Cognitive Control Task Research Articles

Shared Patterns of Cognitive Control Behavior and Electrophysiological Markers in Adolescence

Abstract Behavioral parameters obtained from cognitive control tasks have been linked to electrophysiological markers. Yet, most previous research has investigated only a few specific behavioral parameters at a time. An integrated approach with simultaneous consideration of multiple aspects of behavior may better elucidate the development and function of cognitive control. Here, we aimed to identify shared patterns between cognitive control behavior and electrophysiological markers using stop-signal task data and EEG recordings from an adolescent sample (n = 193, aged 11–25 years). We extracted behavioral variables covering various aspects of RT, accuracy, inhibition, and decision-making processes, as well as amplitude and latency of the ERPs N1, N2, and P3. To identify shared patterns between the two sets of variables, we employed a principal component analysis and a canonical correlation analysis. First, we replicated previously reported associations between various cognitive control behavioral parameters. Next, results from the canonical correlation analysis showed that overall good task performance was associated with fast and strong neural processing. Furthermore, the canonical correlation was affected by age, indicating that the association varies depending on age. The present study suggests that although distributional and computational methods can be applied to extract specific behavioral parameters, they might not capture specific patterns of cognitive control or electrophysiological brain activity in adolescents.

Comparing self-other distinction across motor, cognitive and affective domains.

The self-other distinction (SOD) is a process by which humans disentangle self from other-related mental representations. This online study investigated two unresolved questions: (i) whether partially the same processes underpin SOD for motor, cognitive and affective representations, and (ii) whether SOD overlaps with domain-general cognitive control processes. Participants (N = 243) performed three SOD tasks (motor: automatic imitation inhibition (AIT); cognitive: visual perspective-taking (VPT); affective: emotional egocentricity bias (av-EEB) tasks) and two cognitive control tasks (Stroop and stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) tasks). Correlation analyses showed no associations among the motor, cognitive and affective SOD indexes. Similarly, distinct SOD clusters emerged in the hierarchical clustering dendrogram, indicating clear separations among SODs. However, the results of multidimensional scaling suggested a tendency towards two clusters, as evidenced by the proximity of AIT and VPT indexes in relation to EEB indexes. AIT spatial laterality and Stroop domain-general cognitive control confounded AIT and VPT indexes, albeit slightly differently depending on the analysis method used. SSRT showed neither associations with SODs nor with other domain-general indexes. These findings underscore the complexity of SOD processes and have notable implications for basic and applied research, e.g. in the domain of clinical disorders affected by deficiencies in SOD.

Pupillary response to cognitive control in depression-prone individuals

Revealing the pupillary correlates of depression-prone individuals is conducive to the early intervention and treatment of depression. This study recruited 31 depression-prone and 31 healthy individuals. They completed an emotional task-switching task combined with a go/no-go task, and task-evoked pupillary responses (TEPR) were recorded. Behavioral results showed no significant differences in behavioral performance in terms of cognitive flexibility and inhibition between the depression-prone group and the healthy control group. The pupillary results revealed that (1) the depression-prone group showed slightly lower TEPRs to positive stimuli than the healthy controls during cue presentation; (2) during target presentation, the depression-prone group did not show an effect of emotional valence on the pupillary response in the task-repeat trials; and (3) compared to the healthy controls, the depression-prone group showed significantly smaller TEPRs to negative no-go stimuli and had a longer latency of the second peak of pupil dilation in no-go trials. These results imply that depression-prone individuals may have slower neural responses in cognitive control tasks and emotion-specific weakened cognitive control than healthy individuals.

Identifying conflict monitoring as a specific executive component that contributes to impaired self-awareness in patients with acquired brain injury

ABSTRACT Objective Impaired self-awareness (SA) after acquired brain injury (ABI) has traditionally been linked to deficits in executive functions. However, conflicting findings about this relationship have been reported in the literature. This inconsistency is probably due to the multicomponent nature of both constructs, as not all aspects of executive functions may be equally relevant to all components of self-awareness. This study explored whether offline SA (i.e. metacognitive knowledge) and online SA (i.e. error detection) relate to a less studied executive component, conflict monitoring/resolution. Method Twenty-six patients with ABI performed the Three-Conflict Cognitive Control Task (3CCT), an experimental task that allowed to measure the ability to monitor and solve three different types of conflicts (Distractors-filtering, Spatial Stroop and Simon). Measures of SA were collected: offline SA was based on self-informant discrepancy about patient’s everyday functional difficulties, and online SA was based on error detection abilities during a performance-based naturalistic task (The Breakfast Conflict Task). Results After controlling for global cognition, the conflict monitoring measure of 3CCT demonstarted incremental validity in predicting offline and online SA measured in naturalistic tasks. Conclusions Conflict monitoring/resolution seems to be an important component of SA. This finding contributes to further understand the relationship between executive functions and SA. In addition, conflict monitoring/resolution is an executive component that should be considered when designing assessment and intervention strategies to deal with ISA.

Lead exposure, serum neurotransmitter correlates, and performance on a cognitive control task in (pre)adolescence

Lead exposure, serum neurotransmitter correlates, and performance on a cognitive control task in (pre)adolescence

Regular cannabis use modulates gamma activity in brain regions serving motor control.

People who regularly use cannabis exhibit altered brain dynamics during cognitive control tasks, though the impact of regular cannabis use on the neural dynamics serving motor control remains less understood. We sought to investigate how regular cannabis use modulates the neural dynamics serving motor control. Thirty-four people who regularly use cannabis (cannabis+) and 33 nonusers (cannabis-) underwent structured interviews about their substance use history and performed the Eriksen flanker task to map the neural dynamics serving motor control during high-density magnetoencephalography (MEG). The resulting neural data were transformed into the time-frequency domain to examine oscillatory activity and were imaged using a beamforming approach. MEG sensor-level analyses revealed robust beta (16-24 Hz) and gamma oscillations (66-74 Hz) during motor planning and execution, which were imaged using a beamformer. Both responses peaked in the left primary motor cortex and voxel time series were extracted to evaluate the spontaneous and oscillatory dynamics. Our key findings indicated that the cannabis+ group exhibited weaker spontaneous gamma activity in the left primary motor cortex relative to the cannabis- group, which scaled with cannabis use and behavioral metrics. Interestingly, regular cannabis use was not associated with differences in oscillatory beta and gamma activity, and there were no group differences in spontaneous beta activity. Our findings suggest that regular cannabis use is associated with suppressed spontaneous gamma activity in the left primary motor cortex, which scales with the degree of cannabis use disorder symptomatology and is coupled to behavioral task performance.

A Bayesian Multiplex Graph Classifier of Functional Brain Connectivity Across Diverse Tasks of Cognitive Control.

This article seeks to investigate the impact of aging on functional connectivity across different cognitive control scenarios, particularly emphasizing the identification of brain regions significantly associated with early aging. By conceptualizing functional connectivity within each cognitive control scenario as a graph, with brain regions as nodes, the statistical challenge revolves around devising a regression framework to predict a binary scalar outcome (aging or normal) using multiple graph predictors. Popular regression methods utilizing multiplex graph predictors often face limitations in effectively harnessing information within and across graph layers, leading to potentially less accurate inference and predictive accuracy, especially for smaller sample sizes. To address this challenge, we propose the Bayesian Multiplex Graph Classifier (BMGC). Accounting for multiplex graph topology, our method models edge coefficients at each graph layer using bilinear interactions between the latent effects associated with the two nodes connected by the edge. This approach also employs a variable selection framework on node-specific latent effects from all graph layers to identify influential nodes linked to observed outcomes. Crucially, the proposed framework is computationally efficient and quantifies the uncertainty in node identification, coefficient estimation, and binary outcome prediction. BMGC outperforms alternative methods in terms of the aforementioned metrics in simulation studies. An additional BMGC validation was completed using an fMRI study of brain networks in adults. The proposed BMGC technique identified that sensory motor brain network obeys certain lateral symmetries, whereas the default mode network exhibits significant brain asymmetries associated with early aging.

Age-related Differences in Response Inhibition Are Mediated by Frontoparietal White Matter but Not Functional Activity.

Healthy older adults often exhibit lower performance but increased functional recruitment of the frontoparietal control network during cognitive control tasks. According to the cortical disconnection hypothesis, age-related changes in the microstructural integrity of white matter may disrupt inter-regional neuronal communication, which in turn can impair behavioral performance. Here, we use fMRI and diffusion-weighted imaging to determine whether age-related differences in white matter microstructure contribute to frontoparietal over-recruitment and behavioral performance during a response inhibition (go/no-go) task in an adult life span sample (n = 145). Older and female participants were slower (go RTs) than younger and male participants, respectively. However, participants across all ages were equally accurate on the no-go trials, suggesting some participants may slow down on go trials to achieve high accuracy on no-go trials. Across the life span, functional recruitment of the frontoparietal network within the left and right hemispheres did not vary as a function of age, nor was it related to white matter fractional anisotropy (FA). In fact, only frontal FA and go RTs jointly mediated the association between age and no-go accuracy. Our results therefore suggest that frontal white matter cortical "disconnection" is an underlying driver of age-related differences in cognitive control, and white matter FA may not fully explain functional task-related activation in the frontoparietal network during the go/no-go task. Our findings add to the literature by demonstrating that white matter may be more important for certain cognitive processes in aging than task-related functional activation.

Acute psychosocial stress modulates neural and behavioral substrates of cognitive control.

Acute psychosocial stress affects learning, memory, and attention, but the evidence for the influence of stress on the neural processes supporting cognitive control remains mixed. We investigated how acute psychosocial stress influences performance and neural processing during the Go/NoGo task-an established cognitive control task. The experimental group underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) acute stress induction, whereas the control group completed personality questionnaires. Then, participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Go/NoGo task, with self-report, blood pressure and salivary cortisol measurements of induced stress taken intermittently throughout the experimental session. The TSST was successful in eliciting a stress response, as indicated by significant Stress > Control between-group differences in subjective stress ratings and systolic blood pressure. We did not identify significant differences in cortisol levels, however. The stress induction also impacted subsequent Go/NoGo task performance, with participants who underwent the TSST making fewer commission errors on trials requiring the most inhibitory control (NoGo Green) relative to the control group, suggesting increased vigilance. Univariate analysis of fMRI task-evoked brain activity revealed no differences between stress and control groups for any region. However, using multivariate pattern analysis, stress and control groups were reliably differentiated by activation patterns contrasting the most demanding NoGo trials (i.e., NoGo Green trials) versus baseline in the medial intraparietal area (mIPA, affiliated with the dorsal attention network) and subregions of the cerebellum (affiliated with the default mode network). These results align with prior reports linking the mIPA and the cerebellum to visuomotor coordination, a function central to cognitive control processes underlying goal-directed behavior. This suggests that stressor-induced hypervigilance may produce a facilitative effect on response inhibition which is represented neurally by the activation patterns of cognitive control regions.

Cognitive control in infancy: Attentional predictors using a tablet-based measure.

Cognitive control is a predictor of later-life outcomes and may underpin higher order executive processes. The present study examines the development of early cognitive control during the first 24-month. We evaluated a tablet-based assessment of cognitive control among infants aged 18- and 24-month. We also examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between attentional disengagement, general cognitive skills and cognitive control. Participants (N=60, 30 female) completed the tablet-task at 18- and 24-month of age. Attentional disengagement and general cognitive development were assessed at 5-, 8-, 12-, 18- and 24-month using an eye-tracking measure and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), respectively. The cognitive control task demonstrated good internal consistency, sensitivity to age-related change in performance and stable individual differences. No associations were found between infant cognitive control and MSEL scores longitudinally or concurrently. The eye-tracking task revealed that slower attentional disengagement at 8-month, but faster disengagement at 18-month, predicted higher cognitive control scores at 24-month. This task may represent a useful tool for measuring emergent cognitive control. The multifaceted relationship between attention and infant cognitive control suggests that the rapid development of the attentional system in infancy results in distinct attentional skills, at different ages, being relevant for cognitive control development.

Multimodal Physiological Analysis of Impact of Emotion on Cognitive Control in VR.

Cognitive control is often perplexing to elucidate and can be easily influenced by emotions. Understanding the individual cognitive control level is crucial for enhancing VR interaction and designing adaptive and self-correcting VR/AR applications. Emotions can reallocate processing resources and influence cognitive control performance. However, current research has primarily emphasized the impact of emotional valence on cognitive control tasks, neglecting emotional arousal. In this study, we comprehensively investigate the influence of emotions on cognitive control based on the arousal-valence model. A total of 26 participants are recruited, inducing emotions through VR videos with high ecological validity and then performing related cognitive control tasks. Leveraging physiological data including EEG, HRV, and EDA, we employ classification techniques such as SVM, KNN, and deep learning to categorize cognitive control levels. The experiment results demonstrate that high-arousal emotions significantly enhance users' cognitive control abilities. Utilizing complementary information among multi-modal physiological signal features, we achieve an accuracy of 84.52% in distinguishing between high and low cognitive control. Additionally, time-frequency analysis results confirm the existence of neural patterns related to cognitive control, contributing to a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control in VR. Our research indicates that physiological signals measured from both the central and autonomic nervous systems can be employed for cognitive control classification, paving the way for novel approaches to improve VR/AR interactions.

Multiplexed Levels of Cognitive Control through Delta and Theta Neural Oscillations.

Cognitive control allows behavior to be guided according to environmental contexts and internal goals. During cognitive control tasks, fMRI analyses typically reveal increased activation in frontal and parietal networks, and EEG analyses reveal increased amplitude of neural oscillations in the delta/theta band (2-3, 4-7 Hz) in frontal electrodes. Previous studies proposed that theta-band activity reflects the maintenance of rules associating stimuli to appropriate actions (i.e., the rule set), whereas delta synchrony is specifically associated with the control over the context for when to apply a set of rules (i.e., the rule abstraction). We tested these predictions using EEG and fMRI data collected during the performance of a hierarchical cognitive control task that manipulated the level of abstraction of task rules and their set-size. Our results show a clear separation of delta and theta oscillations in the control of rule abstraction and of stimulus-action associations, respectively, in distinct frontoparietal association networks. These findings support a model by which frontoparietal networks operate through dynamic, multiplexed neural processes.

How Money Scarcity Influences Individuals’ Cognitive Control

Previous studies have confirmed that money scarcity can impede individuals’ cognitive control; however, it remains unclear how this effect occurs. This study created a virtual shopping game that can vividly simulate individuals’ shopping-related thought processes in daily life to systematically investigate how money scarcity influences cognitive control. Participants were randomly assigned to either a money scarcity group or a money rich group and were asked to perform a virtual shopping game, an emotion test, and a cognitive control task. In the first two experiments, the participants were asked to perform a space compatibility task (Experiment 1) or a face task (Experiment 2) after completing the virtual shopping task, in which they indicated whether they would purchase the probe commodity. The results showed that (1) the response times of the money scarcity group in both the space compatibility task and the face task were markedly lower than those of the money rich group, and (2) the cognitive flexibility and interference suppression of the money rich group were greater than those of the money scarcity group; however, there was no obvious difference in response inhibition. Experiment 3 embedded the space compatibility task within the virtual shopping task. The response times of the money scarcity group were still markedly slower than those of the money rich group. Thus, money scarcity impedes individuals’ cognitive control, primarily by weakening their cognitive flexibility and interference suppression.

Inhibiting orofacial mimicry affects authenticity perception in vocal emotions.

Although emotional mimicry is ubiquitous in social interactions, its mechanisms and roles remain disputed. A prevalent view is that imitating others' expressions facilitates emotional understanding, but the evidence is mixed and almost entirely based on facial emotions. In a preregistered study, we asked whether inhibiting orofacial mimicry affects authenticity perception in vocal emotions. Participants listened to authentic and posed laughs and cries, while holding a pen between the teeth and lips to inhibit orofacial responses (n = 75), or while responding freely without a pen (n = 75). They made authenticity judgments and rated how much they felt the conveyed emotions (emotional contagion). Mimicry inhibition decreased the accuracy of authenticity perception in laughter and crying, and in posed and authentic vocalizations. It did not affect contagion ratings, however, nor performance in a cognitive control task, ruling out the effort of holding the pen as an explanation for the decrements in authenticity perception. Laughter was more contagious than crying, and authentic vocalizations were more contagious than posed ones, regardless of whether mimicry was inhibited or not. These findings confirm the role of mimicry in emotional understanding and extend it to auditory emotions. They also imply that perceived emotional contagion can be unrelated to mimicry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Abnormal theta and alpha oscillations in children and adolescents with first-episode psychosis and clinical high-risk psychosis.

Cognitive control deficits are one of the main symptoms of psychosis. The basic neural oscillation patterns associated with cognitive control are already present in early adolescence. However, as previous studies have focused on adults with psychosis, it is unclear whether neurobiological impairments in cognitive control are present in children and adolescents with first-episode psychosis (FEP) or clinical high-risk (CHR) state for psychosis. To explore the deficits of electroencephalogram related to cognitive control tasks in children and adolescents with FEP and CHR. Electroencephalogram was recorded in untreated 48 patients with FEP, 24 patients with CHR and 42 healthy controls aged 10-17 years, while performing the visual oddball task. The N2 amplitude, theta and alpha oscillations were then analysed and compared between groups. There was no significant group difference in N2 amplitude (P = 0.099). All groups showed increased theta and alpha oscillations relative to baseline before the stimulus in the frontal, central, left fronto-central and right fronto-central areas. These changes differed significantly between groups, with the FEP group showing significantly smaller theta (P < 0.001) and alpha (P < 0.01) oscillation than healthy controls. Theta and alpha oscillations in the CHR group did not differ significantly from the FEP group and healthy controls. These results suggest that neural damage has already occurred in the early stage of psychosis, and that abnormal rhythmic activity of neurons may constitute the pathophysiological mechanism of cognitive dysfunction related to early-onset psychosis.

Clarifying Cognitive Control Deficits in Psychosis via Drift Diffusion Modeling and Attractor Dynamics.

Cognitive control deficits are prominent in individuals with psychotic psychopathology. Studies providing evidence for deficits in proactive control generally examine average performance and not variation across trials for individuals-potentially obscuring detection of essential contributors to cognitive control. Here, we leverage intertrial variability through drift-diffusion models (DDMs) aiming to identify key contributors to cognitive control deficits in psychosis. People with psychosis (PwP; N = 122), their first-degree biological relatives (N = 78), and controls (N = 50) each completed 120 trials of the dot pattern expectancy (DPX) cognitive control task. We fit full hierarchical DDMs to response and reaction time (RT) data for individual trials and then used classification models to compare the DDM parameters with conventional measures of proactive and reactive control. PwP demonstrated slower drift rates on proactive control trials suggesting less efficient use of cue information. Both PwP and relatives showed protracted nondecision times to infrequent trial sequences suggesting slowed perceptual processing. Classification analyses indicated that DDM parameters differentiated between the groups better than conventional measures and identified drift rates during proactive control, nondecision time during reactive control, and cue bias as most important. DDM parameters were associated with real-world functioning and schizotypal traits. Modeling of trial-level data revealed that slow evidence accumulation and longer preparatory periods are the strongest contributors to cognitive control deficits in psychotic psychopathology. This pattern of atypical responding during the DPX is consistent with shallow basins in attractor dynamic models that reflect difficulties in maintaining state representations, possibly mediated by excess neural excitation or poor connectivity.

Hierarchical-Model Insights for Planning and Interpreting Individual-Difference Studies of Cognitive Abilities

Although individual-difference studies have been invaluable in several domains of psychology, there has been less success in cognitive domains using experimental tasks. The problem is often called one of reliability: Individual differences in cognitive tasks, especially cognitive-control tasks, seem too unreliable. In this article, we use the language of hierarchical models to define a novel reliability measure—a signal-to-noise ratio—that reflects the nature of tasks alone without recourse to sample sizes. Signal-to-noise reliability may be used to plan appropriately powered studies as well as understand the cause of low correlations across tasks should they occur. Although signal-to-noise reliability is motivated by hierarchical models, it may be estimated from a simple calculation using straightforward summary statistics.

Cognitive Control among Primary- and Middle-School Students and Their Associations with Math Achievement

Background: Math achievement is an important predictor of academic success. While many studies have examined math achievement in young children, studies with older children are scarce. This study focused on primary- and middle-school students, examining math achievements and cognitive control. Cognitive control was assessed referring to both domain-specific and domain-general cognitive control mechanisms and eliciting both simple and complex levels of conflict, and their association with math achievements. Methods: One-hundred-and-twenty-two participants performed two versions of a cognitive control task: a numerical Stroop task (NST; manipulating the numerical and physical size of Arabic numerals) and a perceptual Stroop task (PST; manipulating the location and direction of an arrow). For math achievements, participants performed math fluency and math curriculum tests. Results: Overall, the congruency effect was smaller in older students than in younger ones. Moreover, all participants demonstrated a similar congruency effect in the simple conflict task, whereas younger students showed a larger congruency effect in the complex conflict task. In addition, performance on the basic math fluency task was predicted by both Stroop tasks. However, performance on the comprehensive math achievement test was predicted only by the PST. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated enhanced cognitive control abilities of middle-school students and suggest that they can contribute to math achievements. We call for considering the implementation of both domain-specific and domain-general cognitive control activities as a potential approach to support math achievements.

Enhancing cognitive control with transcranial magnetic stimulation in subject-specific frontoparietal networks

BackgroundCognitive control processes, including those involving frontoparietal networks, are highly variable between individuals, posing challenges to basic and clinical sciences. While distinct frontoparietal networks have been associated with specific cognitive control functions such as switching, inhibition, and working memory updating functions, there have been few basic tests of the role of these networks at the individual level. MethodsTo examine the role of cognitive control at the individual level, we conducted a within-subject excitatory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study in 19 healthy individuals that targeted intrinsic (“resting”) frontoparietal networks. Person-specific intrinsic networks were identified with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans to determine TMS targets. The participants performed three cognitive control tasks: an adapted Navon figure-ground task (requiring set switching), n-back (working memory), and Stroop color-word (inhibition). ObjectiveHypothesis: We predicted that stimulating a network associated with externally oriented control [the “FPCN-B” (fronto-parietal control network)] would improve performance on the set switching and working memory task relative to a network associated with attention (the Dorsal Attention Network, DAN) and cranial vertex in a full within-subjects crossover design. ResultsWe found that set switching performance was enhanced by FPCN-B stimulation along with some evidence of enhancement in the higher-demand n-back conditions. ConclusionHigher task demands or proactive control might be a distinguishing role of the FPCN-B, and personalized intrinsic network targeting is feasible in TMS designs.

Cool and hot executive function problems in young children: linking self-regulation processes to emerging clinical symptoms

Self-regulation (SR) difficulties are implicated in a wide range of disorders which develop in childhood, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), anxiety and depression. However, the integration of the existing research evidence is challenging because of varying terminology and the wide range of tasks used, as well as the heterogeneity and comorbidity within and across diagnostic categories. The current study used the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to guide the examination of different SR processes in young children showing a wide range of symptomatology. Children (aged 4–8) referred by teachers for moderate-to-high conduct, hyperactivity and/or emotional problems at school (assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscales; n = 212), and children in SDQ typical ranges (n = 30) completed computerised cognitive control and decision-making tasks. Parents completed questionnaires to assess ADHD, ODD, anxiety and depression symptoms (n = 191). Compared to children with no teacher-reported difficulties, those with moderate-to-high problems showed poorer visuomotor control and decision-making. A factor analysis revealed that task variables adhered to RDoC dimensions and predicted variance in specific disorders: difficulties in cognitive control predicted ADHD symptoms, low reward-seeking was associated with depression and high reward-seeking was associated with ODD. This study highlights how the assessment of cognitive processes positioned within the RDoC framework can inform our understanding of disorder-specific and transdiagnostic difficulties in SR which are associated with diverse clinical symptoms in children.