group also displayed increased N2 amplitude during the heterogeneous version of the switch task. Concussion history was associated with response accuracy during the flanker task. Conclusions: People with a history of concussion may demonstrate persistent decrements in neurocognitive function, as evidenced by decreased response accuracy, deficits in the allocation of attentional resources, and increased stimulus-response conflict during tasks requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. Neuroelectric measures of cognitive control may be uniquely sensitive to the persistent and selective decrements of concussion.

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Cognitive control in young adults with cannabis use disorder: An event-related brain potential study

Journal of Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1177/0269881117719262 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 31 (8) ◽

pp. 1015-1026 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

David LR Maij ◽

Ben JM van de Wetering ◽

Ingmar HA Franken

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Response Inhibition ◽

Performance Monitoring ◽

Flanker Task ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Cannabis Use Disorder ◽

Control Groups ◽

Related Potentials ◽

And Performance

Contemporary models of substance use disorders emphasize the role of cognitive control, which has been linked to difficulties in resisting the use of substances. In the present study, we measured two aspects of cognitive control, response inhibition (operationalized by a Go/NoGo Task) and performance monitoring (operationalized by an Eriksen Flanker Task), in a group of young cannabis-use disorder (CUD) patients and compared these functions with two control groups (i.e. a group of cigarette smokers and a group of non-smokers). We employed both behavioural and electrophysiological measures. The results indicate that CUD patients displayed reduced NoGo-P3 event-related potentials compared with non-smoking controls, but not compared with smoking controls. In addition, CUD patients were slower on Go trials than both control groups. No other between-group electrophysiological or behavioural differences were observed. These results seem to suggest that CUD patients have problems related to response inhibition, but performance monitoring seems relatively unaffected.

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Event-related potentials reflecting smoking cue reactivity and cognitive control as predictors of smoking relapse and resumption

Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1007/s00213-016-4332-8 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 233 (15-16) ◽

pp. 2857-2868 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Maartje Luijten ◽

Marloes Kleinjan ◽

Ingmar H. A. Franken

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Cue Reactivity ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Smoking Relapse ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Smoking Cue Reactivity

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Who Comes First? The Role of the Prefrontal and Parietal Cortex in Cognitive Control

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/0898929054985400 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. 1367-1375 ◽

Cited By ~ 143

Author(s):

Marcel Brass ◽

Markus Ullsperger ◽

Thomas R. Knoesche ◽

D. Yves von Cramon ◽

Natalie A. Phillips

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Parietal Cortex ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Brain Regions ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Cortical Region ◽

Task Set ◽

Related Potentials

Cognitive control processes enable us to adjust our behavior to changing environmental demands. Although neuropsychological studies suggest that the critical cortical region for cognitive control is the prefrontal cortex, neuro-imaging studies have emphasized the interplay of prefrontal and parietal cortices. This raises the fundamental question about the different contributions of prefrontal and parietal areas in cognitive control. It was assumed that the prefrontal cortex biases processing in posterior brain regions. This assumption leads to the hypothesis that neural activity in the prefrontal cortex should precede parietal activity in cognitive control. The present study tested this assumption by combining results from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) providing high spatial resolution and event-related potentials (ERPs) to gain high temporal resolution. We collected ERP data using a modified task-switching paradigm. In this paradigm, a situation where the same task was indicated by two different cues was compared with a situation where two cues indicated different tasks. Only the latter condition required updating of the task set. Task-set updating was associated with a midline negative ERP deflection peaking around 470 msec. We placed dipoles in regions activated in a previous fMRI study that used the same paradigm (left inferior frontal junction, right inferior frontal gyrus, right parietal cortex) and fitted their directions and magnitudes to the ERP effect. The frontal dipoles contributed to the ERP effect earlier than the parietal dipole, providing support for the view that the prefrontal cortex is involved in updating of general task representations and biases relevant stimulus-response associations in the parietal cortex.

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Fractionating the Cognitive Control Required to Bring About a Change in Task: A Dense-sensor Event-related Potential Study

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2008.20015 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 255-267 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Duncan E. Astle ◽

G. M. Jackson ◽

R. Swainson

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Task Switching ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Overt Response ◽

Control Functions ◽

Basic Task ◽

Physical Response ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Covert Response

The ability to change our behavior is one that we frequently exert, although determining the mechanisms by which we do so is far from trivial. Task switching is a useful experimental paradigm for studying cognitive control functions. Switching between tasks is associated with a decrement in performance, or “switch-cost,” relative to repeating the same task. We have previously demonstrated that this cost is dependent on switching from performing one task to performing another; changing only our intended performance does not elicit the same performance deficit. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we dissociated two electrophysiological indices mirroring this behavioral distinction [Astle, D. E., Jackson, G. M., & Swainson, R. Dissociating neural indices of dynamic cognitive control in advance task-set preparation: An ERP study of task switching. Brain Res, 1125, 94–103, 2006]. However, what was unclear were the specific aspects of performance that were critical for triggering the neural mechanisms associated specifically with switching from a previously performed task. Two candidate aspects were: (i) that performance required a physical response and (ii) that the two tasks shared their responses (they had bivalent response mappings). The present study therefore compared three separate groups to explore the effects of these different aspects of performance. Each group completed the same basic task-switching paradigm, but with either an overt response or covert response, and either switching between tasks that shared their responses (bivalent response mappings) or had separate responses (univalent response mappings). When comparing precue-locked ERPs, we observed three separable components: one common to all three groups, one which primarily dissociated overt from covert responding, and one which primarily dissociated bivalent from univalent responding. We therefore concluded that changing our behavior engages at least three dissociable mechanisms. Interestingly, in the overt conditions, residual switch-costs were absent; in addition, therefore, we concluded that it is possible to engage cognitive control in advance, such that the new behavior is as efficient as were the subject to have repeated the old behavior.

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