Cognitive Control, Cognitive Biases and Emotion Regulation in Depression: A New Proposal for an Integrative Interplay Model

Research traditions on cognition and depression focus on relatively unconnected aspects of cognitive functioning. On one hand, the neuropsychological perspective has concentrated on cognitive control difficulties as a prominent feature of this condition. On the other hand, the clinical psychology perspective has focused on cognitive biases and repetitive negative patterns of thinking (i.e., rumination) for emotional information. A review of the literature from both fields reveals that difficulties are more evident for mood-congruent materials, suggesting that cognitive control difficulties interact with cognitive biases to hinder cognitive switching, working memory updating, and inhibition of irrelevant information. Connecting research from these two traditions, we propose a novel integrative cognitive model of depression in which the interplay between mood-congruent cognitive control difficulties, cognitive biases, and rumination may ultimately lead to ineffective emotion-regulation strategies to downregulate negative mood and upregulate positive mood.

Brain activation patterns in medicated versus medication-naïve adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder during fMRI tasks of motor inhibition and cognitive switching

Background Adult-attention-deficit-hyperactive-disorder (ADHD) is often unrecognized condition. FMRI examination along with neuropsychological testing might strengthen the diagnosis. We hypothesized that ADHD-adults with and without medication would show different fMRI pattern compared to healthy controls while testing tasks of motor inhibition and cognitive switching. Methods 45 subjects in three age-matched groups: (1) controls, (2) ADHD-adults under medication (ADHD+) and (3) medication-naïve adults with ADHD (ADHD−) underwent fMRI and neuropsychological testing. Group analysis and population-based statistics were performed. Results DTVP-A, intellectual ability as well as attention capability, visual-perceptual and visual-motor abilities showed no significant differences between the groups. However, fMRI revealed statistically significant differences between the ADHD+, ADHD− and control groups on tasks of motor inhibition and cognitive switching on adults in bilateral fronto-striatal brain regions, inferior fronto-frontal, fronto-cingulate and fronto-parietal networks as well as in the parietal lobe (p < 0.05). Conclusions fMRI offers the potential to differentiate between the ADHD+, ADHD− and control groups. FMRI possibly opens a new window for monitoring the therapeutic effect of ADHD medication. Trial registration NCT02578342, registered at August 2015 to clinical trial registry (https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT02578342).

Maximum Speech Performance and Executive Control in Young Adult Speakers

Purpose This study investigated whether maximum speech performance, more specifically, the ability to rapidly alternate between similar syllables during speech production, is associated with executive control abilities in a nonclinical young adult population. Method Seventy-eight young adult participants completed two speech tasks, both operationalized as maximum performance tasks, to index their articulatory control: a diadochokinetic (DDK) task with nonword and real-word syllable sequences and a tongue-twister task. Additionally, participants completed three cognitive tasks, each covering one element of executive control (a Flanker interference task to index inhibitory control, a letter–number switching task to index cognitive switching, and an operation span task to index updating of working memory). Linear mixed-effects models were fitted to investigate how well maximum speech performance measures can be predicted by elements of executive control. Results Participants' cognitive switching ability was associated with their accuracy in both the DDK and tongue-twister speech tasks. Additionally, nonword DDK accuracy was more strongly associated with executive control than real-word DDK accuracy (which has to be interpreted with caution). None of the executive control abilities related to the maximum rates at which participants performed the two speech tasks. Conclusion These results underscore the association between maximum speech performance and executive control (cognitive switching in particular).

Understanding adaptive information seeking in the context of microblogging from the cognitive switching perspective

Drawing on adaptive structuration theory and cognitive switching theory, this study develops a research model exploring the effects of cognitive switching stimuli on adaptive information seeking and the moderating effects of information need and personal innovativeness in information technologies. Data collected from microblogging users were used to test the model. The findings suggest that other people’s use, discrepancies, and deliberate initiatives each have significant positive effects on trying new features to seek information. Other people’s use which essentially reflects the nature of learning from observing other people is the most important determinant. Meanwhile, information need and personal innovativeness in IT each positively moderate the effect of other people’s use on trying new features to seek information. This study contributes to theory by examining adaptive information seeking in the context of microblogging which has been largely overlooked by prior literature. The findings and more implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Teacher's code-switching and bilingual children's heritage language learning and cognitive switching flexibility

To code-switch or not to code-switch? This is a dilemma for many bilingual language teachers. In this study, the influence of teachers’ CS on bilingual children's language and cognitive development is explored within heritage language (HL) classes in Singapore. Specifically, the relationship between children's language output, vocabulary development, and cognitive flexibility to teachers’ classroom CS behavior, is examined within 20 preschool HL classrooms (10 Mandarin, 6 Malay, and 4 Tamil). Teachers’ and children's utterances were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for CS frequency and type (i.e., inter-sentential, intra-sentential). 173 students were assessed with receptive vocabulary and dimensional card sort tasks, and their vocabulary and cognitive switching scores assessed using correlational and mixed effects analyses. Results show that inter-sentential and intra-sentential CS frequency is positively and significantly related to children's intra-sentential CS frequency. Overall, findings revealed that teachers code-switched habitually more often than for instructional purposes. Neither inter-sentential nor intra-sentential CS was significantly related to children's development in HL vocabulary, and intra-sentential CS was found to positively and significantly relate to children's growth in cognitive flexibility. These findings reveal the multi-faceted impact of teacher's CS on children's early development.

Exploring adaptive information sharing from the perspective of cognitive switching

Purpose Microblogging as one kind of social media application provides an important information sharing platform. Adaptive information sharing is the combination of adaptive information technologies (IT) use behavior and information sharing behavior and subsequently refers to adaptive use of IT oriented to information sharing. The purpose of this paper is to understand adaptive information sharing in the context of microblogging from the perspective of cognitive switching. Design/methodology/approach A research model was developed and survey data were collected. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to verify the research model. Findings Adaptive information sharing is positively impacted by other people’s use, discrepancies and deliberate initiatives among which other people’s use is the key determinant. Meanwhile, task self-efficacy positively moderates the effect of other people’s use on adaptive information sharing. Practical implications Developers of microblogging should as far as possible create learning atmosphere and learning culture. With learning atmosphere and culture, more and more users could keep on learning from observing other people. Consequently, more and more users would be willing to try new features of microblogging to share information. Originality/value This study examines adaptive information sharing by extending adaptive IT use behavior from the levels of technology, system and feature to the information level, presenting a new lens for adaptive IT use and information sharing alike.