Abstract
BackgroundA critical aspect of executive control is the ability to limit the adverse effects of interference. Previous studies have shown activation of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex after the onset of interference, suggesting that interference may be resolved in a reactive manner. However, we suggest that interference control may also operate in a proactive manner to prevent effects of interference. The current study investigated the temporal dynamics of interference control by varying two factors – interference expectancy and fluid intelligence (gF) – that could influence whether interference control operates proactively versus reactively.Methodology/Principal FindingsA modified version of the recent negatives task was utilized. Interference expectancy was manipulated across task blocks by changing the proportion of recent negative (interference) trials versus recent positive (facilitation) trials. Furthermore, we explored whether gF affected the tendency to utilize specific interference control mechanisms. When interference expectancy was low, activity in lateral prefrontal cortex replicated prior results showing a reactive control pattern (i.e., interference-sensitivity during probe period). In contrast, when interference expectancy was high, bilateral prefrontal cortex activation was more indicative of proactive control mechanisms (interference-related effects prior to the probe period). Additional results suggested that the proactive control pattern was more evident in high gF individuals, whereas the reactive control pattern was more evident in low gF individuals.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results suggest the presence of two neural mechanisms of interference control, with the differential expression of these mechanisms modulated by both experimental (e.g., expectancy effects) and individual difference (e.g., gF) factors.
Highlights
There has been a long-standing appreciation of the close relationship between working memory (WM) and executive control
This pattern was observed during the post-probe period, consistent with the presence of reactive control mechanisms in left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) [15]
We found patterns of proactive control activity in several regions previously implicated in WM
Summary
There has been a long-standing appreciation of the close relationship between working memory (WM) and executive control. Individual differences in interference control are strong predictors of WM capacity [3], and other domaingeneral cognitive abilities, such as fluid intelligence (gF) [4,5]. This work has highlighted the importance of specific forms of interference – such as that due to previously encoded, but currently irrelevant information (sometimes referred to as proactive interference) – and specific brain regions – such as the left inferior prefrontal cortex (PFC). We extend this work, by investigating two factors that may influence the neural mechanisms of interference control, but which have received relatively little attention to date: temporal dynamics and individual differences. The current study investigated the temporal dynamics of interference control by varying two factors – interference expectancy and fluid intelligence (gF) – that could influence whether interference control operates proactively versus reactively
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