Levels Of Cognitive Control Research Articles

Monitoring pilot trainees’ cognitive control under a simulator-based training process with EEG microstate analysis

The objective of pilot training is to equip trainees with the knowledge, judgment, and skills to maintain control of an aircraft and respond to critical flight tasks. The present research aims to investigate changes in trainees’ cognitive control levels during a pilot training process while they underwent basic flight maneuvers. EEG microstate analysis was applied together with spectral power features to quantitatively monitor trainees’ cognitive control under varied flight tasks during different training sessions on a flight simulator. Not only could EEG data provide an objective measure of cognitive control to complement the current subjective assessments, but the application of EEG microstate analysis is particularly well-suited for capturing rapid dynamic changes in cognitive states that may happen under complex human activities in conducting flight maneuvers. Comparisons were conducted between two types of tasks and across different training stages to monitor how pilot trainees’ cognitive control responds to varied flight task types and training stages. The present research provides insights into the changes in trainees’ cognitive control during a pilot training process and highlights the potential of EEG microstate analysis for monitoring cognitive control.

Slips of the tongue in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

BackgroundMotor and vocal tics are the main symptom of Gilles de la Tourette-syndrome (GTS). A particular complex vocal tic comprises the utterance of swear words, termed coprolalia. Since taboo words are socially inappropriate, they are normally suppressed by people, which implies cognitive control processes.MethodTo investigate the control of the unintentional pronunciation of taboo words and the associated processes of conflict monitoring, we used the “Spoonerisms of Laboratory Induced Predisposition” (SLIP) paradigm. Participants read multiple inductor word pairs with the same phonemes, followed by pronouncing a target pair with inverse phonemes. This led to a conflict between two competing speech plans: the correct word pair and the word pair with inverted phonemes. Latter speech error, a spoonerism, could result in a neutral or taboo word. We investigated 19 patients with GTS and 23 typically developed controls (TDC) and measured participants’ electroencephalography (EEG) during the SLIP task.ResultsAt the behavioral level less taboo than neutral word spoonerisms occurred in both groups without significant differences. Event-related brain potentials (ERP) revealed a difference between taboo and neutral word conditions in the GTS group at the midline electrodes in a time range of 250–400 ms after the speech prompt, which was not found in the TDC group. The extent of this effect depended on the number of inductor word pairs, suggesting an increasing level of cognitive control in the GTS group.ConclusionThe differences between taboo and neutral word conditions in patients with GTS compared to TDC suggest an altered recruitment of cognitive control processes in GTS, likely enlisted to suppress taboo words.

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.

Modelling situated intent for human-autonomy teaming: a human-centric approach

Entering an era where humans and synthetic agents are supposed to collaborate and cooperate, adequate models of human intent are crucial for coordinated teamwork. Unfortunately, although there is a need for such models, the concept of intent is ambiguous and approaches to model intent from a human-centric perspective are scarce. Building upon theoretical and methodological foundations, this study aims to address these gaps by presenting a conceptualisation of intent alongside an approach. Specifically, leveraging the six levels of cognitive control outlined in the Joint Control Framework, a provisional model of human intent alongside a defined and operationalised concept is presented. Building on these foundations, a novel approach is proposed. Utilising seven scenario-based interviews, the value of these contributions is demonstrated through an example case in the context of Manned-Unmanned Teaming. It is concluded that intent should be understood as a multi-faceted concept shaped by situated constraints, where intent is formed through a commitment to choices by context-situation and means-end reasoning. It is also concluded that the approach is useful, particularly since it can glean insights from choices considered and committed, both being essential in the design of synthetic teammates’ capability to adapt to their human partner’s agency.

Beyond traditional training: Integrating data from semi-immersive VR dual-task intervention in Parkinsonian Syndromes. A study protocol.

Completing cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously requires a high level of cognitive control in terms of executive processes and attentional abilities. Most of the daily activities require a dual-task performance. While walking, for example, it may be necessary to adapt gait to obstacles of the environment or simply participate in a conversation; all these activities involve more than one ability at the same time. This parallel performance may be critical in the cognitive or motor load, especially for patients with neurological diseases such as Parkinsonian Syndromes. Patients are often characterized by a crucial impairment in performing both tasks concurrently, showing a decrease in attention skills and executive functions, thus leading to increased negative outcomes. In this scenario, the accurate assessment of the components involved in dual-task performance is crucial, and providing an early specific training program appears to be essential. The objective of this protocol is to assess cognitive and motor components involved in dual-task performance and create a training program based on ecological activities focusing on executive and motor functions. Thus, we will employ Virtual Reality to provide semi-immersive, multisensory, ecological, standardized, and realistic experiences for rehabilitative purposes in patients with Parkinsonian Syndromes, considering its high prevalence in aging and the incidence of motor and cognitive dysfunctions in this population. Moreover, we propose to integrate the great amount of different data provided by dual-task and Virtual Reality system, using machine learning techniques. These integrations may increase the treatment's reliability in terms of better prognostic indexes and individualized training.

My synthetic wingman must understand me: modelling intent for future manned–unmanned teaming

With advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cognitive modelling, unmanned aircraft are expected to act as human-like wingmen in the near future. For fluent and effective manned–unmanned teaming, synthetic wingmen must be able to account for and adapt to their partners’ intent with little or no communication. To enable such abilities, it becomes crucial to identify the requirements that makes intent explainable to synthetic wingmen, necessitating approaches to describe and analyse intent from a human-centric perspective. To address this issue, this paper reports on findings from using Work Domain Analysis to design and analyse models of situated intent with six levels of cognitive control (frames, effects, values, generic, implementations, and physical). Through a literature review and seven subject matter expert interviews, a synthesized model was designed to represent fighter pilots’ intent in a manned–unmanned teaming scenario. Using the synthesized model as the context, a transfer of control and a link loss situation were further described and analysed. Experiences show that Work Domain Analysis can provide a practical and applicable means to model situated intent, particularly since designed models can be re-utilised to model intent in similar situations. Furthermore, the model analyses show the importance of accounting for fighter pilots’ adopted frames since small variations of the framing of the situations can propagate throughout the model resulting in conflicting or inconsistent intent. The paper concludes that synthetic wingmen must be able to reason about all six levels of cognitive control, requiring a more holistic approach to make intent explainable.

Assessment of the relationship between bilingualism indicators and indicators of cognitive and emotional development of children of senior preschool age

This article is devoted to assessing the relationship between indicators of bilingualism and indicators of cognitive and emotional development in preschool children. Various measures were used to assess the level of bilingualism, including active language proficiency, comprehension, and switching between languages. During the study, it was found that the level of auditory-verbal intelligence remained at an average level, although the level of visual working memory turned out to be higher in children studying in the Yakut language. Children who study in the Yakut language showed higher visual working memory scores. However, the levels of development of auditory-verbal working memory were at an average level. In children who study in the Yakut language, the auditory-verbal memory turned out to be lower compared to visual memory. In children studying in Russian, the auditory-verbal working memory was more highly developed, while the level of cognitive control associated with restraining momentary manifestations and reactions corresponded to the age norms. Physical control was at a fairly high level. Also, during the diagnostic process, data were obtained on the emotional development of children. Children who master the Russian language during the learning process showed better results.

How does background music affect drivers’ behaviours, emotions and mood behind the wheel?

The purpose of this study was to better understand how music listening impacts driving behaviours, two common activities. Driving behaviours were categorized into three levels of cognitive control (operational, tactical, and strategical) while the selection of the musical background experienced during simulated driving was left to participants. The following characteristics were considered as candidates to investigate driving behaviours changes: individual characteristics in terms of driving experience and music listener (i.e., individual sensitivity to music reward and frequency of music listening), music parameters (i.e., tempo, mode), and mood and emotional changes induced by music. Ninety-two drivers’ behaviours were analysed in a variety of simulated driving situations. The findings support the rationale that musical background has the potential to impact driving behaviours. Driving behaviours requiring an “operational” level of cognitive control were found to be the most influenced by the musical stimuli. Music listening was also found to generate mood and emotion changes, which can in turn influence driving behaviours, especially when the induced emotional valence is negative. However, background music's influence on driving behaviours, either direct or mediated by emotional or mood changes, seemed rather limited in terms of effect size.

The Involvement of the Multiple Demand and Default Mode Networks in a Trial-by-Trial Cognitive Control.

Adaptive behavior in the environment requires a high level of cognitive control to bias limited processing resources to behaviorally significant stimuli. Such control has been associated with a set of brain regions located in the fronto-parietal cortex (multiple demand network), whose activity was found to increase as the control demand for a task increases. In contrast, another set of regions, default mode network regions, were found to be deactivated during top-down processing of task stimuli. Despite this dissociation in their activation amplitudes, it is possible that activation patterns of these regions commonly encode specific task features. In two independent neuroimaging datasets, involving a total of 40 human samples, we found that the performance of an attentional task evoked positive activity of the MDN and deactivation of the DMN. Consistent with previous studies, task features could be decoded from the fronto-parietal cognitive regions. Importantly, the regions of the DMN also encoded task features when the task set had to be rapidly reconfigured in a transient, trial-by-trial manner, along with the MDN regions. These results suggest that the two separate brain networks ultimately co-ordinate for the effective establishment of top-down cognitive control.

Investigating Cognitive Control and Repetitive Thinking in Clinical Groups With Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Objective: Some theories state that a deficiency in cognitive control makes people more vulnerable to the occurrence of repetitive negative thoughts. The present study is aimed to investigate the association between cognitive control and repetitive thinking in major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Methods: Thirty people with major depressive disorder and 30 people with generalized anxiety disorder were selected by purposive sampling method from counseling and psychiatry centers in Shiraz City. Then, the Stroop and Wisconsin tests were performed and the questionnaires on rumination, worry, depression, and anxiety were completed. The obtained results were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results: The results showed that there was a negative and significant relationship between cognitive control and rumination in the depression group and worry in the generalized anxiety group. The level of cognitive control, rumination, and worry was not significantly different in cases with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, reducing attention control is considered a risk factor for repetitive thinking, including rumination and worry. The lack of significant difference in cognitive control, rumination, and worry can indicate common unified transdiagnostic components in these disorders.

Prospective memory: the combined impact of cognitive load and task focality

Prospective Memory (PM) entails a set of executive processes primarily associated with the activation of frontal and parietal regions. Both the number of PM-targets to be monitored (i.e. task load) and the relationship between the type of PM-targets and the ongoing (ONG) task (i.e. task focality) can impact executive monitoring and PM performance. In the present imaging study, we manipulated load and focality of an event-based PM task to test the hypothesis that common resources engage in situations requiring high levels of cognitive control: that is, in high-load (i.e. monitor multiple PM-targets) and non-focal conditions (i.e. monitor at the same time letters’ identity and color). We investigated monitoring-related and detection-related processes by assessing behavior and brain activity separately for ONG trials (monitoring) and PM-targets (detection). At the behavioral level, we found a significant interaction between load and focality during detection, with slowest reaction times for focal, high-load PM-targets. The imaging analyses of the detection phase revealed the activation of the left intraparietal sulcus in the high-load conditions. Both in the monitoring and the detection phases, we found overlapping effects of non-focality and low-load in the fusiform gyrus. Our results suggest that under low-load conditions, cognitive control operates via early selection mechanisms in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex. By contrast, high-load conditions entail control at later processing stages within the dorsal parietal cortex. We conclude that load and focality operate via different mechanisms, with the level of task load largely determining how cognitive control selects the most relevant information.

Cognitive control moderates the maturation of relational aggression in adults

Relational aggression (RA) is a covert form of social aggression consisting of reactive and proactive subtypes. Little is known about RA in adults, and less so about the association with cognitive control. We hypothesised greater levels of proactive but lower levels of reactive RA in adults with intact cognitive control. MethodsAn adult sample (N = 769) completed a cognitive control task and self-report RA survey. Two robust ANOVAs examined proactive and reactive RA levels between participants with intact and impaired levels of cognitive control, with the role of age in such associations explored in a post-hoc analysis. ResultsWe observed greater reactive but not proactive RA levels in established adults with impaired cognitive control. Further, younger participants tended to report higher levels of both RA subtypes. ConclusionsFindings support theories of cognitive control as a mitigating factor for RA and suggest the influence of age may be subordinate to developmental maturation and cognitive control.

Design of wireless battery management system monitoring and automated alarm system based on improved long short-term memory neural network.

The battery management system (BMS) can intelligently manage and maintain each battery unit while monitoring its status, thereby preventing any possible overcharge or over-discharge of the battery. In BMS research, battery state parameter collection and analysis are essential. However, traditional data collection methods require personnel to be present at the scene, leading to offline data acquisition. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a wireless BMS monitoring and alarm system based on socket connection that would enable researchers to observe the operating parameters and problem details of the battery pack from a distance. A device like this effectively raises the battery's level of cognitive control. In the study, the researchers first designed the overall scheme of the BMS remote monitoring system, followed by building a wireless BMS monitoring and alarm system. Performance evaluations of the system were then conducted to confirm its effectiveness. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network enhanced by the Batch Normalization (BN) technique was applied to the time series data of battery parameters to solve the large accuracy inaccuracy in battery state of charge estimate. Furthermore, the Denoise Auto Encoder (DAE) algorithm was utilized to denoise the data and reduce the model's parameter dependence. The accuracy and robustness of the estimation are improved, and the model error is gradually stabilized within 5%.

Deficits in cognitive control during alcohol consumption after bariatric surgery.

While bariatric surgery results in substantial weight loss, one negative side effect of surgery is that patients often experience more rapid and intense intoxication effects after consuming alcohol. Given that alcohol use has been associated with impaired cognitive functioning in the general population, this study examined whether acute alcohol consumption after bariatric surgery immediately led to impaired cognitive control, and whether this effect was impacted by baseline levels of cognitive control. Nonprofit teaching hospital, United States. Participants were 34 adults who attended a laboratory visit before and 1 year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, wherein they consumed a weight-based dose of alcohol and completed cognitive testing over the course of 3 hours. A series of generalized mixed-effect models demonstrated that performance on the cognitive task generally improved over time, likely due to practice effects. However, following bariatric surgery, individuals with impaired cognitive control before consuming alcohol experienced greater commission errors immediately afterward. These findings suggest that alcohol use after bariatric surgery may produce immediate deficits in inhibitory control among individuals who are already vulnerable to impaired cognitive control. Clinicians should seek to educate bariatric surgery candidates on this possible effect, as deficits in inhibitory control may ultimately lead to risky behaviors and poor adherence with postsurgical medical recommendations.

Effects of motor pacing on frontal-hemodynamic responses during continuous upper-limb and whole-body movements.

Advances in timing research advocate for the existence of two timing mechanisms (automatic vs. controlled) that are related to the level of cognitive control intervening for motor behavior regulation. In the present study, we used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) cutting-edge technique to examine the hypothesis that prefrontal inhibitory control is needed to perform slow motor activities. Participants were asked to perform a sensorimotor-synchronization task at various paces (i.e., slow, close-to-spontaneous, fast). We contrasted upper-limb circle drawing to a more naturalistic behavior that required whole-body movements (i.e., steady-state walking). Results indicated that whole-body movements led to greater brain oxygenation over the motor regions when compared with upper-limb activities. The effect of motor pace was found in the walking task only, with more bilateral orbitofrontal and left dorsolateral activation at slow versus fast pace. Exploratory analyses revealed a positive correlation between the activation of the orbitofrontal and motor areas for the close-to-spontaneous pace in both tasks. Overall, results support the key role of prefrontal cognitive control in the production of slow whole-body movements. In addition, our findings confirm that upper-limb (laboratory-based) tasks might not be representative of those engaged during everyday-life motor behaviors. The fNIRS technique may be a valuable tool to decipher the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying naturalistic, adaptive motor behaviors.

Task-irrelevant emotional faces impact BOLD responses more for prosaccades than antisaccades in a mixed saccade fMRI task

Cognitive control allows individuals to flexibly and efficiently perform tasks by attending to relevant stimuli while inhibiting distraction from irrelevant stimuli. The antisaccade task assesses cognitive control by requiring participants to inhibit a prepotent glance towards a peripheral stimulus and generate an eye movement to the mirror image location. This task can be administered with various contextual manipulations to investigate how factors such as trial timing or emotional content interact with cognitive control. In the current study, 26 healthy adults completed a mixed antisaccade and prosaccade fMRI task that included task irrelevant emotional faces and gap/overlap timing. The results showed typical antisaccade and gap behavioral effects with greater BOLD activation in frontal and parietal brain regions for antisaccade and overlap trials. Conversely, there were no differences in behavior based on the emotion of the task irrelevant face, but trials with neutral faces had greater activation in widespread visual regions than trials with angry faces, particularly for prosaccade and overlap trials. Together, these effects suggest that a high level of cognitive control and inhibition was required throughout the task, minimizing the impact of the face presentation on saccade behavior, but leading to increased attention to the neutral faces on overlap prosaccade trials when both the task cue (look towards) and emotion stimulus (neutral, non-threatening) facilitated disinhibition of visual processing.

The hidden cost of a smartphone: The effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control from a behavioral and electrophysiological perspective.

Since their release in 2007, smartphones and their use have seemingly become a fundamental aspect of life in western society. Prior literature has suggested a link between mobile technology use and lower levels of cognitive control when people engage in a cognitively demanding task. This effect is more evident for people who report higher levels of smartphone use. The current study examined the effects of smartphones notifications on cognitive control and attention. Participants completed the Navon Letter paradigm which paired visual (frequent and rare target letters) and auditory (smartphone and control sounds) stimuli. We found that overall, participants responded slower on trials paired with smartphone notification (vs. control) sounds. They also demonstrated larger overall N2 ERP and a larger N2 oddball effect on trials paired with smartphone (vs. control) sounds, suggesting that people generally exhibited greater levels of cognitive control on the smartphone trials. In addition, people with higher smartphone addiction proneness showed lower P2 ERP on trials with the smartphone (vs. control) sounds, suggesting lower attentional engagement. These results add to the debate on the effects of smartphones on cognition. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Debiasing the Disposition Effect with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: The Role of Cognitive Control

This study tests whether modulating a brain region associated with cognitive control using noninvasive brain stimulation affects the disposition effect. A participant trades stocks in an experimental asset market while their level of cognitive control is exogenously manipulated by applying weak current stimulation to a control-related cortical region. We find that the stimulation significantly affects the participant’s cognitive control and tendency to exhibit the disposition effect. This result is also obtained for financial professionals. We thus provide evidence that cognitive control is important for the disposition effect. This paper was accepted by Bruno Biais, finance. Funding: X. Niu acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72203132], Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong Province [Grant tsqn201909013], and Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province [Grant ZR2022QG048]. J. Li acknowledges financial support from the National Social Science Foundation of China [Grant 20AZD044], Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province [Grant ZR2022MG068], and Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of Shandong University [Grant 21RWZD15]. Q. Cao acknowledges financial support from the Social Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [Grant 21GLC006]. The authors also acknowledge financial support from the Major Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72192842]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4596 .

French Phonological Component Analysis and aphasia recovery: A bilingual perspective on behavioral and structural data.

Studies show bilingualism entails an advantage in cognitive control tasks. There is evidence of a bilingual advantage in the context of aphasia, resulting in better cognitive outcomes and recovery in bilingual persons with aphasia compared to monolingual peers. This bilingual advantage also results in structural changes in the right hemisphere gray matter. Very few studies have examined the so-called bilingual advantage by reference to specific anomia therapy efficacy. This study aims to compare the effect of French-Phonological Component Analysis (Fr-PCA) in monolinguals and bilingual persons with aphasia, both at the linguistic and cognitive control level, and to examine the structural impact of left hemisphere lesion location and right hemisphere structural data. Eight participants with chronic aphasia received Fr-PCA for a total of 15 h over 5 weeks. The results showed improved accuracy for treated words and generalization to untreated items and discourse in both groups, and improved Flanker task performance for some participants. Bilingual participants improved more than monolinguals for picture-naming tasks and narrative discourse. Damage to the left postcentral gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus was associated with less therapy-induced improvement. Additionally, left hemisphere damage to the inferior parietal gyrus and postcentral gyrus was associated with reduced cognitive control pre-therapy. Undamaged right hemisphere cortical thicknesses were significantly different between groups; the inferior frontal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus were greater for the bilingual participants and correlated with cognitive control skills. These results suggest a bilingual advantage in anomia recovery following Fr-PCA, potentially resulting from enhanced cognitive control abilities that could be supported by right hemisphere neural reserve.