Domain-general Cognitive Control Research Articles

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.

Domain-general cognitive control processes in bilingual switching: Evidence from midfrontal theta oscillations.

Language control in bilingual speakers is thought to be implicated in effectively switching between languages, inhibiting the non-intended language, and continuously monitoring what to say and what has been said. It has been a matter of controversy concerning whether language control operates in a comparable manner to cognitive control processes in non-linguistic domains (domain-general) or if it is exclusive to language processing (domain-specific). As midfrontal theta oscillations have been considered as an index of cognitive control, examining whether a midfrontal theta effect is evident in tasks requiring bilingual control could bring new insights to the ongoing debate. To this end, we reanalysed the EEG data from two previous bilingual production studies where Dutch-English bilinguals named pictures based on colour cues. Specifically, we focused on three fundamental control processes in bilingual production: switching between languages, inhibition of the nontarget language, and monitoring of speech errors. Theta power increase was observed in switch trials compared to repeat trials, with a midfrontal scalp distribution. However, no theta power difference was observed in switch trials following a shorter sequence of same-language trials compared to a longer sequence, suggesting a missing modulation of inhibitory control. Similarly, increased midfrontal theta power was observed when participants failed to switch to the intended language compared to correct responses. Altogether, these findings tentatively support the involvement of domain-general cognitive control mechanisms in bilingual switching.

A longitudinal study of Turkish-Dutch children’s language mixing in single-language settings: Language status, language proficiency, cognitive control and developmental language disorder

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of language status, language proficiency, cognitive control and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in bilingual Turkish-Dutch children’s language mixing in single-language settings. We investigated these factors over time following 31 children (20 with typical development, 11 with DLD), from the age of 5 or 6 years until they were 7 or 8 years old. Children more often mix the majority-societal language (Dutch) into the minority-heritage language (Turkish) than the other way around. Higher proficiency in Dutch, lower proficiency in Turkish, and having DLD are linked to more mixing in the Turkish setting. Effects of cognitive control on children’s language mixing are limited. Linguistic factors at a child-external and child-internal level impact on children’s mixing in single-language settings, and are more important than domain-general cognitive control. Increasing language proficiency in Turkish could explain why children mix less as they grow older.

Exploring Bilingual Benefits: Verbal and Nonverbal Information Updating in Working Memory

Objectives: The present study aimed to confirm the cognitive advantages of bilingualism specifically in the domain of working memory updating. Methods: A total of sixty adults (aged 20 to 26) participated in the study, divided into three groups based on bilingual status: Bilingual-similar (n = 20), Bilingual-Mongolian weighted (n = 20), and Monolingual (n = 20). Participants completed working memory update tasks involving verbal or nonverbal stimuli. Information updated in working memory could be derived from perceptual input or long-term memory. Results: Bilingual advantages in working memory updating was found in both verbal and nonverbal task. The advantages in working memory updating depending on stimuli (verbal or nonverbal) exhibited similar patterns. However, the patterns of bilingual advantages varied depending on the source of information (perceptual input or long-term memory). While both bilingual groups showed advantages when the information source was perceptual input, only the Bilingual-similar group showed advantages when the source was long-term memory. Conclusion: The study provides further empirical support for the cognitive benefits associated with bilingualism, particularly in the realm of working memory updating. The current findings underscore the notion that bilinguals optimize domain-general cognitive control. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of information management in bilingual individuals across different information resources.

The visual cortex in the blind but not the auditory cortex in the deaf becomes multiple-demand regions.

The fate of deprived sensory cortices (visual regions in the blind and auditory regions in the deaf) exemplifies the extent to which experience can change brain regions. These regions are frequently seen to activate during tasks involving other sensory modalities, leading many authors to infer that these regions have started to process sensory information of other modalities. However, such observations can also imply that these regions are now activating in response to any task event, regardless of the sensory modality. Activating in response to task events, irrespective of the sensory modality involved, is a feature of the multiple-demands (MD) network. This is a set of regions within the frontal and parietal cortices that activate in response to any kind of control demand. Thus, demands as diverse as attention, perceptual difficulty, rule-switching, updating working memory, inhibiting responses, decision-making and difficult arithmetic all activate the same set of regions that are thought to instantiate domain-general cognitive control and underpin fluid intelligence. We investigated whether deprived sensory cortices, or foci within them, become part of the MD network. We tested whether the same foci within the visual regions of the blind and auditory regions of the deaf activated in response to different control demands. We found that control demands related to updating auditory working memory, difficult tactile decisions, time-duration judgments and sensorimotor speed all activated the entire bilateral occipital regions in the blind but not in the sighted. These occipital regions in the blind were the only regions outside the canonical frontoparietal MD regions to show such activation in response to multiple control demands. Furthermore, compared with the sighted, these occipital regions in the blind had higher functional connectivity with frontoparietal MD regions. Early deaf, in contrast, did not activate their auditory regions in response to different control demands, showing that auditory regions do not become MD regions in the deaf. We suggest that visual regions in the blind do not take a new sensory role but become part of the MD network, and this is not a response of all deprived sensory cortices but a feature unique to the visual regions.

Trial-Level and Contiguous Syntactic Adaptation: A Common Domain-General Mechanism at Play?

Garden-path sentences generate processing difficulty due to a more preferred parse conflicting with incoming parsing information. A domain-general cognitive control mechanism has been argued to help identify and resolve these parsing conflicts. This cognitive control mechanism has been argued to underlie adaptation to garden path processing at the trial level (conflict adaptation) and contiguously over the experiment (syntactic adaptation) in independent literature. The strongest evidence for its domain generality comes from garden-path processing being facilitated when preceded by a non-syntactic conflict (e.g., Stroop). This has been reliably observed in the visual world paradigm, which, like Stroop, requires irrelevant visual information to be suppressed. We tested the domain generality of conflict adaptation and its relationship to contiguous syntactic adaptation across four experiments (n = 562). To eliminate the visual object confound, the Stroop task was followed by a sentence-reading task. We observed Stroop and ambiguity effects, but no conflict adaptation in each experiment. Contiguous syntactic adaptation was replicated and most compatible with the parser changing its expectations and/or improving revision. While the data largely fail to support a domain-general cognitive control mechanism, a language-specific one could operate in both trial and contiguous syntactic adaptation and is worth future exploration.

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.

Integrating Social Cognition Into Domain-General Control: Interactive Activation and Competition for the Control of Action (ICON).

Social cognition differs from general cognition in its focus on understanding, perceiving, and interpreting social information. However, we argue that the significance of domain-general processes for controlling cognition has been historically undervalued in social cognition and social neuroscience research. We suggest much of social cognition can be characterized as specialized feature representations supported by domain-general cognitive control systems. To test this proposal, we develop a comprehensive working model, based on an interactive activation and competition architecture and applied to the control of action. As such, we label the model "ICON" (interactive activation and competition model for the control of action). We used the ICON model to simulate human performance across various laboratory tasks. Our simulations emphasize that many laboratory-based social tasks do not require socially specific control systems, such as those that are argued to rely on neural networks associated with theory-of-mind. Moreover, our model clarifies that perceived disruptions in social cognition, even in what appears to be disruption to the control of social cognition, can stem from deficits in social representation instead. We advocate for a "default stance" in social cognition, where control is usually general, but representation is specific. This study underscores the importance of integrating social cognition within the broader realm of domain-general control processing, offering a unified perspective on task processing.

The (dis)engagement of different components of inhibitory control in trilingual language control.

Despite the worldwide prevalence of multilingualism, the knowledge of the relationship between domain-general cognitive control and multilingual language control remains scant. Here we provide new insights into this issue by examining systematically how different components of inhibitory control (i.e., response inhibition and interference suppression) contribute to language control in multilingual populations with high L2 proficiency. To this end, 65 Tibetan-Chinese-English trilinguals highly proficient in L2 were recruited to complete three tasks: a picture-naming task measuring the performance of online trilingual speech production, and two nonlinguistic tasks, a go/no-go task and a Simon task, as proxies for measuring response inhibition and interference suppression abilities, respectively. Using mixed-effects modeling, we analyzed both the trilingual language switching/nonswitching performances and their correlations with these two components of inhibitory control. Our data revealed unexpected patterns of reversed language dominance effect and (a)symmetries in switch costs. Notably, interaction analysis revealed that while response inhibition was robustly engaged in trilingual language control, interference suppression did not appear to play a role. Taken together, our study suggests that, for trilingual speakers highly proficient in L2, the recruitment of different subprocesses of inhibitory control in lexical access was selective and was constrained to reactive and local-level language control. We conclude by discussing theoretical implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of cognitive control in bilingual language comprehension: An event-related potential study of dense code-switching sentences

AbstractThis study investigated the engagement of domain-general cognitive control during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. Stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured while L1-dominant Chinese–English bilinguals read switch and non-switch sentences. The results of the reading task revealed language dominance effects on the N400, left anterior negativity (LAN) and late positive component (LPC). The language dominance effects at lexical level (i.e., on the N400 and LAN) were modulated by individual differences in monitoring capacity. In contrast, inhibition capacity predicted code-switching costs at the sentence level (i.e., for the LPC component). The results suggest that proactive monitoring and reactive inhibition affect different processing stages during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. These findings partially align with processing models of code-switching incorporating a dual control mode perspective and contribute new insight into the dynamic interplay between reactive and proactive control processes.

Functional neural architecture of cognitive control mediates the relationship between individual differences in bilingual experience and behaviour

Bilinguals have often, but not always, been found to outperform monolinguals on domain-general attentional control. Inconsistent findings have been argued to stem, at least partly, from treating bilingualism as a uniform category and from not considering how neural adaptations to bilingual experiences modulate behavioural outcomes. The present study investigated how patterns of language experience, including language switching behaviour, duration and intensity/diversity of bilingual language use, influence the brain processes underlying cognitive control, and how these in turn translate to cognitive control performance. We examined reaction times and spectral dynamics of the electroencephalograms (EEG) of two-hundred-and-thirty-nine participants (about 70% bilinguals) with diverse language experiences during two cognitive control paradigms testing interference suppression (flanker and Simon task). Using structural equation modelling, we found that different bilingual experience factors were related with neurocognitive measures, which in turn were related with behavioural interference effects, for the flanker but not the Simon task. More specifically, increased frequency of language switching and intensity/diversity of bilingual language usage was negatively related to induced top-down control measures (especially midline-frontal theta), which in turn was beneficial for interference control. In contrast, duration of bilingual engagement correlated negatively with evoked bottom-up control measures (especially P3) and was therefore detrimental to interference control. We demonstrate here for the first time how the different factors of bilingual experience lead to different neural adaptations which impact behavioural outcomes. Significance statementLike other intensive experiences, bilingualism leads to brain adaptations. It results in structural changes in language areas, and, due to demands on language control, in brain areas associated with domain-general cognitive control. Related to this, bilinguals often outperform monolinguals on cognitive control tasks. But what is often ignored is that bilingualism is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, with variations such as diversity of language usage and duration of language use. The present large-scale study of neural functioning in bilingualism revealed for the first time how individual differences in bilingual experience lead to adaptations to brain functioning which in turn affect cognitive control behaviour. It exemplifies how the complexity of individual experiences plays a fundamental role in brain function.

Executive functions predict the trajectories of rumination in middle-aged and older adults: A latent growth curve analysis.

Previous studies suggest that executive functions (EF)-a set of domain-general cognitive control processes that contribute to the regulation of emotion-are generally associated with ruminative tendencies. However, there is a dearth of research that examines how EF influences changes in rumination over time, especially in middle-aged and older adults who typically experience a decline in EF. To fill this gap in the literature, we analyzed a large-scale combined dataset from the MIDUS Refresher, Daily Diary, and Cognitive Projects. We examined the impact of EF on the trajectory of rumination across 8 days using latent growth curve analysis. We also examined age as a moderator using a latent interaction term in our structural equation model. Higher executive functioning predicted lower levels of baseline rumination and faster rates of decline in rumination over time, which reflect the successful regulation of maladaptive rumination. The age x EF interaction term was not significant, indicating that the impact of EF on the trajectory of rumination was not modulated by age. Our study offers new insights into the cognitive underpinnings of rumination and underscores the beneficial role of EF for effective regulation of ruminative tendencies in middle and late adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

How processing emotion affects language control in bilinguals.

Research has shown that several variables affect language control among bilingual speakers but the effect of affective processing remains unexplored. Chinese-English bilinguals participated in a novel prime-target language switching experiment in which they first judged the affective valence (i.e., positive or negative) of auditorily presented words and then named pictures with neutral emotional valence in either the same (non-switch trial) or different language (switch trial). Brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The behavioral performance showed that the typical switch cost (i.e., the calculated difference between switch and non-switch trials) emerged after processing positive words but not after negative words. Brain imaging demonstrated that processing negative words immediately before non-switch picturing naming trials (but not for switch trials) increased activation in brain areas associated with domain-general cognitive control. The opposite patterns were found after processing positive words. These findings suggest that an (emotional) negative priming effect is induced by spontaneous exposure to negative words and that these priming effects may be triggered by reactive emotional processing and that they may interact with higher level cognitive functions.

Neural correlates of lexical stress processing in a foreign free-stress language.

The paper examines the discrimination of lexical stress contrasts in a foreign language from a neural perspective. The aim of the study was to identify the areas associated with word stress processing (in comparison with vowel processing), when listeners of a fixed-stress language have to process stress in a foreign free-stress language. We asked French-speaking participants to process stress and vowel contrasts in Spanish, a foreign language that the participants did not know. Participants performed a discrimination task on Spanish word pairs differing either with respect to word stress (penultimate or final stressed word) or with respect to the final vowel while functional magnetic resonance imaging data was acquired. Behavioral results showed lower accuracy and longer reaction times for discriminating stress contrasts than vowel contrasts. The contrast Stress>Vowel revealed an increased bilateral activation of regions shown to be associated with stress processing (i.e., supplementary motor area, insula, middle/superior temporal gyrus), as well as a stronger involvement of areas related to more domain-general cognitive control functions (i.e., bilateral inferior frontal gyrus). The contrast Vowel>Stress showed an increased activation in regions typically associated with the default mode network (known for decreasing its activity during attentionally more demanding tasks). When processing Spanish stress contrasts as compared to processing vowel contrasts, native listeners of French activated to a higher degree anterior networks including regions related to cognitive control. They also show a decrease in regions related to the default mode network. These findings, together with the behavioral results, reflect the higher cognitive demand, and therefore, the larger difficulties, for French-speaking listeners during stress processing as compared to vowel processing.

Sense of Control Mediates the Relation between Discrimination and Executive Functions in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

ABSTRACT Background Despite previous findings of a negative association between everyday discrimination and executive functions (EF) – a set of domain-general cognitive control processes – in middle-aged and older adults, less is known about the underlying mechanism. Thus, we focused on sense on control and its two facets – perceived constraints and personal mastery – as potential psychosocial mediators of this relation. Methods By analyzing a nationally representative adult cohort from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) 2 study, we examined two mediational models: a single mediation model with sense of control and a parallel mediation model with perceived constraints and personal mastery as mediators. Results Structural equation modeling analyses showed that sense of control, as well as personal mastery and perceived constraints, mediated the relationship between discrimination and EF in middle-aged and older adults. This held true when we controlled for age, race, gender, education, and health status. Conclusion Our findings underscore the unique and distinctive roles of sense of control and its two facets in the relation between everyday discrimination and EF in middle-aged and older adults.

Are control processes domain-general? A replication of 'To adapt or not to adapt? The question of domain-general cognitive control' (Kan et al. 2013).

Conflict and conflict adaptation are well-studied phenomena in experimental psychology. Standard tasks investigating causes and outcomes of conflict during information processing include the Stroop, the Flanker and the Simon task. Interestingly, recent research efforts have moved toward investigating whether conflict in one task domain influences information processing in another task domain, typically referred to as cross-task conflict adaptation. These transfer effects are of central importance for theories about our cognitive architecture, as they are interpreted as pointing towards domain-general cognitive mechanisms. Given the importance of these cross-task transfer effects, the current paper targets at replicating one of the key findings. Specifically, Kan et al. (Kan et al. 2013 Cognition 129, 637–651) showed that reading syntactically ambiguous sentences result in processing adjustments in subsequent Stroop trials. This result is in line with the idea that conflict monitoring works in a domain overarching manner. The present paper presents two replication studies: (i) exact replication: identical sentence-reading task intermixed with stimulus-based Stroop task and (ii) conceptual replication: identical sentence-reading task intermixed with response-based Stroop task. Power calculations were based on the original paper. Both experiments were pre-registered. Despite the experiments being closely designed according to the original study, there was no evidence supporting the hypothesis regarding cross-domain conflict adaptation.

A Domain-General Monitoring Account of Bilingual Language Control in Recognition: The Role of Language Dominance and Bilingual Experience.

The ability of bilingual individuals to manage two competing languages is assumed to rely on both domain-specific language control and domain-general control mechanisms. However, previous studies have reported mixed findings about the extent and nature of cross-domain generality. The present study examined the role of language dominance, along with bilingual language experience, in the relationship between word recognition and domain-general cognitive control. Two single-language lexical decision tasks (one in L1 and another in L2) and a domain-general flanker task were administered to bilinguals who live in the sociolinguistic context of a minority and a majority language, namely, Uyghur (L1) and Chinese (L2), respectively. The results showed a diversity in language dominance patterns with better performance in L2 than L1 in the recognition modality, even for participants who self-identified as globally being dominant in L1. This finding reflected all bilinguals’ self-evaluation that their preferred language for reading was L2, suggesting that language dominance is dynamic, depending on what language modality is measured. Furthermore, it was found that an earlier onset age of L2 acquisition (but not recent exposure) and a higher across-modality dominance in L2 were related to faster L2 word recognition. When self-reported language dominance was operationalised as a grouping variable, it was further found that both across-modality L1- and L2-dominant bilingual participants demonstrated a significant relationship between L2 word recognition and domain-general monitoring control, while only L1-dominant bilinguals additionally tapped into inhibitory control, indexed by the flanker effect during L2 word recognition. These findings suggest that language dominance has an impact on the extent and nature of the overlap in control mechanisms across specific linguistic and domain-general cognitive domains and add evidence to a domain-general monitoring account of bilingual word recognition.

Nonverbal cognitive control training increases the efficiency of frontal-subcortical collaboration for bilingual language control

Domain-general cognitive control is closely related to language control during bilingual language production. Previous neural imaging studies have revealed a highly overlapped but rewired brain network for language control and nonverbal cognitive control. In the present study, we examined this issue from a training perspective. Two groups of participants performed the language switching task at pre-and post-tests during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. After the pre-test, the experimental group received 8-day training in a non-verbal switching task, while the control group performed an unrelated color judgement task. We found that only the experimental group but not the control group showed decreased strength of connectivity from the ventral lateral frontal cortex to the left caudate nucleus and from the medial surface of the frontal lobe to the left thalamus. These results indicate an increased efficiency after nonverbal training for the frontal cortex to implement domain-general suppression and monitoring in a domain-specific conflict context during bilingual language and lexical selections. This study is the first to investigate the transfer effects of nonverbal cognitive control on the brain network of bilingual language control and shed light on the mechanisms of how domain-general cognitive control may underpin bilingual language control.

Second Language Proficiency Modulates the Dependency of Bilingual Language Control on Domain-General Cognitive Control.

The relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control has been a hot topic in the research field of bilingualism. Previous studies mostly examined the correlation between performances of bilinguals in language control tasks and that in domain-general cognitive control tasks and came to the conclusions that they overlap, partially overlap, or are qualitatively different. These contradictory conclusions are possibly due to the neglect of the moderating effect of second language (L2) proficiency, that is, the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control might vary with the L2 proficiency of bilinguals. To examine this hypothesis, we recruited 36 unbalanced Chinese-English bilinguals to perform the Simon task (to assess domain-general cognitive control), Oxford Placement Test (to assess L2 proficiency), and picture naming tasks in single-and dual-language contexts (to evoke local and global language control). We find that Simon scores positively predicted switching costs in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency. Furthermore, Simon scores positively predicted mixing costs in bilinguals with high L2 proficiency, but not in bilinguals with low L2 proficiency. These results verify the moderating effect of L2 proficiency on the relationship between bilingual language control and domain-general cognitive control, that is, bilinguals with more proficient L2 rely on domain-general cognitive control less for local language control and more for global language control. This may imply a shift from local to global for the dependency of bilingual language control on domain-general cognitive control during the L2 development of bilinguals.

Language distance modulates cognitive control in bilinguals

Linguistic processes in the bilingual brain are partially shared across languages, and the degree of neural overlap between the languages is influenced by several factors, including the age of acquisition, relative language proficiency, and immersion. There is limited evidence on the role of linguistic distance on the performance of the language control as well as domain-general cognitive control systems. The present study aims at exploring whether being bilingual in close and distant language pairs (CLP and DLP) influences language control and domain-general cognitive processes. We recruited two groups of DLP (Persian–English) and CLP (French–English) bilinguals. Subjects performed language nonswitching and switching picture-naming tasks and a nonlinguistic switching task while EEG data were recorded. Behaviorally, CLP bilinguals showed a lower cognitive cost than DLP bilinguals, reflected in faster reaction times both in language switching (compared to nonswitching) and nonlinguistic switching. ERPs showed differential involvement of cognitive control regions between the CLP and DLP groups during linguistic switching vs. nonswitching at 450 to 515 ms poststimulus presentation. Moreover, there was a difference between CLP and DLP groups from 40 to 150 ms in the nonlinguistic task. Our electrophysiological results confirm a stronger involvement of language control and domain-general cognitive control regions in CLP bilinguals.