Abstract
Inhibition of irrelevant information (conflict monitoring) and/or of prepotent actions is an essential component of adaptive self-organized behavior. Neural dynamics underlying these functions has been studied in humans using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited in Go/NoGo tasks that require a speeded motor response to the Go stimuli and withholding a prepotent response when a NoGo stimulus is presented. However, averaged ERP waveforms provide only limited information about the neuronal mechanisms underlying stimulus processing, motor preparation, and response production or inhibition. In this study, we examine the cortical representation of conflict monitoring and response inhibition using time-frequency analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings during continuous performance Go/NoGo task in 50 young adult females. We hypothesized that response inhibition would be associated with a transient boost in both temporal and spatial synchronization of prefrontal cortical activity, consistent with the role of the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortices in cognitive control. Overall, phase synchronization across trials measured by Phase Locking Index and phase synchronization between electrode sites measured by Phase Coherence were the highest in the Go and NoGo conditions, intermediate in the Warning condition, and the lowest under Neutral condition. The NoGo condition was characterized by significantly higher fronto-central synchronization in the 300–600 ms window, whereas in the Go condition, delta- and theta-band synchronization was higher in centro-parietal regions in the first 300 ms after the stimulus onset. The present findings suggest that response production and inhibition is supported by dynamic functional networks characterized by distinct patterns of temporal and spatial synchronization of brain oscillations.
Highlights
How do oscillatory dynamics and synchrony patterns change during cognitive control of goal directed behavior? Inhibition of prepotent actions is an essential component of self-regulation of behavior
Abnormal response inhibition has been implicated as a core dysfunction in a spectrum of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsive behaviors, such as attention deficit disorder, antisocial behaviors, and substance abuse and dependence [1,2,3]
Studies using eventrelated brain potentials (ERPs) have identified specific neuroelectric components that discriminate between Go and NoGo conditions and presumably reflect activation of distinct functional networks supporting response execution and response inhibition [4,5,6,7]. The majority of these studies were based on averaged ERP waveforms that provide only limited information about the underlying neural dynamics, because activity, which is not phaselocked with respect to event onset, is cancelled out or substantially reduced during the averaging procedure
Summary
How do oscillatory dynamics and synchrony patterns change during cognitive control of goal directed behavior? Inhibition of prepotent actions is an essential component of self-regulation of behavior. The majority of these studies were based on averaged ERP waveforms that provide only limited information about the underlying neural dynamics, because activity, which is not phaselocked with respect to event onset, is cancelled out or substantially reduced during the averaging procedure. Another limitation of the traditional ERP method is that it measures activity at each of the recording sites independently but does not utilize information about possible interaction between brain regions
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