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Zühlsdorff K, Dalley JW, Robbins TW, Morein-Zamir S. Cognitive flexibility: neurobehavioral correlates of changing one's mind. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:5436-5446. [PMID: 36368894 PMCID: PMC10152092 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral and cognitive flexibility allow adaptation to a changing environment. Most tasks used to investigate flexibility require switching reactively in response to deterministic task-response rules. In daily life, flexibility often involves a volitional decision to change behavior. This can be instigated by environmental signals, but these are frequently unreliable. We report results from a novel "change your mind" task, which assesses volitional switching under uncertainty without the need for rule-based learning. Participants completed a two-alternative choice task, and following spurious feedback, were presented with the same stimulus again. Subjects had the opportunity to repeat or change their response. Forty healthy participants completed the task while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participants predominantly repeated their choice but changed more when their first response was incorrect or when the feedback was negative. Greater activations for changing were found in the inferior frontal junction, anterior insula (AI), anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Changing responses were also accompanied by reduced connectivity from the AI and orbitofrontal cortices to the occipital cortex. Using multivariate pattern analysis of brain activity, we predicted with 77% reliability whether participants would change their mind. These findings extend our understanding of cognitive flexibility in daily life by assessing volitional decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Zühlsdorff
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- The Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
| | - Jeffrey W Dalley
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, United Kingdom
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
| | - Sharon Morein-Zamir
- School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, United Kingdom
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2
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Corticostriatal Regulation of Language Functions. Neuropsychol Rev 2021; 31:472-494. [PMID: 33982264 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-021-09481-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The role of corticostriatal circuits in language functions is unclear. In this review, we consider evidence from language learning, syntax, and controlled language production and comprehension tasks that implicate various corticostriatal circuits. Converging evidence from neuroimaging in healthy individuals, studies in populations with subcortical dysfunction, pharmacological studies, and brain stimulation suggests a domain-general regulatory role of corticostriatal systems in language operations. The role of corticostriatal systems in language operations identified in this review is likely to reflect a broader function of the striatum in responding to uncertainty and conflict which demands selection, sequencing, and cognitive control. We argue that this role is dynamic and varies depending on the degree and form of cognitive control required, which in turn will recruit particular corticostriatal circuits and components organised in a cognitive hierarchy.
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Wu T, Chen C, Spagna A, Wu X, Mackie M, Russell‐Giller S, Xu P, Luo Y, Liu X, Hof PR, Fan J. The functional anatomy of cognitive control: A domain‐general brain network for uncertainty processing. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:1265-1292. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.24804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Wu
- Department of Psychology, Queens CollegeThe City University of New York Queens New York
| | - Caiqi Chen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of PsychologySouth China Normal University Guangzhou China
| | - Alfredo Spagna
- Department of PsychologyColumbia University in the City of New York New York New York
| | - Xia Wu
- Faculty of PsychologyTianjin Normal University Tianjin China
| | - Melissa‐Ann Mackie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago Illinois
| | - Shira Russell‐Giller
- Department of Psychology, Queens CollegeThe City University of New York Queens New York
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive NeuroscienceShenzhen University Shenzhen China
| | - Yue‐jia Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive NeuroscienceShenzhen University Shenzhen China
| | - Xun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York New York
| | - Jin Fan
- Department of Psychology, Queens CollegeThe City University of New York Queens New York
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Kroczek LOH, Gunter TC. Distinct Neural Networks Relate to Common and Speaker-Specific Language Priors. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa021. [PMID: 34296098 PMCID: PMC8153046 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective natural communication requires listeners to incorporate not only very general linguistic principles which evolved during a lifetime but also other information like the specific individual language use of a particular interlocutor. Traditionally, research has focused on the general linguistic rules, and brain science has shown a left hemispheric fronto-temporal brain network related to this processing. The present fMRI research explores speaker-specific individual language use because it is unknown whether this processing is supported by similar or distinct neural structures. Twenty-eight participants listened to sentences of persons who used more easy or difficult language. This was done by manipulating the proportion of easy SOV vs. complex OSV sentences for each speaker. Furthermore, ambiguous probe sentences were included to test top-down influences of speaker information in the absence of syntactic structure information. We observed distinct neural processing for syntactic complexity and speaker-specific language use. Syntactic complexity correlated with left frontal and posterior temporal regions. Speaker-specific processing correlated with bilateral (right-dominant) fronto-parietal brain regions. Finally, the top-down influence of speaker information was found in frontal and striatal brain regions, suggesting a mechanism for controlled syntactic processing. These findings show distinct neural networks related to general language principles as well as speaker-specific individual language use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon O H Kroczek
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93053, Germany
| | - Thomas C Gunter
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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5
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Pekrul M, Seer C, Lange F, Dressler D, Kopp B. Flanker Task Performance in Isolated Dystonia (Blepharospasm): A Focus on Sequential Effects. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10020076. [PMID: 32024200 PMCID: PMC7071414 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10020076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Isolated dystonia manifests with involuntary muscle hyperactivity, but the extent of cognitive impairment remains controversial. We examined the executive functions in blepharospasm while accounting for motor symptom-related distractions as a factor often limiting the interpretability of neuropsychological studies in dystonia. Our control group comprised of patients with hemifacial spasm, which is a condition producing similar motor symptoms without any central nervous system pathology. Nineteen patients with blepharospasm and 22 patients with hemifacial spasm completed a flanker task. Stimulus congruency on the current trial, on the preceding trial, and a response sequence served as independent variables. We analyzed the response time and accuracy. Gross overall group differences were not discernible. While congruency, congruency sequence, and response sequence exerted the expected effects, no group differences emerged with regard to these variables. A difference between patients with blepharospasm and those with hemifacial spasm consisted in longer reaction times when responses had to be repeated following stimulus incongruency on the preceding trial. We conclude that patients with blepharospasm seem to have difficulties in repeating their responses when incongruency on preceding trials interferes with habit formation or other forms of fast routes to action. Our specific finding may provide an opportunity to study altered basal ganglia plasticity in focal dystonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Pekrul
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (C.S.); (F.L.); (D.D.); (B.K.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Caroline Seer
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (C.S.); (F.L.); (D.D.); (B.K.)
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- LBI—KU Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Florian Lange
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (C.S.); (F.L.); (D.D.); (B.K.)
- Behavioral Engineering Research Group, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dirk Dressler
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (C.S.); (F.L.); (D.D.); (B.K.)
- Movement Disorders Section, Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Bruno Kopp
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (C.S.); (F.L.); (D.D.); (B.K.)
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Keuken MC, Isaacs BR, Trampel R, van der Zwaag W, Forstmann BU. Visualizing the Human Subcortex Using Ultra-high Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Brain Topogr 2018; 31:513-545. [PMID: 29497874 PMCID: PMC5999196 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-018-0638-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
With the recent increased availability of ultra-high field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), substantial progress has been made in visualizing the human brain, which can now be done in extraordinary detail. This review provides an extensive overview of the use of UHF MRI in visualizing the human subcortex for both healthy and patient populations. The high inter-subject variability in size and location of subcortical structures limits the usability of atlases in the midbrain. Fortunately, the combined results of this review indicate that a large number of subcortical areas can be visualized in individual space using UHF MRI. Current limitations and potential solutions of UHF MRI for visualizing the subcortex are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Keuken
- Integrative Model-Based Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15926, 1001NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - B R Isaacs
- Integrative Model-Based Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15926, 1001NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - R Trampel
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - B U Forstmann
- Integrative Model-Based Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15926, 1001NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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7
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Zhan J, Jiang X, Politzer-Ahles S, Zhou X. Neural correlates of fine-grained meaning distinctions: An fMRI investigation of scalar quantifiers. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:3848-3864. [PMID: 28481027 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Revised: 04/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication involves successfully deriving a speaker's meaning beyond the literal expression. Using fMRI, it was investigated how the listener's brain realizes distinctions between enrichment-based meanings and literal semantic meanings. The neural patterns of the Mandarin scalar quantifier you-de (similar to some in English) which implies the meanings not all and not most via scalar enrichment, with the specific quantifier shao-shu-de (similar to less than half in English) which lexico-semantically encodes the meanings not all and not most, were compared. Listeners heard sentences using either quantifier, paired with pictures in which either less than half, more than half, or all of the people depicted in the picture were doing the described activity; thus, the conditions included both implicature-based and semantics-based picture-sentence mismatches. Imaging results showed bilateral ventral IFG was activated for both kinds of mismatch, whereas basal ganglia and left dorsal IFG were activated uniquely for implicature-based mismatch. These findings suggest that resolving conflicts involving inferential aspects of meaning employs different neural mechanisms than the processing based on literal semantic meaning, and that the dorsal prefrontal/basal ganglia pathway makes a contribution to implicature-based interpretation. Furthermore, within the implicature-based conditions, different neural generators were implicated in the processing of strong implicature mismatch (you-de in the context of a picture in which "all" would have been true) and weak implicature mismatch (you-de in the context of a picture in which "most" would have been true), which may have important implications for theories of pragmatic comprehension. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3848-3864, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Zhan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Linguistics (Ministry of Education), Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Xiaoming Jiang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Linguistics (Ministry of Education), Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Stephen Politzer-Ahles
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.,Key Laboratory of Computational Linguistics (Ministry of Education), Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
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8
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Uncertainty and expectancy deviations require cortico-subcortical cooperation. Neuroimage 2016; 144:23-34. [PMID: 27261161 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Revised: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In a dynamic and uncertain environment it is beneficial to learn the causal structure of the environment in order to minimize uncertainty. This requires determining estimates of probable outcomes, which will guide expectations about incoming information. One key factor in this learning process is to detect whether an unexpected event constitutes a low probability, but valid outcome, or an outright error. The present 7T-fMRI study investigated the role of subcortical structures in regulating this probabilistic inferential learning process. A new task was designed, in which participants learned to calculate the value, and therefore to anticipate the outcome of different visual sequences. Three types of sequences provided unambiguous, ambiguous, and incongruent contextual evidence and each sequence had two outcomes, which differed in their probability of occurrence. We hypothesized that subcortical regions are necessary when expectations are violated, and that their involvement will depend on the nature of the unexpected event. The results show increased dorsomedial striatal and thalamic activation for less probable sequences; in addition, ambiguous sequences also display larger activation in the red nuclei. Incongruent sequences displayed a pattern of subcortical activation restricted to the dorsolateral and the posterior dorsomedial striatum. These results confirm that different subcortical structures regulate uncertainty and expectancy deviations; this is crucial not only for learning to predict events in the environment, but also for flexible cognitive control in general.
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Jeon HA, Friederici AD. Degree of automaticity and the prefrontal cortex. Trends Cogn Sci 2015; 19:244-50. [PMID: 25843542 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2015] [Revised: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), with more anterior areas [Brodmann area (BA) 45, 47, and 10], has been known to be activated as cognitive hierarchy increases. However, this does not hold for highly automatic processes such as first language (L1), where the posterior region (BA 44) is known as the key area for the processing of complex linguistic hierarchy. Discussing this disparity, we propose that the degree of automaticity (DoA) is a crucial factor for the framework of functional mapping in the PFC: the posterior-to-anterior gradient system for more controlled processes and the posterior-confined system for automatic processes. We support this view with previous findings and provide a new perspective on the functional organization of the PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeon-Ae Jeon
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Leipzig, Germany
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10
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In favor of general probability distributions: lateral prefrontal and insular cortices respond to stimulus inherent, but irrelevant differences. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 221:1781-6. [PMID: 25523107 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0966-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 12/10/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A key aspect of optimal behavior is the ability to predict what will come next. To achieve this, we must have a fairly good idea of the probability of occurrence of possible outcomes. This is based both on prior knowledge about a particular or similar situation and on immediately relevant new information. One question that arises is: when considering converging prior probability and external evidence, is the most probable outcome selected or does the brain represent degrees of uncertainty, even highly improbable ones? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the current study explored these possibilities by contrasting words that differ in their probability of occurrence, namely, unbalanced ambiguous words and unambiguous words. Unbalanced ambiguous words have a strong frequency-based bias towards one meaning, while unambiguous words have only one meaning. The current results reveal larger activation in lateral prefrontal and insular cortices in response to dominant ambiguous compared to unambiguous words even when prior and contextual information biases one interpretation only. These results suggest a probability distribution, whereby all outcomes and their associated probabilities of occurrence--even if very low--are represented and maintained.
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