Switch Trials Research Articles

Cognitive control and conflict adaptation in youth with high‐functioning autism

Youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often show deficits in cognitive control processes, potentially contributing to characteristic difficulties monitoring and regulating behavior. Modification of performance following conflict can be measured by examining conflict adaptation, the adjustment of cognitive resources based on previous-trial conflict. The electrophysiological correlates of these processes can be measured using the N2, a stimulus-locked component of the event-related potential (ERP). High-density ERPs and behavioral data [i.e. response times (RTs) and error rates] were acquired while 28 youth with ASD and 36 typically developing controls completed a modified Eriksen flanker task. Behaviorally, groups showed similar conflict adaptation effects; youth with ASD showed larger RT slowing on switch trials. For electrophysiology, controls demonstrated larger N2 amplitudes for incongruent (high-conflict) trials following congruent (low-conflict) trials than for incongruent trials following incongruent trials. Importantly, youth with ASD showed no such differences in N2 amplitude based on previous-trial conflict. Lack of electrophysiological conflict adaptation effects in youth with ASD indicates irregular neural processing associated with conflict adaptation. Individuals with ASD show declines in level of conflict evaluation and adaptation. Future research is necessary to accurately characterize and understand the behavioral implications of these cognitive control deficits relative to diagnostic severity, anxiety, and personality.

Hemispheric asymmetries and cognitive flexibility: An ERP and sLORETA study

Although functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) affect all cognitive domains, their modulation of the efficacy of specific executive functions is largely unexplored. In the present study, we used a lateralized version of the task switching paradigm to investigate the relevance of hemispheric asymmetries for cognitive control processes. Words were tachistoscopically presented in the left (LVF) and right visual half field (RVF). Participants had to categorise the words either based on their initial letters, or according to their word type. On half of the trials the task changed (switch trials) whereas on the other half it stayed the same (repeat trials). ERPs were recorded and the neural sources of the ERPs were reconstructed using standardised low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). In the word type task, participants were faster on repeat trials when stimuli were presented in the RVF. In contrast, in the initial letter task participants were faster on repeat trials and in general more accurate after stimulus presentation in the LVF. In both tasks, no hemispheric asymmetries in reaction times were observed on switch trials. On the electrophysiological level, we observed a left lateralization of the N1 that was mediated by activation in the left extrastriate cortex as well as a greater positivity of the P3b after stimulus presentation in the RVF compared to the LVF that was mediated by activation in the superior parietal cortex. These results show that FCAs affect the neurophysiological correlates of executive functions related to task switching. The relation of neurophysiological and behavioural asymmetries is mediated by task complexity, with more complex tasks leading to more interhemispheric interaction and smaller left–right differences in behavioural measures. These findings reveal that FCAs are an important modulator of executive functions related to cognitive flexibility.

Neural correlates of changing intention in the human FEF and IPS

Previous research demonstrates that our apparent mental flexibility depends largely on the strength of our prior intention; changing our intention in advance enables a smooth transition from one task to another (e.g., Astle DE, Jackson GM, Swainson R. J Cogn Neurosci 20: 255-267, 2008; Duncan J, Emslie H, Williams P, Johnson R, Freer C. Cogn Psychol 30: 257-303, 1996; Husain M, Parton A, Hodgson TL, Mort D, Rees G. Nat Neurosci 6: 117-118, 2003). However, these necessarily rapid anticipatory mechanisms have been difficult to study in the human brain. We used EEG and magnetoencephalography, specifically event-related potentials and fields (ERPs and ERFs), respectively, to explore the neural correlates of this important aspect of mental flexibility. Subjects performed a manual version of a pro/antisaccade task using preparatory cues to switch between the pro- and antirules. When subjects switched their intention, we observed a positivity over central electrodes, which correlated significantly with our behavioral data; the greater the ERP effect, the stronger the subject's change of intention. ERFs, alongside subject-specific structural MRIs, were used to project into source space. When subjects switched their intention, they showed significantly elevated activity in the right frontal eye field and left intraparietal sulcus (IPS); the greater the left IPS activity on switch trials, the stronger the subject's change of intention. This network has previously been implicated in the top-down control of eye movements, but here we demonstrate its role in the top-down control of a task set, in particular, that it is recruited when we change the task that we intend to perform.

Functional Mechanism of Multiple Cerebral Cortices on Task Switching: an ERP Study

This paper aims to investigate the task switching ERPs under the conditions of foreknowledge and non-foreknowledge,by using "task-switching" paradigm and taking the classification of Chinese characters or digits as tasks.Participants performed two tasks consecutively which were either task repetition(AA,BB,…) or task switching(AB,BA,…) in the experiment.The results indicated that the predecessor tasks of digit/word and succedent tasks of digit/word all evoked a negative-going wave which was larger for switching trials compared to repeating trials under foreknowledge conditions,and the difference waves in central regions were N-D320.However,under non-foreknowledge conditions,the succedent tasks of digit/word in switching trials evoked a negative-going wave compared to repeating trials only,and the difference waves in central regions were also N-D320.The results of Dipole Source Localization Analysis to difference waves disclosed that the endogenous preparation derived from left temporal region(Left BA20);the exogenous adjustment derived from right parietal region(Right BA19) under foreknowledge conditions while it derived from left frontal region(Left BA47) and right frontal region(Right BA10) under non-foreknowledge conditions.These results suggested that the nature of task switching was cognitive conflict and the corresponding ERP component was D-N320.Under foreknowledge conditions,task switching was solely in charge of temporal and parietal regions successively.It was the advance preparation that made task switching accomplishment in primary cortex,whereas under non-foreknowledge conditions task switching was accomplished in wilder senior cortex and activates left frontal region and right frontal region at the same time.The cortex for endogenous preparation and exogenous adjustment was dissociative under foreknowledge and non-foreknowledge conditions.

Multiple Processes Underlying Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance: A Developmental Electrophysiological Investigation

Cognitive flexibility follows a protracted developmental trajectory [Morton, J. B. Understanding genetic, neurophysiological, and experiential influences on the development of executive functioning: The need for developmental models. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2010]. For example, performance and patterns of brain activity associated with the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) show continued age-related changes into early adolescence. According to many theoretical accounts, the DCCS places demands on a single underlying executive process. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that multiple processes unfold within the timeframe of a single DCCS trial through the use of ERPs. Children (n = 40), adolescents (n = 20), and adults (n = 20) performed a modified version of the DCCS with distinct instruction cue- and stimulus-related periods. On any particular trial, the sorting rule either changed (i.e., switch trials) or remained the same (i.e., repeat trials), and the imperative stimulus either embodied conflict (i.e., bivalent stimuli) or did not (i.e., univalent stimuli). Findings were consistent with the hypothesis that multiple distinct executive processes unfold within a single trial. First, for all age groups, rule switching and conflict processing made additive contributions to variability in RT. Second, ERPs time-locked to the instruction cue revealed a late frontal negativity whose amplitude was greater for switch trials relative to repeat trials and that was associated with the magnitude of the behavioral switch cost, whereas ERPs time-locked to the imperative stimulus revealed a fronto-central N2 whose amplitude was greater for bivalent than univalent stimuli and that was associated with the magnitude of the behavioral conflict cost. Finally, switch and conflict-related processes showed distinct developmental trajectories. Taken together, the findings suggest that multiple executive processes underlie DCCS performance and its development. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Task practice differentially modulates task-switching performance across the adult lifespan

Cued-trials task-switching paradigms have been used extensively to examine ageing-related changes in cognitive control. Many studies report an increase in mixing cost (i.e., cost of repeating the same task in a single-task vs. a mixed-task block) and a less reliable increase in switch cost (i.e., cost of switching vs. repeating tasks in a mixed-task block) in old as compared to young adults. However, there is substantial variability between studies in the emergence and size of age effects on mixing and/or switch cost. In this study, we examined variation in mixing cost and switch cost as a function of task practice and preparation interval across the adult lifespan (18–79 years) using a paradigm that promotes advance preparation and reduces cue encoding differences between switch and repeat trials. Both preparation interval and task practice modulated mixing cost and switch cost—but task practice mediated the effects of preparation interval and age differentially for mixing cost and switch cost. Mixing cost was consistently larger in older participants, reduced with preparation and varied little with task practice. In contrast, the effect of preparation interval on switch cost varied with task practice. Reduction in switch cost with preparation interval emerged in younger participants by the second practice session and even later in older participants. When fully practiced, older participants showed greater mixing cost but less switch cost than younger participants. Age effects on both mixing cost and switch cost were mediated by changes in processing of repeat trials, indicative of reduced differentiation between switch and repeat trials in mixed-task blocks. This is consistent with reduced cognitive flexibility with increasing age.

Preserved and impaired task‐switching abilities in non‐demented patients with Parkinson's disease

Existing studies on task switching in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have led to somewhat different results. In particular, it is unclear whether PD patients have a deficit in attentional control. In this study, we assessed task-switching abilities in samples of non-demented PD patients and elderly controls. We used a paradigm in which there was a random task sequence and the task was cued in every trial. This allowed the investigation of both task-set reconfiguration and task-set dissipation. In terms of the proportion of errors made, the patients showed increased switch cost and congruency effects. For reaction times, PD patients showed enlarged congruency effects on switch trials, specifically in the condition in which we used a short constant response-cue interval (RCI). Nevertheless, in a similar fashion to older controls, the patients showed reductions in reaction time switch cost from a short to a long cue-target interval (CTI) and from a short to a long RCI. While these latter findings, respectively, suggest unimpaired task preparation and task dissipation on correct trials in the PD patients, the overall results show that they have a deficit in biasing and selecting currently relevant task sets and more generally argue in favour of a failure of attentional control in PD.

Does Acute Exercise Switch Off Switch Costs? A Study With Younger and Older Athletes

This study investigated the effects of acute exercise on 53 young (16-24 years) and 47 older (65-74 years) adults' switch-task performance. Participants practiced sports requiring either low or high cognitive demands. Both at rest and during aerobic exercise, the participants performed two reaction time tasks that differed in the amount of executive control involved in switching between global and local target features of visual compound stimuli. Switch costs were computed as reaction time differences between switch and nonswitch trials. In the low demanding task, switch costs were sensitive only to age, whereas in the high demanding task, they were sensitive to acute exercise, age, and sport-related cognitive expertise. The results suggest that acute exercise enhances cognitive flexibility and facilitates complex switch-task performance. Both young age and habitual practice of cognitively challenging sports are associated with smaller switch costs, but neither age nor cognitive expertise seem to moderate the relationship between acute exercise and switch-task performance.

Switch to adalimumab in patients with Crohn's disease controlled by maintenance infliximab: prospective randomised SWITCH trial

BackgroundElective switching between anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents not necessarily dictated by efficacy or tolerability occurs in clinical practice. A study was undertaken to evaluate prospectively the impact of elective...

TMS of the right angular gyrus modulates priming of pop-out in visual search: combined TMS-ERP evidence

During priming of pop-out, performance at discriminating a pop-out feature target in visual search is affected by whether the target on the previous trial was defined by the same feature as on the upcoming trial. Recent studies suggest that priming of pop-out relies on attentional processes. With the use of simultaneous, combined transcranial magnetic stimulation and event-related potential recording (TMS-ERP), we tested for any critical role of the right angular gyrus (rANG) and left and right frontal eye fields (FEFs)-key attentional sites-in modulating both performance and the ERPs evoked by such visual events. Intertrial TMS trains were applied while participants discriminated the orientation of a color pop-out element in a visual search array. rANG TMS disrupted priming of pop-out, reducing reaction time costs on switch trials and speeding responses when the color of the pop-out target switched. rANG TMS caused a negativity in the ERP elicited in response to the visual stimulus array, starting 210 ms after stimulus onset. Both behavioral and ERP effects were apparent only after rANG TMS, on switch trials, and when the target in the visual search array was presented in the left visual field, with no effects after left or right FEF TMS. These results provide evidence for an attentional reorienting mechanism, which originates in the rANG and is modulated by the implicit memory of the previous trial. The rANG plays a causal role on switch trials during priming of pop-out by interacting with visual processing, particularly in the ipsilateral hemisphere representing the contralateral hemifield.

Diversity of the P3 in the task-switching paradigm

Electrophysiological studies investigating task switching usually reveal results of the parietal P3. In this study we investigated the frontal and parietal P3 after cues, targets and responses in a combined go/no-go task switch paradigm. We confirm behavioral findings showing reduction of switch costs after no-go trials. This was accompanied by a number of P3 findings: first, the cue-locked parietal P3 was increased after a switch relative to a repetition, regardless whether a go or no-go was previously required but the frontal counterpart was less positive after inhibited responses. Secondly, in the target-locked ERPs task-set switching decreased the P3 at parietal sites, while persisting inhibition from no-go in n-1 was associated with an attenuation of the frontal P3 relative to go in n-1. No impact of task set on the frontal P3 and response mode in n-1 on the parietal P3 was found, suggesting functional dissociation between task set switch and response mode in n-1. Thirdly, exactly the same pattern was observed in the response locked frontal and parietal P3. Fourthly, the task switch related parietal P3 attenuation after targets was also observed in current no-go trials, indicating task and response selection without response execution. No task switch effect on the frontal “no-go P3” was found. In sum, these results suggest that the cue-locked long-lasting P3 reflects task-set updating, whereas the post-target frontal P3 is associated with persisting response inhibition and parietal P3 is related to an after-effect of task-set activation in terms of response selection as it appears both in the target- as well as response-locked ERPs. Furthermore, the post-target parietal P3 effects are most likely due to N2 effects as a more pronounced N2 in switch trials the smaller the P3. A fronto-parietal network for an adaptive control of response requirements and task sets is proposed.

Neural bases of language switching in high and early proficient bilinguals

The left inferior frontal cortex, the caudate and the anterior cingulate have been proposed as the neural origin of language switching, but most of the studies were conducted in low proficient bilinguals. In the present study, we investigated brain areas involved in language switching in a sample of 19 early, high-proficient Spanish–Catalan bilinguals using a picture naming task that allowed contrasting switch and non-switch trials. Compared to the non-switching condition, language switching elicited greater activation in the head of the left caudate and the pre-SMA/ACC. When the direction of the switching was considered, the left caudate was more associated with forward switching and the pre-SMA/ACC with backward switching. The discussion is focused on the relevance of these brain structures in language control in early, high-proficient bilinguals, and the comparison with previous results in late bilinguals.

Challenging a decade of brain research on task switching: Brain activation in the task‐switching paradigm reflects adaptation rather than reconfiguration of task sets

In daily life, we permanently need to adapt our behavior to new task situations, requiring cognitive control. Such adaptive processes are commonly investigated with the task-switching paradigm. Many fMRI studies have interpreted stronger activation for switch than repeat trials in fronto-parietal brain areas as reflecting an active reconfiguration process in switch trials, tuning the cognitive system for proper task execution. From the single cell literature, however, one could deduce the alternative interpretation that switch-specific activity reflects reduced brain activity in repeat trials due to adaptation. These alternative explanations cannot be distinguished by simply comparing brain activity in switch and repeat trials. Therefore, we used a parametric approach to examine which interpretation is more powerful to account for the data. In all areas of the fronto-parietal network, adaptation explained the data better than reconfiguration. Therefore, our results call the classical reconfiguration interpretation into question and provide first evidence for adaptation of abstract task representations.

Activation of learned action sequences by auditory feedback

The present research addressed whether auditory feedback associated with a learned action sequence can activate the action representation of that sequence. Nonpianist participants learned to perform two melodies at a piano keyboard repeatedly during a trial. The participants heard feedback either from the melody they were performing (normal feedback) or from the other learned melody (termed alternate feedback). An additional tone functioned as an instruction cue to either switch melodies or continue the current melody. Following the instruction cues, participants typically paused just before switching, and paused similarly during trials with a continue cue. Participants paused longer after a continue cue when they experienced alternate rather than normal feedback. This effect was specific to instruction cues positioned at weak metrical accents--positions at which participants were less likely to switch overall. Feedback did not influence timing on switch trials. These findings indicate that influences of auditory feedback can activate learned action sequences, leading to longer latencies associated with cue evaluation.

The development of anticipatory cognitive control processes in task‐switching: An ERP study in children, adolescents, and young adults

To investigate the development of advance task-set updating and reconfiguration, behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded in children (9-10 years), adolescents (13-14 years), and young adults (20-27 years) in a cued task-switching paradigm. In pure blocks, the same task was repeated. In mixed blocks, comprised of stay and switch trials, two tasks were intermixed. Age differences were found for stay-pure performance (mixing costs) in the 600-ms but not in the 1200-ms cue-target interval (CTI). Children showed larger reaction time mixing costs than adults. The ERPs suggested that the larger costs were due to delayed anticipatory task-set updating in children. Switch-stay performance decrements (switch costs) were age-invariant in both CTIs. However, ERP data suggested that children reconfigured the task-set on some stay trials, rather than only on switch trials, suggesting the continued maturation of task-set reconfiguration processes.

Switch detection in preschoolers’ cognitive flexibility

The current study addressed the role of switch detection in cognitive flexibility by testing the effect of transition cues (i.e., cues that directly signal the need to switch or maintain a given task goal) in a cued set-shifting paradigm at 5 years of age. Children performed better, especially on switch trials, when transition cues were combined with traditional task cues (i.e., cues that directly signal the relevant task on a given trial) relative to conditions without transition cues. This effect was not influenced by explicit knowledge of transition cues or transition cue transparency, suggesting that transition cues did not need to be semantically processed to be beneficial. These findings reveal that young children’s difficulties in set-shifting situations stem partially from failures to monitor for the need to switch.

Comparing the efficacy of metronome beeps and stepping stones to adjust gait: steps to follow!

Acoustic metronomes and visual targets have been used in rehabilitation practice to improve pathological gait. In addition, they may be instrumental in evaluating and training instantaneous gait adjustments. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two cue types in inducing gait adjustments, viz. acoustic temporal cues in the form of metronome beeps and visual spatial cues in the form of projected stepping stones. Twenty healthy elderly (aged 63.2 ± 3.6 years) were recruited to walk on an instrumented treadmill at preferred speed and cadence, paced by either metronome beeps or projected stepping stones. Gait adaptations were induced using two manipulations: by perturbing the sequence of cues and by imposing switches from one cueing type to the other. Responses to these manipulations were quantified in terms of step-length and step-time adjustments, the percentage correction achieved over subsequent steps, and the number of steps required to restore the relation between gait and the beeps or stepping stones. The results showed that perturbations in a sequence of stepping stones were overcome faster than those in a sequence of metronome beeps. In switching trials, switching from metronome beeps to stepping stones was achieved faster than vice versa, indicating that gait was influenced more strongly by the stepping stones than the metronome beeps. Together these results revealed that, in healthy elderly, the stepping stones induced gait adjustments more effectively than did the metronome beeps. Potential implications for the use of metronome beeps and stepping stones in gait rehabilitation practice are discussed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00221-010-2531-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Foreknowledge of task-relevant information during task-set updating

Event Abstract Back to Event Foreknowledge of task-relevant information during task-set updating Mareike Finke1*, Francisco Barcelo2 and Carles Escera1 1 University of Barcelona, Spain 2 University of the Balearic Islands, Spain A task-cueing protocol was used to investigate the temporal influences of pre-cue information (foreknowledge) on task-switching performance. Task-relevant information was supplied either with the pre-cue or with target onset. This experimental design allowed us to manipulate the influence of foreknowledge as well as switch effects of cue and task (task repeat, cue switch, task switch) in order to research the time courses of goal activation and anticipation and task-set updating processes. The behavioral results revealed main effects for the Cue and Task factors, revealing slower reactions times (RT) for non-informative (NIpc) compared with informative precues (Ipc). The largest RTs were observed for trials including both a sensory and a task switch. A significant interaction between Cue and Task conditions was caused by an increase in RT for the sensory update similar to the switch trials for informative cues while it does not for uninformative cued trials. The event-related potentials (ERP) measured to visual cues revealed increased mean P1 amplitudes to NIpc. Goal activation and anticipation (Ipc vs. NIpc) and task-set updating processes (Ipc switch vs. repeat) differed in time in previous work (Jamadar et al., 2010) but occurred concurrently in our data. Enhanced frontal P2 amplitudes were found for switch cues compared to repeat cues and non-informative cues. Cue-locked P3 amplitude was also larger for Ipc compared to NIpc. The P2 sensibility due to task-set updating processes replicates previous work (West et al., 2010). Interestingly, the P2 could be not only a “change detector” (Brown et al., 2006; West et al., 2010) but the same component seems to be also modulated depending on whether anticipation is possible on the current information for task-set. Keywords: cognitive control, EEG, task-switching Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Performance Monitoring and Cognitive Control Citation: Finke M, Barcelo F and Escera C (2011). Foreknowledge of task-relevant information during task-set updating. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00259 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 21 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Mareike Finke, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, mfinke@ub.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Mareike Finke Francisco Barcelo Carles Escera Google Mareike Finke Francisco Barcelo Carles Escera Google Scholar Mareike Finke Francisco Barcelo Carles Escera PubMed Mareike Finke Francisco Barcelo Carles Escera Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Sequential planning in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

In the current study, we examined the planning abilities of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) by training them on a five-item list composed of coloured photographs and then testing them on switch and mask trials. In contrast to previous studies where monkeys made responses using a joystick, in the current study, monkeys made responses directly to a touch screen. On switch trials, after a response to the first list item, the on-screen positions of two list items were exchanged. Performance on trials in which the second and third list items were exchanged was poorer compared to normal (non-switch) trials for all subjects. When the third and fourth items were exchanged, however, only one subject continued to show performance deficits. On mask trials, following a response to the first item, the remaining items were covered by opaque white squares. When two items were masked, all four subjects responded to each masked item at a level significantly above chance. When three items were masked, however, only one subjected was able to respond to all three masked items at a level significantly above chance. The results of the present study indicate that three of our four monkeys planned one response ahead while a single monkey planned two responses ahead. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to previous studies on planning in chimpanzees and monkeys.

Task switching and shifting between stopping and going: Developmental change in between-trial control adjustments

This study set out to investigate developmental differences in the ability to switch between choice tasks and to shift between Go/NoGo and choice tasks. Three age groups (7-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and young adults) were asked to consider the shape or color of a bivalued target stimulus. The participants performed a switch task in which a cue signaled the task to be performed (i.e., respond to shape vs. respond to color) and a shift task in which a cue instructed them to make a choice reaction to the shape of the stimulus or to respond (Go) versus inhibit (NoGo) to the color of the stimulus. The ability to switch was examined by considering choice–choice switches versus choice–choice repeats. The ability to shift was examined by considering NoGo-to-choice shifts versus choice–choice repeats and NoGo-to-Go shifts versus Go–Go repeats. The results showed that responding on Go trials was delayed following response inhibition on a NoGo trial. This delay did not discriminate between age groups. Responding on choice trials was considerably slowed when following response inhibition on NoGo trials. This slowing decreased with advancing age. Finally, responses on switch trials were slower compared with repeat trials, and this slowing was disproportionately large in young children compared with the other two age groups. This pattern of findings was interpreted in terms of a generic mechanism involving between-trial control adjustments in the setting of response thresholds that are likely to be mediated by a complex neural network implicating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the presupplementary motor cortex.