A supramodal network for response inhibition

Abstract

Response inhibition is the capacity to suppress inappropriate actions and is considered to be a fundamental executive function. This study investigated whether the neural correlates of response inhibition are organized along supramodal or modality-specific principles. For this purpose, we used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging in a go-nogo task with auditory and visual stimuli. Common activation relating to response inhibition across modalities was observed in a frontoparietal network including the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, there was no modality-specific activation related to response inhibition in the prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that the neural correlates of response inhibition have a supramodal organization, which is consistent with its role as a core executive function.