Low Levels Of Cognitive Control Research Articles

Associations between preschooler screen time trajectories and executive function

ObjectivesTo examine associations between preschooler screen time trajectories and executive functions and effortful control at age 5. MethodsProspective, community-based convenience sample of 315 parents of preschoolers (54% male), studied at the ages of 3.5 (2020), 4.5 (2021), and 5.5 (2022). Parent-reported screen use at the ages of 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 was used to estimate preschooler screen use trajectories. Using latent growth modeling, we identified low (mean=.9 hrs/day, 23%), medium (mean=3.0 hrs/day, 56%), and high (mean=6.38 hrs/day, 21%) screen time groups.Children completed assessments of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility at age 5.5. Both tasks are from the NIH Toolbox. Parents reported child effortful control at the age of 3.5 and 5.5 using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, educational attainment, and parenting stress. ResultsChildren in the average (b =-5.24) and high (b=.9.30) screen time trajectories scored significantly lower on inhibitory control than those in the low screen time group. Children in the average and high screen time groups also scored higher than children in the low screen time group on cognitive flexibility (b =-4.50) and (b=-10.12), respectively. Finally, children in the average and high screen time groups scored lower than children in the low screen time groups on effortful control (b =-.41) and (b=-.61), respectively. ConclusionsThe present study shows that stability in high levels of screen use is common among preschoolers and may forecast higher risk of cognitive difficulty and lower levels of cognitive control by the time of school entry. SummaryHigh levels of preschooler screen use were associated with lower scores on assessments of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and effortful control.

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.

Domains of the autism phenotype, cognitive control, and rumination as transdiagnostic predictors of DSM-5 suicide risk.

Suicide is a global health problem affecting both normative and clinical populations. Theoretical models that examine mechanisms underlying suicide risk across heterogeneous samples are needed. The present study explored core characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a sub-population at high risk of suicide, as well as two dimensional cognitive constructs, as potential transdiagnostic predictors of suicidal ideation in a clinically diverse sample. Participants (n = 1851, 62% female) aged 18 to 89 years completed online questionnaires assessing: social communication difficulties; insistence on sameness; cognitive control; and rumination. Forty-three percent of participants reported the presence of at least one neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric disorder. One third of the sample reported some suicidal ideation (SI), and 40 percent met the threshold for concern for depression. All hypothesized constructs were associated with SI and depression and, with the exception of rumination, contributed significantly to SI. Participants reporting SI returned significantly higher social communication difficulties and insistence on sameness, and lower levels of cognitive control than those reporting no-SI. The study was limited by the use of a cross-sectional sample assessed with self-report measures. All diagnoses were self-reported and the study was additionally limited by the use of a single item indicator of suicidal ideation. These findings support a role for constructs associated with the ASD phenotype and associated broad cognitive domains as potential risk factors underlying suicidal ideation in a large clinically diverse sample. Our findings suggest directions for future longitudinal research studies, along with specific targets for suicide prevention and clinical practice.

Impairments to Cognitive Control in Patients with Somatoform Disorders and Their Treatment

Objectives. To study impairments to cognitive control in patients with somatoform dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (somatoform disorder – SFD) and to assess the efficacy of the use of Recognan in the treatment of this pathology. Materials and methods. A total of 46 patients aged 18–45 years with SFD were studied. Histories were taken from all patients, who also underwent neurological examination and assessment of autonomic impairments. The severity of asthenic and emotional disorders were quantified using a subjective asthenia assessment scale (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, MFI-20), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Attention and impulsivity were quantified by the TOVA psychophysiological test. Patients of the study group were treated using Recognan (citicoline). The control group consisted of 30 essentially healthy people aged 18–45 years. Results. Patients with SFD were characterized by cognitive domain features which were most marked in the form of impaired attention. Psychological investigations demonstrated an increase level of anxiety. In addition, patients with SFD had lower levels of cognitive control of the emotions than members of the control group. The results of follow-up studies after courses of treatment indicated that the use of Recognan in the treatment of SFD was highly effective (improvements occurred in 67.4% of patients). Courses of treatment were followed by significant decreases in the severity of autonomic impairments and decreases in measures characterizing asthenia.

Bilingual Cortical Control of Between- and Within-Language Competition

The human capacity to master multiple languages is remarkable and leads to structural and functional changes in the brain. Understanding how the brain accommodates multiple languages simultaneously is crucial to developing a complete picture of our species’ linguistic capabilities. To examine the neural mechanisms involved in processing two languages, we looked at cortical activation in Spanish-English bilinguals in response to phonological competition either between two languages or within a language. Participants recognized spoken words in a visual world task while their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results revealed that between-language competition recruited a larger network of frontal control and basal ganglia regions than within-language competition. Bilinguals also recruited more neural resources to manage between-language competition from the dominant language compared to competition from the less dominant language. Additionally, bilinguals’ activation of the basal ganglia was inversely correlated with their executive function ability, suggesting that bilinguals compensated for lower levels of cognitive control by recruiting a broader neural network to manage more difficult tasks. These results provide evidence for differences in neural responses to linguistic competition between versus within languages, and demonstrate the brain’s remarkable plasticity, where language experience can change neural processing.

White matter fiber integrity of the saccadic eye movement network differs between schizophrenia and healthy groups.

Recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies suggest that altered white matter fiber integrity is a pathophysiological feature of schizophrenia. Lower white matter integrity is associated with poor cognitive control, a characteristic of schizophrenia that can be measured using antisaccade tasks. Although the functional neural correlates of poor antisaccade performance have been well documented, fewer studies have investigated the extent to which white matter fibers connecting the functional nodes of this network contribute to antisaccade performance. The aim of the present study was to assess the white matter structural integrity of fibers connecting two functional nodes (putamen and medial frontal eye fields) of the saccadic eye movement network implicated in poor antisaccade performance in schizophrenia. To evaluate white matter integrity, DTI was acquired on subjects with schizophrenia and two comparison groups: (a) behaviorally matched healthy comparison subjects with low levels of cognitive control (LCC group), and (b) healthy subjects with high levels of cognitive control (HCC group). White matter fibers were tracked between functional regions of interest generated from antisaccade fMRI activation maps, and measures of diffusivity were quantified. The results demonstrated lower white matter integrity in the schizophrenia group than in the HCC group, but not the LCC group who showed similarly poor cognitive control performance. Overall, the results suggest that these alterations are not specific to the disease process of schizophrenia, but may rather be a function of uncontrolled cognitive factors that are concomitant with the disease but also observed in some healthy people.

Worry and cognitive control predict course trajectories of anxiety in older adults with late-life depression

BackgroundMany older adults with depressive disorder manifest anxious distress. This longitudinal study examines the predictive value of worry as a maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategy, and resources necessary for successful emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive control and resting heart rate variability [HRV]) for the course of anxiety symptoms in depressed older adults. Moreover, it examines whether these emotion regulation variables moderate the impact of negative life events on severity of anxiety symptoms. MethodsData of 378 depressed older adults (CIDI) between 60 and 93 years (of whom 144 [41%] had a comorbid anxiety disorder) from the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Adults (NESDO) were used. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling was used to identify different course trajectories of six-months BAI scores. Univariable and multivariable longitudinal associations of worry, cognitive control and HRV with symptom course trajectories were assessed. ResultsWe identified a course trajectory with low and improving symptoms (57.9%), a course trajectory with moderate and persistent symptoms (33.5%), and a course trajectory with severe and persistent anxiety symptoms (8.6%). Higher levels of worry and lower levels of cognitive control predicted persistent and severe levels of anxiety symptoms independent of presence of anxiety disorder. However, worry, cognitive control and HRV did not moderate the impact of negative life events on anxiety severity. ConclusionsWorry may be an important and malleable risk factor for persistence of anxiety symptoms in depressed older adults. Given the high prevalence of anxious depression in older adults, modifying worry may constitute a viable venue for alleviating anxiety levels.

Selective attention moderates the relationship between attentional capture by signals of nondrug reward and illicit drug use

BackgroundThe current study examined whether cognitive control moderates the association between (non-drug) reward-modulated attentional capture and use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD). MethodsParticipants were 66 university students who completed an assessment including questions about AOD use, a visual search task to measure value-modulated attentional capture, and a goal-directed selective attention task as a measure of cognitive control. ResultsThe association between the effect of value-modulated attentional capture and illicit drug use was moderated by level of cognitive control. Among participants with lower levels of cognitive control, value-modulated attentional capture was associated with illicit drug use. This was not the case among participants with higher levels of cognitive control, who instead showed a significant association between illicit drug use and self-reported impulsivity, as well as alcohol use. ConclusionsThese results provide support for models that view addictive behaviours as resulting from interaction and competition between automatic and more reflective processes. That is, the mechanisms that ultimately drive addictive behaviour may differ between people low or high in cognitive control. This has important implications for understanding the development and maintenance of substance use disorders and potentially their treatment and prevention.

Moderators of age effects on attention bias toward threat and its association with anxiety

ObjectiveThe current study used a research domain criteria (RDoC) approach to assess age differences in multiple indicators of attention bias and its ties to anxiety, examining stimulus domain and cognitive control as moderators of older adults’ oft-cited positivity effect (bias towards positive and away from negative stimuli, when compared to younger adults). Method38 Younger adults and 38 older adults were administered a battery of cognitive control and trait and state anxiety measures, and completed a dot-probe task to assess attention bias, during which reaction time and fixation duration (using eye-tracking) were recorded for negative and neutral social (a salient threat domain for younger adults) and physical (a salient threat domain for older adults) stimuli. ResultsMixed-effects models demonstrated that older adults were faster to react to dot-probe trials when the probe appeared in the place of negative (vs. neutral) physical stimuli, but displayed no difference in reaction time for social stimuli. Also, older (vs. younger) adults with lower levels of cognitive control were less negatively biased in their visual fixation to social stimuli. A negative reaction time attention bias on the dot-probe task predicted greater trait anxiety among participants with low levels of cognitive control, with a more complex pattern predicting state anxiety. ConclusionOlder adults do attend to social and physical stimuli differently. When stimuli concern a social threat, older adults do not preferentially attend to either neutral or negative stimuli. However, when stimuli concern physical threat, older adults preferentially attend to negative stimuli. Threat biases are associated with anxiety at all ages for those with low cognitive control.

White matter structural integrity differs between people with schizophrenia and healthy groups as a function of cognitive control

A behavioral hallmark of schizophrenia is poor cognitive control. Recent evidence suggests that problems with cognitive control in schizophrenia are related to disconnectivity along major white matter fibers. Although deficits of cognitive control are common in schizophrenia, a proportion of otherwise healthy subjects show poor cognitive control performance. The present study sought to address this potential confound by comparing white matter integrity between a group with schizophrenia and otherwise healthy individuals with either high or low levels of cognitive control (based on working memory span performance). Diffusion tensor imaging was used to evaluate white matter integrity in 24 participants with schizophrenia, 24 healthy participants with high cognitive control (HCC), and 25 healthy participants with low cognitive control (LCC). To test for differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) across major white matter fiber tracts, a voxelwise region of interest analysis was conducted in standardized brain space. In a separate analysis, regions of interest were manually drawn in native brain space to isolate superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), a tract implicated in cognitive control performance. The voxelwise analysis demonstrated widespread lower FA in the schizophrenia group compared to the HCC group. With a high degree of concordance, the manual ROI analysis revealed lower FA in the schizophrenia group compared to the HCC group. Taken together, these results provide evidence to suggest that structural differences identified between healthy groups and schizophrenia may not be entirely specific to the disease process and can vary as a function of cognitive control capacity in the comparison group.

Cognitive control moderates the association between emotional instability and alcohol dependence symptoms.

Previous research has linked emotional instability with problematic alcohol use. This may be a function of increased "hot" information processing (which is relatively automatic in nature and highly influenced by emotional states) for individuals with more emotional instability. According to dual-process models, cognitive control may attenuate the impact of emotional instability by preventing an overreliance on hot information processing. It was hypothesized that emotional instability would be positively associated with alcohol-related consequences, but that cognitive control would moderate this association. Participants were undergraduate students (n = 80) who endorsed drinking at moderate levels. Participants completed laboratory assessments of emotional instability, alcohol use and its consequences, and cognitive control. An observed variable path model examined the association between emotional instability and alcohol problems. Consistent with hypotheses, emotional instability was positively associated with alcohol consequences, and this relationship was moderated by cognitive control, at least for dependence symptoms. At low levels of cognitive control, there was a positive association between emotional instability and dependence symptoms (β = 0.514, p < .001), however, this association was attenuated and no longer significant at high levels of cognitive control (β = 0.095, p = .302). Emotional instability may promote alcohol dependence via an overreliance on hot information processing. Consistent with dual-process theory, this relationship is diminished among individuals with more cognitive control. Interventions focusing on increasing cognitive control may be effective in reducing alcohol pathology associated with emotional instability. (PsycINFO Database Record

Noninvasive transcranial direct current stimulation over the left prefrontal cortex facilitates cognitive flexibility in tool use

Recent neuroscience evidence suggests that some higher-order tasks might benefit from a reduction in sensory filtering associated with low levels of cognitive control. Guided by neuroimaging findings, we hypothesized that cathodal (inhibitory) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will facilitate performance in a flexible use generation task. Participants saw pictures of artifacts and generated aloud either the object's common use or an uncommon use for it, while receiving cathodal tDCS (1.5mA) either over left or right PFC, or sham stimulation. A forward digit span task served as a negative control for potential general effects of stimulation. Analysis of voice-onset reaction times and number of responses generated showed significant facilitative effects of left PFC stimulation for the uncommon, but not the common use generation task and no effects of stimulation on the control task. The results support the hypothesis that certain tasks may benefit from a state of diminished cognitive control.