Inhibition Of Automatic Responses Research Articles

Automatic Positive and Negative Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder

Introduction: Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit hypoactivity to positive stimuli and hyperactivity to negative stimuli in terms of neural responses. Automatic emotion regulation (AER) activates triple networks (i.e., the central control network, default mode network, and salience network). Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that adolescents with MDD exhibit dissociable spatiotemporal deficits during positive and negative AER. Methods: We first collected EEG data from 32 adolescents with MDD and 35 healthy adolescents while they performed an implicit emotional Go/NoGo task. Then, we characterized the spatiotemporal dynamics of cortical activity during AER. Results: In Go trials, MDD adolescents exhibited reduced N2 amplitudes, enhanced theta power for positive pictures, and stronger bottom-up information flow from the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to the right superior frontal gyrus compared to top-down information flow than the controls. In contrast, in NoGo trials, MDD adolescents exhibited elevated P3 amplitudes, enhanced theta power, and stronger top-down information flows from the right middle frontal gyrus to the right OFC and the left insula than the controls. Conclusion: Overall, adolescents with MDD exhibited impaired automatic attention to positive emotions and impaired automatic response inhibition. These findings have potential implications for the clinical treatment of adolescents with MDD.

The Automatic Emotion Regulation of Children Aged 8-12: An ERP Study.

Emotion regulation in childhood and adolescence is related to their social development. Better emotion regulation is associated with great individual academic performance and mental health. However, compared with the research on emotion regulation strategies, children’s automatic emotion regulation has been less investigated. Using event-related potential (ERP) technology, this study adopts the cued-emotion Go/Nogo paradigm to investigate the processing characteristics of automatic emotion regulation in children aged 8–12 years. The current study selected 34 younger group [16 boys, 18 girls, mean (M) ± SD = 8.91 ± 0.75], and 31 older group [18 boys, 13 girls, M ± SD = 11.26 ± 0.45]. The results showed that, for Nogo trials, the amplitude of N2 and P3 evoked by emotional faces were significantly larger than those evoked by neutral faces, reflecting the cognitive conflict experienced and the process of children’s automatic response inhibition to emotional stimuli, respectively. However, no significant difference in N2 and P3 amplitude were found in Go trials, which may indicate that children aged 8–12 showed similar top-down control and similar motivated attention in this experiment, respectively. Further analysis found that the negative affect of temperament was significantly positively correlated with Nogo-P3 induced by neutral pictures (r = 0.37, p < 0.001), and preadolescents’ social anxiety was significantly positively correlated with Nogo-P3 followed by neutral pictures (r = 0.31, p < 0.01). These findings can provide inspiration and empirical support for the promotion and intervention of emotion regulation in children and adolescents.

Mindfulness in Intercultural Communication: A Qualitative Analysis Experience

The study of intercultural communication has recently become one of the topical issues in the psychology of intergroup relations, intercultural communication and social psychology. Intercultural communication is considered within the framework of communication theory and describes the features and mechanisms underlying effective communication. The integrative communication model, previously described by the authors of this article, made it necessary to test the role of mindfulness in intercultural communication. The aim of this research is to analyze the contribution of mindfulness to the situation of intercultural interaction using qualitative research methods. The research was carried out based on the theoretical model of interpersonal mindfulness described at the following levels: (1) concentration on the present, presence; (2) attentive awareness of both oneself and the other; (3) acceptance of the other without condemnation, and (4) inhibition of automatic responses. Using the method of in-depth interviews and subsequent thematic and phenomenological data analysis, the authors were able to describe the mechanisms of mindfulness in intercultural communication in general and at each of the four analytical levels separately. The data obtained as a result of the analysis made it possible to reveal the content of each of the levels of mindfulness. Conclusions were also made about the content of the goals and values of intercultural communication, the motives for specific practices in the life and communication of informants. Methods for controlling reactivity in a situation of uncertainty in intercultural communication were analyzed and the roles of attitudes towards accepting the other without condemnation were described. The results of this study can serve as a basis for the development of an integrative model that will describe the role of anxiety and uncertainty in intercultural communication and allow the data to be operationalized into measuring scales for quantitative research in the field of assessing the role of mindfulness in intercultural communication.

Theta low-gamma phase amplitude coupling in the human orbitofrontal cortex increases during a conflict-processing task

Objective. The human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in automatic response inhibition and conflict processing, but the mechanism of frequency-specific power changes that control these functions is unknown. Theta and gamma activity have been independently observed in the OFC during conflict processing, while theta–gamma interactions in other brain areas have been noted primarily in studies of memory. Within the OFC, it is possible that theta–gamma phase amplitude coupling (PAC) drives conflict processing. This study aims to characterize the coupled relationship between theta and gamma frequency bands in the OFC during conflict processing using a modified Stroop task. Approach. Eight epilepsy patients implanted with OFC stereotactic electroencephalography electrodes participated in a color-word modified Stroop task. PAC between theta phase and gamma amplitude was assessed to determine the timing and magnitude of neural oscillatory changes. Group analysis was conducted using a non-parametric cluster-permutation t-test on coherence values. Main results. Theta-low gamma (LG) PAC significantly increased in five out of eight patients during successful trials of the incongruent condition compared with the congruent condition. Significant increases in theta-LG PAC were most prominent during cue processing 200–800 ms after cue presentation. On group analysis, trial-averaged mean theta-LG PAC was statistically significantly greater in the incongruent condition compared to the congruent condition (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.51). Significance. For the first time, we report that OFC theta phase and LG amplitude coupling increases during conflict resolution. Given the delayed onset after cue presentation, OFC theta-LG PAC may contribute to conflict processing after conflict detection and before motor response. This explanation follows the hypothesis that global theta waves modulate local gamma signals. Understanding this relationship within the OFC will help further elucidate the neural mechanisms of human conflict resolution.

A neural habituation account of the negative compatibility effect.

The negative compatibility effect (NCE) is the finding of slower reaction times (RTs) to report the direction of a target arrow following a subliminal prime arrow pointed in the same direction. The NCE is commonly thought to reflect automatic response inhibition, and on this assumption, it has recently been used to assess various motor disorders. Here we propose a fundamentally different account of the NCE: one that relates the NCE to a broader class of paradigms that reveal behavioral deficits with repetition priming. We propose that the NCE is a "cognitive aftereffect," as explained with the neural habituation model of Huber and O'Reilly (2003). To identify the underlying perceptual dynamics by reducing the role of response preparation, we developed a novel variant of the NCE task with threshold accuracy rather than RT as the dependent measure. This revealed a transition from positive to negative priming as a function of prime duration, and a second experiment ruled out response priming. The perceptual dynamics of the neural habituation model were fit to these results and then fixed in applying the model to the NCE literature. Application of the model to RTs added a response layer that accumulates response information throughout the trial. With this addition, the model captured results found in the NCE literature that are inconsistent with a response inhibition account. Situations that produce a positive compatibility effect, rather than an NCE, were explained as response priming, whereas NCE effects were explained as a cognitive aftereffect, rooted in perceptual dynamics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Negative affordance effect: automatic response inhibition triggered by handle orientation of non-target object

Habituated response tendency associated with affordance of an object is automatically inhibited if this affordance cue is extracted from a non-target object. This study presents two go/no-go experiments investigating whether this response control operates in response selection processes and whether it is linked to conflict-monitoring mechanisms. In the first experiment, the participants performed responses with one hand, and in the second experiment, with two hands. In addition, both experiments consisted of two blocks with varying frequency of go conditions (25%-go vs. 75%-go). The non-target-related response inhibition effect was only observed in Experiment 2 when the task required selecting between two hands. Additionally, the results did not reveal patterns typically related to conflict monitoring when go-frequency is manipulated and when a stimulus–response compatibility effect is examined relative to congruency condition of the previous trial. The study shows that the non-target-related response inhibition assists hand selection and is relatively resistant to conflict-monitoring processes.

Adaptive Working Memory Training Can Improve Executive Functioning and Visuo-Spatial Skills in Children With Pre-term Spastic Diplegia.

Pre-term spastic diplegia (pSD) due to periventricular leukomalacia is a form of cerebral palsy in which weaknesses in executive functions are reported beyond the core visuo-spatial deficits. The study aimed at improving executive functioning and visuo-spatial skills with an evidence-based training focused on working memory in children with pSD. The intervention study followed a stepped wedge design. 19 children with pSD (11 female and 8 male; age range: 4;1–13;1 years), mild to moderate upper limb impairment and Verbal Intelligence Quotient (VIQ) >80 participated to the study. The children were trained with a home-based adaptive working memory training (CogMed®) over a 5-week period. The primary outcome measure was the CogMed Improvement index; pre- and post-test explorative neuropsychological assessment was conducted with a subset of tests from the NEPSY-II battery. Working memory training in children with pSD significantly improved trained working memory abilities (CogMed indices) as well as non-trained skills, such as visuo-spatial skills, inhibition of automatic responses and phonological processing. The results suggest that standard rehabilitation schedules for children with pSD should be integrated with trainings on executive functions.

Beta-band modulation in the human hippocampus during a conflict response task

Objective. Identify the role of beta-band (13–30 Hz) power modulation in the human hippocampus during conflict processing. Approach. We investigated changes in the spectral power of the beta band (13–30 Hz) as measured by depth electrode leads in the hippocampus during a modified Stroop task in six patients with medically refractory epilepsy. Previous work done with direct electrophysiological recordings in humans has shown hippocampal theta-band (3–8 Hz) modulation during conflict processing. Local field potentials sampled at 2 k Hz were used for analysis and a non-parametric cluster-permutation t-test was used to identify the time period and frequency ranges of significant power change during cue processing (i.e. post-stimulus, pre-response). Main results. In five of the six patients, we observe a statistically significant increase in hippocampal beta-band power during successful conflict processing in the incongruent trial condition (cluster-based correction for multiple comparisons, p < 0.05). There was no significant beta-band power change observed during the cue-processing period of the congruent condition in the hippocampus of these patients. Significance. The beta-power changes during conflict processing represented here are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the hippocampus plays a role in conflict processing, but it is the first time that the beta band has been shown to be involved in humans with direct electrophysiological evidence. We propose that beta-band modulation plays a role in successful conflict detection and automatic response inhibition in the human hippocampus as studied during a conflict response task.

The impact of music training on inhibition control, phonological processing, and motor skills in kindergarteners: a randomized control trial

ABSTRACT This study explores how music training impacts the development of inhibition control, phonological processing, and gross and fine motor skills in preschoolers. In a randomized controlled trial, 160 kindergarteners in a music programme, a motor programme, or a control group were examined. Children in the two experimental conditions took part in 19 weekly 40-minute sessions. At pretest and post-test, inhibition control and phonological processing were measured with two subtests from the NEPSY-II. Gross and fine motricity were assessed with the BOT-2 Short Form. Post-test results showed that children in the music condition improved significantly on automatic response inhibition. Phonological processing skills did not differ significantly between the two experimental conditions, but the music condition produced significant improvements over control. These findings corroborate previous evidence that music training contributes substantially to develop executive function and phonological awareness in preschoolers.

Flanker Task-Elicited Event-Related Potential Sources Reflect Human Recombinant Erythropoietin Differential Effects on Parkinson’s Patients

We used EEG source analysis to identify which cortical areas were involved in the automatic and controlled processes of inhibitory control on a flanker task and compared the potential efficacy of recombinant-human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on the performance of Parkinson's Disease patients. The samples were 18 medicated PD patients (nine of them received rHuEPO in addition to their usual anti-PD medication through random allocation and the other nine patients were on their regular anti-PD medication only) and 9 age and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) who completed the flanker task with simultaneous EEG recordings. N1 and N2 event-related potential (ERP) components were identified and a low resolution tomography (LORETA) inverse solution was employed to localize the neural generators. Reaction times and errors were increased for the incongruent flankers for PD patients compared to controls. EEG source analysis identified an effect of rHuEPO on the lingual gyri for the early N1 component. N2-related sources in middle cingulate and precuneus were associated with the inhibition of automatic responses evoked by incongruent stimuli differentiated PD and HCs. From our results rHuEPO seems to mediate an effect on N1 sources in lingual gyri but not on behavioural performance. N2-related sources in middle cingulate and precuneus were evoked by incongruent stimuli differentiated PD and HCs.

Executive Skills Questionnaire: estudio preliminar de propiedades psicométricas en una muestra española

Introducción. Las funciones ejecutivas son un conjunto de procesos cognitivos de orden superior que dirigen nuestra conducta y cognición, estando al servicio de una meta que hemos fijado previamente.Objetivo e hipótesis de investigación. En este contexto nos proponemos analizar las propiedades psicométricas del Executive Skills Questionnaire - teen version (Dawson, &amp; Gaure, 2010), en una muestra española - - fiabilidad: (consistencia interna) y validez - estructura interna (análisis factorial). La hipótesis de investigación que subyace a la misma es que Executive Skills Questionnaire –teen version versión adaptada al castellano presenta unas adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para ser aplicado en la práctica profesional.Resultados. Existe una clara independencia en la edad adulta de las dimensiones: memoria de trabajo, inhibición de respuestas automáticas y atención sostenida. Los resultados indican que las dimensiones que configuran el funcionamiento ejecutivo - con independencia del número de factores –se pueden agrupar en relación a dos grandes ámbitos - frías versus calientes - en función de la implicación o no del procesamiento emocional. Por otro lado, existe una clara independencia de la memoria de trabajo e inhibición de respuestas automáticas.Conclusiones. Los resultados obtenidos de este estudio preliminar nos permiten afirmar queExecutive Skills Questionnaire - teen version es un instrumento válido y fiable en la evaluación de las funciones ejecutivas, no obstante, incidir que no puede ser utilizado para diagnosticar déficits de manera independiente y/o aislada.

Preserving executive functions in nondominant frontal lobe glioma surgery: an intraoperative tool.

The goal of surgery for gliomas is maximal tumor removal while preserving the patient's full functional integrity. At present during frontal tumor removal, this goal is mostly achieved, although the risk of impairing the executive functions (EFs), and thus the quality of life, remains significant. The authors investigated the accuracy of an intraoperative version of the Stroop task (iST), adapted for intraoperative mapping, to detect EF-related brain sites by evaluating the impact of the iST brain mapping on preserving functional integrity following a maximal tumor resection. Forty-five patients with nondominant frontal gliomas underwent awake surgery; brain mapping was used to establish the functional boundaries for the resection. In 18 patients language, praxis, and motor functions, but not EFs (control group), were mapped intraoperatively at the cortical-subcortical level. In 27 patients, in addition to language, praxis, and motor functions, EFs were mapped with the iST at the cortical-subcortical level (Stroop group). In both groups the EF performance was evaluated preoperatively, at 7 days and 3 months after surgery. The iST was successfully administered in all patients. Consistent interferences, such as color-word inversion/latency, were obtained by stimulating precise white matter sites below the inferior and middle frontal gyri, anterior to the insula and over the putamen, and these were used to establish the posterior functional limit of the resection. Procedures implemented with iST dramatically reduced the EF deficits at 3 months. The EOR was similar in Stroop and control groups. Brain mapping with the iST allows identification and preservation of the frontal lobe structures involved in inhibition of automatic responses, reducing the incidence of postoperative EF deficits and enhancing the further posterior and inferior margin of tumor resection.

How is perception of time associated with cognitive functioning? The relationship between time perspective and executive control

The aim of the present studies was to examine the relationship between time perspective and executive control. In two studies, executive control was assessed with tasks that require deliberate inhibition of automatic responses (antisaccade and go/no-go) and time perspective was assessed with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Additionally, in the first study, we controlled for intelligence and personality, whereas, in the second study, stress states were measured during task performance. Study 1 (N = 233) showed that Present Fatalism was negatively correlated with the antisaccade task. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated that the association between Present Fatalism and executive control was partly due to their shared variance with fluid intelligence. Study 2 (N = 128) explored the potential mediating role of test-related stress states in the relationship between executive control and time perspective. We found that different stress states mediated the relation between cognitive performance a...

Neurocognitive functions in inpatient suicide attempters and non-attempters: A comparison

IntroductionAccording to many studies, suicide attempters, compared to healthy general population, exhibit some neurocognitive deficits, which are considered promising endophenotype of suicidal behavior disorder. A similar pattern of impairment is widespread in individuals affected by psychiatric disorders.ObjectivesTo compare neurocognitive functions of hospitalized suicide attempters (A) with those of an inpatient group without history of suicidal behavior (NA), likewise affected by psychiatric disorders.AimsThe purpose of the study is to evaluate if neurocognitive impairment is associated to suicidal behaviors, regardless of underlying psychiatric diagnosis.MethodsThe whole sample is composed of 70 adult psychiatric inpatients (34 males, 36 females), divided into two groups (A and NA) of 35 patients with diagnosis of Psychotic, affective and personality disorders. Neurocognitive functions were assessed using Tower of London Test (TOL), Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (MCST), Stroop Test (ST) and Attentional Matrices (AM). Differences between A and NA groups were analyzed using U-test of Mann–Whitney and cross tabulations, taking into account the three diagnostic areas.ResultsStatistically significant differences were found between A and NA with regard to the ability of categorization (MCST), planning, problem solving and inhibition of automatic response (TOL), which proved to be more preserved in A individuals. No significant differences were found on selective attention tasks (ST and AM).ConclusionsThese preliminary findings show statistically significant differences on executive functions between suicide attempters and psychiatric non-attempter individuals. Further research on larger samples is needed to investigate these associations.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

On the automaticity of response inhibition in individuals with alcoholism

Background and objectivesResponse inhibition is usually considered a hallmark of executive control. However, recent work indicates that stop performance can become associatively mediated (‘automatic’) over practice. This study investigated automatic response inhibition in sober and recently detoxified individuals with alcoholism.. MethodsWe administered to forty recently detoxified alcoholics and forty healthy participants a modified stop-signal task that consisted of a training phase in which a subset of the stimuli was consistently associated with stopping or going, and a test phase in which this mapping was reversed. ResultsIn the training phase, stop performance improved for the consistent stop stimuli, compared with control stimuli that were not associated with going or stopping. In the test phase, go performance tended to be impaired for old stop stimuli. Combined, these findings support the automatic inhibition hypothesis. Importantly, performance was similar in both groups, which indicates that automatic inhibitory control develops normally in individuals with alcoholism.. LimitationsThis finding is specific to individuals with alcoholism without other psychiatric disorders, which is rather atypical and prevents generalization. Personalized stimuli with a stronger affective content should be used in future studies. ConclusionsThese results advance our understanding of behavioral inhibition in individuals with alcoholism. Furthermore, intact automatic inhibitory control may be an important element of successful cognitive remediation of addictive behaviors..

Executive function is affected in autism spectrum disorder, but does not correlate with intelligence

IntroductionStudies of executive function in autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability (ASD-WID) patients are contradictory. We assessed a wide range of executive functioning cognitive domains in a sample of children and adolescents with ASD-WID and compared them with age-, sex-, and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched healthy controls. MethodsTwenty-four ASD-WID patients (mean age 12.8±2.5 years; 23 males; mean IQ 99.20±18.81) and 32 healthy controls (mean age 12.9±2.7 years; 30 males; mean IQ 106.81±11.02) were recruited. ResultsStatistically significant differences were found in all cognitive domains assessed, with better performance by the healthy control group: attention (U=185.0; p=0.0005; D=0.90), working memory (T51.48=2.597; p=0.006; D=0.72), mental flexibility (U=236.0; p=0.007; D=0.67), inhibitory control (U=210.0; p=0.002; D=0.71), and problem solving (U=261.0; p=0.021; D=0.62). These statistically significant differences were also found after controlling for IQ. ConclusionChildren and adolescents with ASD-WID have difficulties transforming and mentally manipulating verbal information, longer response latency, attention problems (difficulty set shifting), trouble with automatic response inhibition and problem solving, despite having normal IQ. Considering the low executive functioning profile found in those patients, we recommend a comprehensive intervention including work on non-social problems related to executive cognitive difficulties.

The development of automatic emotion regulation in an implicit emotional Go/NoGo paradigm and the association with depressive symptoms and anhedonia during adolescence

Impaired automatic emotion regulation (AER) is closely related to major depressive disorder. Our research in adults has identified two AER-related components, Go N2 and NoGo P3, in an implicit emotional Go/NoGo paradigm. However, it is unclear whether Go N2 and NoGo P3 reflect the development of AER in adolescents and the relationship of these components with subclinical depressive symptoms and trait anhedonia. We collected EEG data from 55 adolescents while they completed the implicit emotional Go/NoGo task. After the experiment, the subjects completed the Chinese version of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Consistent with results in adults, we determined that Go N2 represents automatic top-down attention to emotions in Go trials, whereas NoGo P3 represents automatic response inhibition in NoGo trials. These AER components exhibited age-dependent improvement during adolescence. Additionally, NoGo P3 amplitudes elicited by viewing positive faces were positively correlated with trait anhedonia, whereas NoGo P3 amplitudes elicited by viewing negative faces were negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. Our observations provide further understanding of the neurodevelopmental mechanism of AER and yield new insight into dissociable impairments in AER in adolescents with major depressive disorder during positive and negative implicit processing.

Effect of Treating Anxiety Disorders on Cognitive Deficits and Behaviors Associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Preliminary Study.

Twenty-five percent of children with ADHD also have an anxiety disorder (AD). As per Quay and in light of Barkley's model, anxiety may have a protective effect on cognitive deficits and behaviors associated with ADHD. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of treating AD on cognitive deficits and behaviors associated with ADHD in children with both disorders. Twenty-four children with ADHD and AD were divided into two groups: treatment for AD, and wait list. Participants were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up with the ADIS-C, the CBCL, and neuropsychological measures. The results revealed a significant improvement in automatic response inhibition and flexibility, and a decrease in inattention/hyperactivity behaviors following the treatment for AD. No significant differences were observed in motor response inhibition, working memory, or attention deficits. The results do not seem to support Quay's hypothesis: treating AD did not exacerbate cognitive deficits and behaviors associated with ADHD in our sample.

Funciones ejecutivas: nociones del desarrollo desde una perspectiva neuropsicológica [Executive function: notions of development from a neuropsychological perspective

From a development perspective we can see how the children will be better able to control every self their own actions, responses and regulate their own behavior (self-regulation of behavior) or as a heteronymous moral pass to an autonomous morality. This capacity for self-regulation of behavior is linked to the development of other cognitive processes (working memory, planning, inhibition of automatic responses ...), all of them related to the same construct, executive functioning. In this paper we will discuss briefly how this construct has been conceptualized, focusing on one of the paradoxes that has dominated the literature in the last decade, which considers executive functioning as a unit while integrating a variety of independent functions, more specifically, the general lines of the hierarchical model proposed by Miyake and colleagues who identified three independent dimensions are integrated in executive functioning: attention flexibility, inhibitory control and working memory; consistent with this model, we analyze neurological substrate on which they are based; Finally, we compare different theories of the development of executive functioning with the hierarchical model proposed by Miyake and colleagues.

Cognitive deterioration and functional compensation in ALS measured with fMRI using an inhibitory task.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons, resulting in progressive weakness and muscle atrophy. Recent studies suggest that nondemented ALS patients can show selective cognitive impairments, predominantly executive dysfunction, but little is known about the neural basis of these impairments. Oculomotor studies in ALS have described deficits in antisaccade execution, which requires the implementation of a task set that includes inhibition of automatic responses followed by generation of a voluntary action. It has been suggested that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) contributes in this process. Thus, we investigated whether deterioration of executive functions in ALS patients, such as the ability to implement flexible behavior during the antisaccade task, is related to DLPFC dysfunction. While undergoing an fMRI scan, 12 ALS patients and 12 age-matched controls performed an antisaccade task with concurrent eye tracking. We hypothesized that DLPFC deficits would appear during the antisaccade preparation stage, when the task set is being established. ALS patients made more antisaccade direction errors and showed significant reductions in DLPFC activation. In contrast, regions, such as supplementary eye fields and frontal eye fields, showed increased activation that was anticorrelated with the number of errors. The ALS group also showed reduced saccadic latencies that correlated with increased activation across the oculomotor saccade system. These findings suggest that ALS results in deficits in the inhibition of automatic responses that are related to impaired DLPFC activation. However, they also suggest that ALS patients undergo functional changes that partially compensate the neurological impairment.