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Johnsen LK, Larsen KM, Fuglsang SA, Ver Loren van Themaat AH, Baaré WFC, Madsen KS, Madsen KH, Hemager N, Andreassen AK, Veddum L, Greve AN, Nejad AB, Burton BK, Gregersen M, Eichele H, Lund TE, Bliksted V, Thorup AAE, Mors O, Plessen KJ, Nordentoft M, Siebner HR. Executive Control and Associated Brain Activity in Children With Familial High-Risk of Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder: A Danish Register-based Study. Schizophr Bull 2024; 50:567-578. [PMID: 37756493 PMCID: PMC11059809 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbad134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES Impaired executive control is a potential prognostic and endophenotypic marker of schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP). Assessing children with familial high-risk (FHR) of SZ or BP enables characterization of early risk markers and we hypothesize that they express impaired executive control as well as aberrant brain activation compared to population-based control (PBC) children. STUDY DESIGN Using a flanker task, we examined executive control together with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 11- to 12-year-old children with FHR of SZ (FHR-SZ) or FHR of BP (FHR-BP) and PBC children as part of a register-based, prospective cohort-study; The Danish High Risk and Resilience study-VIA 11. STUDY RESULTS We included 85 (44% female) FHR-SZ, 63 (52% female) FHR-BP and 98 (50% female) PBC in the analyses. Executive control effects, caused by the spatial visuomotor conflict, showed no differences between groups. Bayesian ANOVA of reaction time (RT) variability, quantified by the coefficient of variation (CVRT), revealed a group effect with similarly higher CVRT in FHR-BP and FHR-SZ compared to PBC (BF10 = 6.82). The fMRI analyses revealed no evidence for between-group differences in task-related brain activation. Post hoc analyses excluding children with psychiatric illness yielded same results. CONCLUSION FHR-SZ and FHR-BP at age 11-12 show intact ability to resolve a spatial visuomotor conflict and neural efficacy. The increased variability in RT may reflect difficulties in maintaining sustained attention. Since variability in RT was independent of existing psychiatric illness, it may reflect a potential endophenotypic marker of risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Line Korsgaard Johnsen
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kit Melissa Larsen
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren Asp Fuglsang
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Hester Ver Loren van Themaat
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - William Frans Christiaan Baaré
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kathrine Skak Madsen
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Radiography, Department of Technology, University College Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristoffer Hougaard Madsen
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nicoline Hemager
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Mental Health Services, Capital Region, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Anna Krogh Andreassen
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Services, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lotte Veddum
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Services, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Aja Neergaard Greve
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Services, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ayna Baladi Nejad
- Medical and Science, Clinical Drug Development, Novo Nordisk A/S, Greater Copenhagen area, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Klee Burton
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Psychiatry Region Zealand, Roskilde, Denmark
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maja Gregersen
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Mental Health Services, Capital Region, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Heike Eichele
- Division of Psychiatry, Regional Resource Centre for Autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome Western Norway, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Torben E Lund
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Vibeke Bliksted
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Services, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Anne Amalie Elgaard Thorup
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ole Mors
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Services, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- The Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kerstin Jessica Plessen
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, The University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Mental Health Services, Capital Region, Denmark
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Hartwig Roman Siebner
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark
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García-Orza J, Gutiérrez-Cordero I, Rodríguez-Montenegro I, Álvarez-Montesinos JA. Children's comparison of different-length numbers: Managing different attributes in multidigit number processing. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 240:105827. [PMID: 38194820 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
In everyday life the comparison of numbers usually occurs between numbers with different numbers of digits. However, experimental research here is scarce. Recent research has shown that adults respond faster to congruent pairs (the initial digit in the number with more digits is larger, e.g., 2384 vs. 107) than to incongruent pairs (the initial digit is larger in the number with fewer digits, e.g., 2675 vs. 398). This has been interpreted as support for the processing of multiple attributes in parallel and against serial accounts. The current research asked whether there is a change in the relevance of these attributes as school grades increase. School-age children from the second to sixth grades (N = 206) were presented with pairs of numbers that had either the same number of digits (3 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 4) or a different number of digits (3 vs. 4). In this latter condition, the stimuli, matched by distance, could be either length/digit congruent (e.g., 2384 vs. 107) or length/digit incongruent (e.g., 2675 vs. 398). Linear mixed models showed a length/digit congruity effect from second graders. Interestingly, in the response time measure, congruity interacted with school grade and the side in which the larger number of the pair was presented. Whereas these results support a model that considers number comparison as a process that weighs different attributes in parallel, it is also argued that developmental changes are associated with differences in the level of automatization of the componential skills involved in the comparison.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier García-Orza
- Numerical Cognition Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universidad de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), 29590 Málaga, Spain; Department of Basic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universidad de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain.
| | - Ismael Gutiérrez-Cordero
- Numerical Cognition Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universidad de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain; Department of Basic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universidad de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain; Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga. Spain
| | - Ismael Rodríguez-Montenegro
- Numerical Cognition Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universidad de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
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Lee PS, Sewell DK. A revised diffusion model for conflict tasks. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:1-31. [PMID: 37507646 PMCID: PMC10867079 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02288-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The recently developed diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC) Ulrich et al. (Cognitive Psychology, 78, 148-174, 2015) provides a good account of data from all standard conflict tasks (e.g., Stroop, Simon, and flanker tasks) within a common evidence accumulation framework. A central feature of DMC's processing dynamics is that there is an initial phase of rapid accumulation of distractor evidence that is then selectively withdrawn from the decision mechanism as processing continues. We argue that this assumption is potentially troubling because it could be viewed as implying qualitative changes in the representation of distractor information over the time course of processing. These changes suggest more than simple inhibition or suppression of distractor information, as they involve evidence produced by distractor processing "changing sign" over time. In this article, we (a) develop a revised DMC (RDMC) whose dynamics operate strictly within the limits of inhibition/suppression (i.e., evidence strength can change monotonically, but cannot change sign); (b) demonstrate that RDMC can predict the full range of delta plots observed in the literature (i.e., both positive-going and negative-going); and (c) show that the model provides excellent fits to Simon and flanker data used to benchmark the original DMC at both the individual and group level. Our model provides a novel account of processing differences across Simon and flanker tasks. Specifically, that they differ in how distractor information is processed on congruent trials, rather than incongruent trials: congruent trials in the Simon task show relatively slow attention shifting away from distractor information (i.e., location) while complete and rapid attention shifting occurs in the flanker task. Our new model highlights the importance of considering dynamic interactions between top-down goals and bottom-up stimulus effects in conflict processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping-Shien Lee
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, St. Lucia, Australia.
| | - David K Sewell
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, St. Lucia, Australia
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Shiino S, van Wouwe NC, Wylie SA, Claassen DO, McDonell KE. Huntington disease exacerbates action impulses. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1186465. [PMID: 37397312 PMCID: PMC10312388 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1186465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Impulsivity is a common clinical feature of Huntington disease (HD), but the underlying cognitive dynamics of impulse control in this population have not been well-studied. Objective To investigate the temporal dynamics of action impulse control in HD patients using an inhibitory action control task. Methods Sixteen motor manifest HD patients and seventeen age-matched healthy controls (HC) completed the action control task. We applied the activation-suppression theoretical model and distributional analytic techniques to differentiate the strength of fast impulses from their top-down suppression. Results Overall, HD patients produced slower and less accurate reactions than HCs. HD patients also exhibited an exacerbated interference effect, as evidenced by a greater slowing of RT on non-corresponding compared to corresponding trials. HD patients made more fast, impulsive errors than HC, evidenced by significantly lower accuracy on their fastest reaction time trials. The slope reduction of interference effects as reactions slowed was similar between HD and controls, indicating preserved impulse suppression. Conclusion Our results indicate that patients with HD show a greater susceptibility to act rapidly on incorrect motor impulses but preserved proficiency of top-down suppression. Further research is needed to determine how these findings relate to clinical behavioral symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuhei Shiino
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | | | - Scott A. Wylie
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Daniel O. Claassen
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Katherine E. McDonell
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
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Faßbender K, Baumert PM, Wintergerst MWM, Terheyden JH, Aslan B, M Harmening W, Ettinger U. GABAergic Involvement in Selective Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:976-989. [PMID: 36976900 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Animals need to cope with abundant sensory information, and one strategy is to selectively direct attention to only the most relevant part of the environment. Although the cortical networks of selective attention have been studied extensively, its underlying neurotransmitter systems, especially the role of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), remain less well understood. Increased GABAA receptor activity because of administration of benzodiazepines such as lorazepam is known to slow reactions in cognitive tasks. However, there is limited knowledge about GABAergic involvement in selective attention. Particularly, it is unknown whether increased GABAA receptor activity slows the build-up of selectivity or generally widens attentional focus. To address this question, participants (n = 29) received 1 mg lorazepam and placebo (within-subjects, double-blind) and performed an extended version of the flanker task. The spatial distribution of selective attention was studied by systematically manipulating number and position of incongruent flankers; the temporal build-up was characterized using delta plots. An online task version was presented to an independent, unmedicated sample (n = 25) to verify task effects. Under placebo and in the unmedicated sample, only the number of incongruent flankers, but not their position, influenced RTs. Incongruent flankers impaired RTs more strongly under lorazepam than placebo, especially when adjacent to the target. Delta plot analyses of RT showed that this effect persisted even when participants reacted slowly, indicating that lorazepam-induced impairments in selective attention do not result from simply slowed down build-up of selectivity. Instead, our data indicate that increased GABAA receptor activity widens the attentional focus.
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Grandjean A, Suarez I, Da Fonseca D, Casini L. Dissociable effects of positive feedback on the capture and inhibition of impulsive behavior in adolescents with ADHD versus typically developing adolescents. Child Neuropsychol 2023; 29:543-568. [PMID: 35980108 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2100882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated how enhancing motivation by delivering positive feedback (a smiley) after a successful trial could affect interference control in adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and in their typically developing (TD) peers. By using a Simon task within the theoretical framework of the "activation-suppression" model, we were able to separately investigate the expression and the inhibition of impulsive motor behavior. The experiment included 19 adolescents with ADHD and 20 TD adolescents in order to explore whether data found in adolescents with ADHD were similar to those found in TD adolescents. Participants performed the Simon task in two conditions: a condition with feedback delivered after each successful trial and a condition with no feedback. The main findings were that increasing motivation by delivering positive feedback increased impulsive response in both groups of adolescents. It also improved the efficiency of impulsive motor action inhibition in adolescents with ADHD but deteriorated it in TD adolescents. We suggest that 1/increased motivation could lead adolescents to favor fast responses even if incorrect, and 2/the differential effect of feedback on the selective suppression of impulsive motor action in both groups could be due to different baseline DA levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Grandjean
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Isabel Suarez
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad del Norte, Baranquilla, Colombia
| | - David Da Fonseca
- Service de psychiatrie infanto-juvénile, Hôpital Salvator, Marseille, France
| | - Laurence Casini
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Marseille, France
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Matsuba ESM, Russo N, McKernan E, Curl R, Dawkins T, Flores H, Miseros M, Stewart J, Loebus A, Brodeur DA, Burack JA. Visual filtering in time and space among persons with Down syndrome. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2023; 67:205-215. [PMID: 35922115 DOI: 10.1111/jir.12958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) appear to perform at a level that is commensurate with developmental expectations on simple tasks of selective attention. In this study, we examine how their selective attention is impacted by target changes that unfold over both time and space. This increased complexity reflects an attempt at greater ecological validity in an experimental task, as a steppingstone for better understanding attention among persons with DS in real-world environments. METHODS A modified flanker task was used to assess visual temporal and spatial filtering among persons with DS (n = 14) and typically developing individuals (n = 14) matched on non-verbal mental age (mental age = 8.5 years). Experimental conditions included varying the stimulus onset asynchronies between the onset of the target and flankers, the distances between the target and flankers, and the similarity of the target and flankers. RESULTS Both the participants with DS and the typically developing participants showed slower reaction times and lower accuracy rates when the flankers appeared closer in time and/or space to the target. CONCLUSION No group differences were found on a broad level, but the findings suggest that dynamic stimuli may be processed differently by those with DS. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the developmental approach to intellectual disability originally articulated by Ed Zigler.
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Affiliation(s)
- E S M Matsuba
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - N Russo
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - E McKernan
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - R Curl
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - T Dawkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Capel Hill, NC, USA
| | - H Flores
- Department of Counselling and Educational Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - M Miseros
- Department of Counselling and Educational Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - J Stewart
- Department of Counselling and Educational Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - A Loebus
- Down Syndrome Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - D A Brodeur
- Department of Psychology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - J A Burack
- Department of Counselling and Educational Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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A diffusion model for the congruency sequence effect. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:2034-2051. [PMID: 35676612 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02119-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Two-choice reaction tasks for which stimuli differ on irrelevant and relevant dimensions (e.g., Simon, flanker, and Stroop tasks) show congruency effects. The diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC) has provided a quantitative account of the mechanisms underlying decisions in such conflict tasks, but it has not been applied to the congruency sequence effect (CSE) for which the congruency on the prior trial influences performance on the current trial. The present study expands analysis of the reaction time (RT) distributions reflected by delta plots to the CSE, and then extends the DMC to simulate the results. With increasing RT: (1) the spatial Simon effect was almost unchanged following congruent trials but initially became smaller and finally reversed following incongruent trials; (2) the arrow-based Simon effects increased following both congruent and incongruent trials, but more so for the former than the latter; (3) the flanker congruency effect varied quadratically following congruent trials but increased linearly following incongruent trials. These results were modeled by the CSE-DMC, extended from the DMC with two additional assumptions: (1) feature integration influences only the controlled processes; (2) following incongruent trials, the automatic process is weakened. The results fit better with the CSE-DMC than with two variants that separately had only one of the two additional assumptions. These findings indicate that the CSEs for different conflict tasks have disparate RT distributions and that these disparities are likely due to the controlled and automatic processes being influenced differently for each trial sequence.
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Distributional analyses reveal the individual differences in congruency sequence effect. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272621. [PMID: 35994475 PMCID: PMC9394795 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
As a sequential modulation of conflict, congruency sequence effect indexes a conflict-induced performance improvement, which is observed as reduced congruency effects for trials after the incongruent trials than for trials after the congruent trials. Although congruency sequence effect has been investigated widely in healthy humans, the studies of distributional characteristics across prototypical congruency tasks are scarce. To investigate this issue, the present study adopts the between-subjects design to carry out three experiments, where subjects were separately informed to perform the Stroop, word Flanker, and letter Flanker tasks. The results showed that congruency sequence effect occurred in the congruent and incongruent trials in the Stroop and word Flanker tasks, respectively, and absented in the letter Flanker task, which is interpreted as the differences in the nature and difficulty of the tasks. The distributional properties of congruency sequence effect did not significantly differ from the Gaussian distribution in the Stroop and word Flanker tasks, but not in the letter Flanker task, suggesting the inter-individual variability of congruency sequence effect depends on the nature of tasks. Importantly, the delta plot analyses showed pronouncedly increased congruency sequence effect over the slowest percentile bines in both the Stroop and word Flanker tasks, verifying the activation suppression hypothesis. Altogether, the present study enriches the literature on the distributional characteristics of congruency sequence effect.
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Fedeli D, Del Maschio N, Del Mauro G, Defendenti F, Sulpizio S, Abutalebi J. Cingulate cortex morphology impacts on neurofunctional activity and behavioral performance in interference tasks. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13684. [PMID: 35953536 PMCID: PMC9372177 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17557-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory control is the capacity to withhold or suppress a thought or action intentionally. The anterior Midcingulate Cortex (aMCC) participates in response inhibition, a proxy measure of inhibitory control. Recent research suggests that response inhibition is modulated by individual variability in the aMCC sulcal morphology. However, no study has investigated if this phenomenon is associated with neurofunctional differences during a task. In this study, 42 participants performed an Attention Network Task and a Numerical Stroop task in an MRI scanner. We investigated differences in brain activity and response inhibition efficiency between individuals with symmetric and asymmetric aMCC sulcal patterns. The results showed that aMCC morphological variability is partly associated with inhibitory control, and revealed greater activation in individuals with symmetric patterns during the Stroop task. Our findings provide novel insights into the functional correlates of the relationship between aMCC morphology and executive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Fedeli
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy.,Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 58, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicola Del Maschio
- Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 58, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Gianpaolo Del Mauro
- Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 58, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Defendenti
- Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina, 58, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Simone Sulpizio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Suarez I, De Los Reyes Aragón C, Grandjean A, Barceló E, Mebarak M, Lewis S, Pineda-Alhucema W, Casini L. Two sides of the same coin: ADHD affects reactive but not proactive inhibition in children. Cogn Neuropsychol 2022; 38:349-363. [PMID: 35209797 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2022.2031944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) present a deficit in inhibitory control. Still, it remains unclear whether it comes from a deficit in reactive inhibition (ability to stop the action in progress), proactive inhibition (ability to exert preparatory control), or both.We compared the performance of 39 children with ADHD and 42 typically developing children performing a Simon choice reaction time task. The Simon task is a conflict task that is well-adapted to dissociate proactive and reactive inhibition. Beyond classical global measures (mean reaction time, accuracy rate, and interference effect), we used more sophisticated dynamic analyses of the interference effect and accuracy rate to investigate reactive inhibition. We studied proactive inhibition through the congruency sequence effect (CSE).Our results showed that children with ADHD had impaired reactive but not proactive inhibition. Moreover, the deficit found in reactive inhibition seems to be due to both a stronger impulse capture and more difficulties in inhibiting impulsive responses. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how ADHD affects inhibitory control in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Suarez
- Department of Psychology, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.,CNRS, LNC, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France
| | | | - Aurelie Grandjean
- CNRS, LNC, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France
| | - Ernesto Barceló
- Instituto Colombiano de Neuropedagogía, Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Moises Mebarak
- Department of Psychology, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Soraya Lewis
- Department of Psychology, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Wilmar Pineda-Alhucema
- Programa de Psicología, facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Laurence Casini
- CNRS, LNC, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France
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12
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Faßbender K, Bey K, Lippold JV, Aslan B, Hurlemann R, Ettinger U. GABAergic modulation of performance in response inhibition and interference control tasks. J Psychopharmacol 2021; 35:1496-1509. [PMID: 34278874 DOI: 10.1177/02698811211032440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Inhibitory control is a crucial executive function with high relevance to mental and physical well-being. However, there are still unanswered questions regarding its neural mechanisms, including the role of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). AIMS This study examined the effects of lorazepam (0.5 mg and 1 mg), a positive allosteric modulator at the GABAA receptor, on response inhibition and interference control. We also explored the heterogeneity of inhibitory control and calculated delta plots to explore whether lorazepam affects the gradual build-up of inhibition and activation over time. METHODS N = 50 healthy participants performed antisaccade, Eriksen flanker and Simon tasks in a within-subjects, placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized design. RESULTS Lorazepam increased reaction time (RT) and error rates dose dependently in all tasks (p ⩽ 0.005). In the antisaccade and Simon tasks, lorazepam increased congruency effects for error rate (p ⩽ 0.029) but not RT (p ⩾ 0.587). In the Eriksen flanker task, both congruency effects were increased by the drug (p ⩽ 0.031). Delta plots did not reflect drug-induced changes in inhibition and activation over time. Delta plots for RT in the Simon task were negative-going, as expected, whereas those for the antisaccade and flanker tasks were positive-going. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence for GABAergic involvement in performance on response inhibition and interference control tasks. Furthermore, our findings highlight the diversity of the broader construct of inhibitory control while also pointing out similarities between different inhibitory control tasks. In contrast to RT and error rates, the cognitive processes indexed by delta plots may not be sensitive to GABAergic modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaja Faßbender
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Katharina Bey
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Behrem Aslan
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - René Hurlemann
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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13
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Distributional properties of semantic interference in picture naming: Bayesian meta-analyses. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 29:635-647. [PMID: 34738184 PMCID: PMC9038827 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-02016-6] [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] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Studies of word production often make use of picture-naming tasks, including the picture-word-interference task. In this task, participants name pictures with superimposed distractor words. They typically need more time to name pictures when the distractor word is semantically related to the picture than when it is unrelated (the semantic interference effect). The present study examines the distributional properties of this effect in a series of Bayesian meta-analyses. Meta-analytic estimates of the semantic interference effect first show that the effect is present throughout the reaction time distribution and that it increases throughout the distribution. Second, we find a correlation between a participant’s mean semantic interference effect and the change in the effect in the tail of the reaction time distribution, which has been argued to reflect the involvement of selective inhibition in the naming task. Finally, we show with simulated data that this correlation emerges even when no inhibition is used to generate the data, which suggests that inhibition is not needed to explain this relationship.
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14
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Delta plots for conflict tasks: An activation-suppression race model. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 28:1776-1795. [PMID: 34327678 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01900-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We describe a mathematically simple yet precise model of activation suppression that can explain the negative-going delta plots often observed in standard Simon tasks. The model postulates a race between the identification of the relevant stimulus attribute and the suppression of irrelevant location-based activation, with the irrelevant activation only having an effect if the irrelevant activation is still present at the moment when central processing of the relevant attribute starts. The model can be fitted by maximum likelihood to observed distributions of RTs in congruent and incongruent trials, and it provides good fits to two previously-reported data sets with plausible parameter values. R and MATLAB software for use with the model is provided.
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15
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Riedel P, Wolff M, Spreer M, Petzold J, Plawecki MH, Goschke T, Zimmermann US, Smolka MN. Acute alcohol does not impair attentional inhibition as measured with Stroop interference scores but impairs Stroop performance. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:1593-1607. [PMID: 33660080 PMCID: PMC8139883 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05792-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Inhibition is a core executive function and refers to the ability to deliberately suppress attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions and instead act in a specific manner. While acute alcohol exposure has been shown to impair response inhibition in the stop-signal and Go/NoGo tasks, reported alcohol effects on attentional inhibition in the Stroop task are inconsistent. Notably, studies have operationalized attentional inhibition variably and there has been intra- and inter-individual variability in alcohol exposure. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the acute effects of alcohol on attentional inhibition, considering previous limitations. METHODS In a single-blind, cross-over design, 40 non-dependent participants with a medium-to-high risk drinking behavior performed a Counting Stroop task (CST) under a baseline and an arterial blood alcohol concentration (aBAC) clamp at 80 mg%. Attentional inhibition was assessed as the alteration of reaction times (RT), error rates (ER), and inverse efficiency scores (IES) between incongruent and congruent trials (interference score). Stroop performance was also assessed regardless of trial-type. RESULTS Compared to saline, acute alcohol exposure via an aBAC clamp did not affect CST interference scores but increased RTs and IES in both incongruent and congruent trials. CONCLUSIONS Attentional inhibition (Stroop interference score) was not impaired by clamped moderate alcohol exposure. Acute alcohol impaired Stroop performance evidenced by a general increase in response times. Our findings suggest that response and attentional inhibition do not share the same neurocognitive mechanisms and are affected differently by alcohol. Results could also be explained by automated behaviors known to be relatively unaffected by acute alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - M Wolff
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - M Spreer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - J Petzold
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
| | - M H Plawecki
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 West 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - T Goschke
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - U S Zimmermann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Addiction Medicine and Psychotherapy, kbo-Isar-Amper-Klinikum München-Ost, Vockestraße 72, 85540, Haar, Germany
| | - M N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
- Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Würzburger Straße 35, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
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16
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Grandjean A, Suarez I, Miquée A, Da Fonseca D, Casini L. [Improvement of the impulsive control in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after a cognitive behavioral therapy]. Encephale 2021; 48:148-154. [PMID: 33994155 DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2021.02.009] [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: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
AIM MPH is the more often prescribed stimulant for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but it has been estimated that 30% of patients do not adequately respond or cannot tolerate it. Therefore, some other therapies are needed, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an intervention proposed over several sessions and aimed at modifying behavior by teaching different techniques that participants can re-use to control their symptoms. In our Institute, we used a program centered on attentional and metacognitive functions. It consists of a series of workshops performed in group at the rate of one workshop of 90minutes per week for 12 weeks. Positive effects on the behavior of adolescents with ADHD have been reported by parents and educators, but the effects of the program on specific cognitive processes have never been precisely investigated. METHOD In the present study, we evaluated the impact of the program on impulsive control in adolescents with ADHD who are known to present impaired impulsive control. Impulsive control is required each time there is a conflict between an inappropriate prepotent action and a goal-directed action. At an experimental level, impulsive control can be studied with conflict tasks, such as the Simon reaction time task. Interpreted within the theoretical framework of the so-called « Dual-process activation suppression » (DPAS) model, this task is a powerful conceptual and experimental tool to separately investigate the activation and inhibition of impulsive actions, which is almost never done in studies about impulsive control. Twenty adolescents followed the program and were tested before and at the end of the program by using dynamic analyses of performance associated with DPAS model. RESULTS The results have shown an improvement of the impulsive control after three months of cognitive behavioral therapy, and this improvement was due to both a decrease of the propensity to trigger impulsive actions and an improvement of inhibitory processes efficiency. CONCLUSION This program could be a relevant alternative to the stimulant medication, more particularly when parents are reluctant with medication or when the adolescent suffers from important side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Grandjean
- Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives, FR 3C, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - I Suarez
- Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives, FR 3C, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - A Miquée
- Service de Psychiatrie infanto-juvénile, Hôpital Salvator, Marseille, France
| | - D Da Fonseca
- Service de Psychiatrie infanto-juvénile, Hôpital Salvator, Marseille, France
| | - L Casini
- Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives, FR 3C, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Marseille, France.
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17
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Grandjean A, Suarez I, Miquee A, Da Fonseca D, Casini L. Differential response to pharmacological intervention in ADHD furthers our understanding of the mechanisms of interference control. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 38:138-152. [PMID: 33840374 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2021.1908979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The deficit in "interference control" found in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) could be due to two distinct processes, which are not disentangled in most studies: a larger susceptibility to activating prepotent response impulses and a deficit in suppressing them. Here, we investigated the effect of 1/ADHD and 2/ methylphenidate (MPH), on these two components of interference control. We compared interference control between untreated children with ADHD, children with ADHD under MPH, and typically developing children performing a Simon task. The main findings were that 1/ children with ADHD were more susceptible to reacting impulsively and less efficient at suppressing impulsive actions, and 2/ MPH improved the selective inhibition of impulsive actions but did not modify the strength of response impulse. This work provides an example of how pharmacological interventions and selective responses to them can be used to investigate and further our understanding of cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Grandjean
- CNRS, LNC, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France.,CNRS, FR 3C, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France
| | - Isabel Suarez
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Aline Miquee
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Hôpital Salvator, Marseille, France
| | - David Da Fonseca
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Hôpital Salvator, Marseille, France
| | - Laurence Casini
- CNRS, LNC, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France.,CNRS, FR 3C, Aix Marseille Univ, Marseille, France
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18
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Korko M, Coulson M, Jones A, de Mornay Davies P. Types of interference and their resolution in monolingual word production. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 214:103251. [PMID: 33485153 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that speakers recruit inhibitory control in situations of high within-language interference, e.g., when selecting from among competing lexical entries or when tailoring utterances to the communicative needs of the addressee. However, little is known about the types of cognitive control mechanisms that are involved in the speech production process. This study examines the relative contribution of various forms of interference arising at different stages of information processing as well as their control to object naming under conditions of prepotent and underdetermined competition. Eighty-nine unimpaired native English speakers completed three inhibitory control tasks (arrow flanker, Simon arrow and anti-saccade) and two object naming tasks (picture-word interference, PWI, and name agreement, NA). Analyses of mean RT and RT distribution (delta plots) showed that only the flanker effect was a significant predictor of the PWI but not NA effect, while the remaining inhibitory measures made no significant contribution to either the PWI or NA effect. Participants with smaller flanker effects, indicative of better resolution of representational conflict, were faster to name objects in the face of competing stimuli. The pattern of results suggests that delays in production can be an outcome of inefficient resolution of interference traced to intermediate rather than late stages of processing, at least as far as the PWI task is concerned.
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19
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Schnabel UH, Van der Bijl T, Roelfsema PR, Lorteije JAM. A Direct Comparison of Spatial Attention and Stimulus-Response Compatibility between Mice and Humans. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:771-783. [PMID: 33544053 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Mice are becoming an increasingly popular model for investigating the neural substrates of visual processing and higher cognitive functions. To validate the translation of mouse visual attention and sensorimotor processing to humans, we compared their performance in the same visual task. Mice and human participants judged the orientation of a grating presented on either the right or left side in the visual field. To induce shifts of spatial attention, we varied the stimulus probability on each side. As expected, human participants showed faster RTs and a higher accuracy for the side with a higher probability, a well-established effect of visual attention. The attentional effect was only present in mice when their response was slow. Although the task demanded a judgment of grating orientation, the accuracy of the mice was strongly affected by whether the side of the stimulus corresponded to the side of the behavioral response. This stimulus-response compatibility (Simon) effect was much weaker in humans and only significant for their fastest responses. Both species exhibited a speed-accuracy trade-off in their responses, because slower responses were more accurate than faster responses. We found that mice typically respond very fast, which contributes to the stronger stimulus-response compatibility and weaker attentional effects, which were only apparent in the trials with slowest responses. Humans responded slower and had stronger attentional effects, combined with a weak influence of stimulus-response compatibility, which was only apparent in trials with fast responses. We conclude that spatial attention and stimulus-response compatibility influence the responses of humans and mice but that strategy differences between species determine the dominance of these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pieter R Roelfsema
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.,University of Amsterdam.,Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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20
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Ridderinkhof KR, Wylie SA, van den Wildenberg WPM, Bashore TR, van der Molen MW. The arrow of time: Advancing insights into action control from the arrow version of the Eriksen flanker task. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:700-721. [PMID: 33099719 PMCID: PMC7884358 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02167-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Since its introduction by B. A. Eriksen and C. W. Eriksen (Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 143-49, 1974), the flanker task has emerged as one of the most important experimental tasks in the history of cognitive psychology. The impact of a seemingly simple task design involving a target stimulus flanked on each side by a few task-irrelevant stimuli is astounding. It has inspired research across the fields of cognitive neuroscience, psychophysiology, neurology, psychiatry, and sports science. In our tribute to Charles W. ("Erik") Eriksen, we (1) review the seminal papers originating from his lab in the 1970s that launched the paradigmatic task and laid the foundation for studies of action control, (2) describe the inception of the arrow version of the Eriksen flanker task, (3) articulate the conceptual and neural models of action control that emerged from studies of the arrows flanker task, and (4) illustrate the influential role of the arrows flanker task in disclosing developmental trends in action control, fundamental deficits in action control due to neuropsychiatric disorders, and enhanced action control among elite athletes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Scott A Wylie
- Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA
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21
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Abstract
Several experimental paradigms are purported to measure response conflict, including the Stroop, Simon, and Eriksen flanker tasks. Although these tasks are often treated as being similar, delta plot analyses of response time distributions have revealed marked differences across them. Several theories have been proposed to explain these differences, however, assessing their veracity is difficult given the numerous differences across tasks. To explore what might cause delta plots to differ in a more controlled manner, here stimulus materials were manipulated across four Eriksen flanker tasks. The results reveal substantially different delta plot shapes for different stimuli: positive-going functions when color or motion served as the target and flankers, and delta plots with negative-going components when stimuli were arrows or orientated gratings. These results cast doubt on the proposal that negative-going delta plots occur only when spatial location serves as the interfering stimulus dimension. Moreover, because targets and flankers were always of the same stimulus type, the results also suggest that differences in materials across the relevant and irrelevant dimensions do not determine delta plot shapes. Instead, we propose that the delta plot shape is determined by several factors, including how early the interfering information is processed in the visual cortex.
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22
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The Müller-Lyer line-length task interpreted as a conflict paradigm: A chronometric study and a diffusion account. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:4025-4037. [PMID: 32895886 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02096-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We propose to interpret tasks evoking the classical Müller-Lyer illusion as one form of a conflict paradigm involving relevant (line length) and irrelevant (arrow orientation) stimulus attributes. Eight practiced observers compared the lengths of two line-arrow combinations; the length of the lines and the orientation of their arrows was varied unpredictably across trials so as to obtain psychometric and chronometric functions for congruent and incongruent line-arrow combinations. To account for decision speed and accuracy in this parametric data set, we present a diffusion model based on two assumptions: inward (outward)-pointing arrows added to a line (i) add (subtract) a separate, task-irrelevant drift component, and (ii) they reduce (increase) the distance to the barrier associated with the response identifying this line as being longer. The model was fitted to the data of each observer separately, and accounted in considerable quantitative detail for many aspects of the data obtained, including the fact that arrow-congruent responses were most prominent in the earliest RT quartile-bin. Our model gives a specific, process-related meaning to traditional static interpretations of the Müller-Lyer illusion, and combines within a single coherent framework structural and strategic mechanisms contributing to the illusion. Its central assumptions correspond to the general interpretation of geometrical-optical illusions as a manifestation of the resolution of a perceptual conflict (Day & Smith, 1989; Westheimer, 2008).
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23
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Abstract
We elaborated an index, the Interference Distribution Index, which allows quantifying the relation between response times and the size of the interference effect. This index is associated with an intuitive graphical representation, the Lorenz-interference plot. We show that this index has some convenient properties in terms of sensitivity to changes in the distribution of the interference effect and to aggregation of individual data. Moreover, it turns out that this index is the only one (up to an arbitrary increasing transformation) possessing these properties. The relevance of this index is illustrated through simulations of a cognitive model of interference effects and reanalysis of experimental data.
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24
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Expecting the good: Symbolic valence signals provoke action biases and undermine goal-directed behavior. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2020; 206:103063. [PMID: 32229313 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Positive and negative events are known to trigger opposing action tendencies (approach vs. avoidance). Recently, we found that advance monetary incentive cues can override such valence-action biases. In the present study we tested whether symbolic emotional valence cues can lead to similar adjustments and facilitate performance regardless of the required action. To this end, we performed three closely related experiments in which valence prospect (positive vs. neutral; indicated by stimulus color) and action requirements (approach vs. avoid; indicated by stimulus shape) were manipulated in a trial-to-trial fashion. Orthogonal to this, valence prospect was either embedded in the cue or target stimulus in discrete blocks (cue-valence vs. target-valence blocks). Actual valence was presented in the form of emotional face stimuli after response execution, which mirrors monetary incentive manipulations. In two of the experiments, we observed a positive-approach bias in form of performance benefit for positive versus neutral valence trials, which was exclusive for approach actions. Although numerically more pronounced in target-valence blocks, the bias was not significantly diminished in cue- versus target-valence blocks. This opposes our prediction that emotional valence cues can diminish such biases and instead highlights the robustness of inherent mappings between emotional valence and action tendencies - even if this goes against the task goal.
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25
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Mento G, Granziol U. The developing predictive brain: How implicit temporal expectancy induced by local and global prediction shapes action preparation across development. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12954. [PMID: 32080951 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Human behavior is continuously shaped not just as a function of explicitly responding to external world events but also by internal biases implicitly driven by the capacity to extract statistics from complex sensory patterns. Two possible sources of predictability engaged to generate and update temporal expectancy are the implicit extraction of either local or global statistical contingencies in the events' temporal structure. In the context of action preparation the local prediction has been reported to be stable from the age of 6. However, there is no evidence about how the ability to extract and use global statistical patterns to establish temporal expectancy changes across development. Here we used a new, child-friendly reaction time task purposely designed to investigate how local (within-trial expectancy bias) and global (between-block expectancy bias) prediction interplay to generate temporal expectancy and consequently shape action preparation in young (5- to 6-year-old), middle-aged (7- to 8-year-old) and old (9- to 10-year-old) typically developing children. We found that while local temporal prediction showed stable developmental trajectories, the ability to use a global rule to action preparation in terms of both accuracy and speed becomes stable after the age of seven. These findings are discussed by adopting a neuroconstructivist-inspired theoretical account, according to which the developmental constraints on learning from hierarchically nested levels of sensory complexity may constitute a necessary prerequisite for mastering complex domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Mento
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Umberto Granziol
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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26
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Fernandes A, Garcia-Marques T, Prada M, Martins J. Emotional interference in isolation and in others’ presence. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-00534-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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27
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Fitousi D. From Global-to-Local? Uncovering the Temporal Dynamics of the Composite Face Illusion Using Distributional Analyses. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2331. [PMID: 31736814 PMCID: PMC6831644 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely believed that faces are processed holistically such that their facial features or parts are represented as global wholes rather than independent entities. But how does their holistic representation evolve in time? According to the global-to-local hypothesis, the initial representation of faces is holistic and coarse at the outset but is becoming progressively detailed and analytic. The current study set to test this global-to-local hypothesis by applying fine-grained methods of response time analyses to the composite face illusion - a traditional marker of holistic face processing. The analyses included the delta plots and conditional accuracy functions. These tools move beyond the mean RT and accuracy to provide detailed analysis of the temporal dynamics of the composite face effect. The methodologies converged on the conclusion that the composite effect is minimal for fast RTs but becomes progressively larger as RT gets slower. This pattern is inconsistent with a global-to-local dynamics. The implications of these results to the study of face perception are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Fitousi
- Department of Behavioral Science, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
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Madden DL, Sale MV, Robinson GA. Differentiating Beyond Name Agreement for Picture Naming: Insight From Age-Related Selection Deficits. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2019; 62:1373-1380. [PMID: 31021678 DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-18-0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Pictures consistently referred to by the same name (high agreement) are named faster than pictures that elicit inconsistent responses across individuals (low agreement). Although this effect is more pronounced in older adults apparently due to slower lexical selection, it is unclear whether this is consistent for different types of low agreement pictures. We investigated whether pictures with different sources of disagreement have differing selection requirements, as indexed by naming latencies. Method Picture naming latencies were compared for 20 young (ages 18-35 years) and 20 older adults (ages 60-80 years) across 3 object naming conditions: high name agreement, low name agreement due to multiple correct names, and low agreement due to abbreviations and elaborations. Results Compared to high agreement items, responses were slower specifically for low agreement items with multiple names, and to a lesser extent, items with abbreviations and elaborations ( p < .001). Older adults were slower than younger adults, especially for low agreement items with abbreviations and elaborations ( p = .031). Conclusions Our findings indicate differential lexical selection requirements for low agreement pictures, depending on the reason for agreement being low. This demonstrates the importance of differentiating the source of disagreement in any experimental or clinical assessment of picture naming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Madden
- Neuropsychology Research Clinic, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Martin V Sale
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Gail A Robinson
- Neuropsychology Research Clinic, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
- Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia
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Rieger T, Miller J. Are model parameters linked to processing stages? An empirical investigation for the ex-Gaussian, ex-Wald, and EZ diffusion models. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2019; 84:1683-1699. [PMID: 30949790 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01176-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In previous research, the parameters of the ex-Gaussian distribution have been subject to a wide variety of interpretations. The present study investigated whether the ex-Gaussian model is capable of distinguishing effects on separate processing stages (i.e., pre-motor vs. motor). In order to do so, we used datasets where the locus of effect was quite clear. Specifically, we analyzed data from experiments comparing hand vs. foot responses-presumably differing in the motor stage-and from experiments in which the lateralized readiness potential was used to localize experimental effects into premotor vs. motor processes. Moreover, we broadened the scope to two other descriptive RT models: the ex-Wald and EZ diffusion models. To the extent possible with each of these models, we reanalyzed the RT data of 19 clearly localized experimental effects from 12 separate experiments reported in seven previously published articles. Unfortunately, we did not find a clear pattern of results for any of the models, with no clear link between effects on one of the model's parameters and effects on different processing stages. The present results suggest that one should resist the temptation to associate specific processing stages with individual parameters of the ex-Gaussian, ex-Wald, and EZ diffusion models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Rieger
- Department of Psychology and Ergonomics, Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 12, F7, 10587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jeff Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 90654, New Zealand
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30
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Salehzadeh Niksirat K, Park K, Silpasuwanchai C, Wang Z, Ren X. The relationship between flow proneness in everyday life and variations in the volume of gray matter in the dopaminergic system: A cross-sectional study. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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31
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Transient and sustained incentive effects on electrophysiological indices of cognitive control in younger and older adults. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 18:313-330. [PMID: 29392645 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0571-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Preparing for upcoming events, separating task-relevant from task-irrelevant information and efficiently responding to stimuli all require cognitive control. The adaptive recruitment of cognitive control depends on activity in the dopaminergic reward system as well as the frontoparietal control network. In healthy aging, dopaminergic neuromodulation is reduced, resulting in altered incentive-based recruitment of control mechanisms. In the present study, younger adults (18-28 years) and healthy older adults (66-89 years) completed an incentivized flanker task that included gain, loss, and neutral trials. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the time of incentive cue and target presentation. We examined the contingent negative variation (CNV), implicated in stimulus anticipation and response preparation, as well as the P3, which is involved in the evaluation of visual stimuli. Both younger and older adults showed transient incentive-based modulation of CNV. Critically, cue-locked and target-locked P3s were influenced by transient and sustained effects of incentives in younger adults, while such modulation was limited to a sustained effect of gain incentives on cue-P3 in older adults. Overall, these findings are in line with an age-related reduction in the flexible recruitment of preparatory and target-related cognitive control processes in the presence of motivational incentives.
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32
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Trujillo P, van Wouwe NC, Lin YC, Stark AJ, Petersen KJ, Kang H, Zald DH, Donahue MJ, Claassen DO. Dopamine effects on frontal cortical blood flow and motor inhibition in Parkinson's disease. Cortex 2019; 115:99-111. [PMID: 30776736 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Revised: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by dysfunction in frontal cortical and striatal networks that regulate action control. We investigated the pharmacological effect of dopamine agonist replacement therapy on frontal cortical activity and motor inhibition. Using Arterial Spin Labeling MRI, we examined 26 PD patients in the off- and on-dopamine agonist medication states to assess the effect of dopamine agonists on frontal cortical regional cerebral blood flow. Motor inhibition was measured by the Simon task in both medication states. We applied the dual process activation suppression model to dissociate fast response impulses from motor inhibition of incorrect responses. General linear regression model analyses determined the medication effect on regional cerebral blood flow and motor inhibition, and the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow and motor inhibitory proficiency. We show that dopamine agonist administration increases frontal cerebral blood flow, particularly in the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Higher regional blood flow in the pre-SMA, DLPFC and motor cortex was associated with better inhibitory control, suggesting that treatments which improve frontal cortical activity could ameliorate motor inhibition deficiency in PD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Trujillo
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Ya-Chen Lin
- Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Adam J Stark
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kalen J Petersen
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hakmook Kang
- Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - David H Zald
- Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Manus J Donahue
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Daniel O Claassen
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
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33
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Nappo R, Romani C, De Angelis G, Galati G. Cognitive style modulates semantic interference effects: evidence from field dependency. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:755-768. [PMID: 30604021 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5457-2] [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: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The so-called semantic interference effect is a delay in selecting an appropriate target word in a context where semantic neighbours are strongly activated. Semantic interference effect has been described to vary from one individual to another. These differences in the susceptibility to semantic interference may be due to either differences in the ability to engage in lexical-specific selection mechanisms or to differences in the ability to engage more general, top-down inhibition mechanisms which suppress unwanted responses based on task-demands. However, semantic interference may also be modulated by an individual's disposition to separate relevant perceptual signals from noise, such as a field-independent (FI) or a field-dependent (FD) cognitive style. We investigated the relationship between semantic interference in picture naming and in an STM probe task and both the ability to inhibit responses top-down (measured through a Stroop task) and a FI/FD cognitive style measured through the embedded figures test (EFT). We found a significant relationship between semantic interference in picture naming and cognitive style-with semantic interference increasing as a function of the degree of field dependence-but no associations with the semantic probe and the Stroop task. Our results suggest that semantic interference can be modulated by cognitive style, but not by differences in the ability to engage top-down control mechanisms, at least as measured by the Stroop task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Nappo
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. .,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306/354, 00142, Rome, Italy. .,School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Express Way, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK.
| | - Cristina Romani
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Express Way, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK
| | - Giulia De Angelis
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306/354, 00142, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306/354, 00142, Rome, Italy
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34
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Gálvez-García G, Albayay J, Rehbein L, Bascour-Sandoval C, Michael GA. Response Inhibition as a Function of Movement Complexity and Movement Type Selection. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2290. [PMID: 30534099 PMCID: PMC6275418 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aims to determine whether response inhibition shows the same degree of effectiveness for two sources of motor complexity: (1) Movement complexity, which is measured through two actions with different motor requirements (simple lifting action vs. complex reaching action), and (2) Movement type selection, which is measured in movements performed separately (no active-movement type selection) vs. selectively (active-movement type selection). Activation–suppression model was tested in three experiments to measure activation of the preponderant responses and subsequent suppression in a Simon task. More errors and higher magnitude of congruence effect (which reflects greater effectiveness of response suppression) were expected for more difficult motor conditions. Reaction time, movement time, kinematic errors, and movement errors were recorded. Results of Experiment 1, in which movement type selection was not active, showed that both movements did not differ in their activation and suppression, as they presented similar kinematic error rates and Simon effects. Experiment 2, in which movement type selection was active, resulted in a higher kinematic error rate and higher magnitude of Simon effect in lifting. These results were confirmed in Experiment 3, in which participants performed all experimental motor complexity conditions. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that responses with similar movement complexity did not differ in their activation and suppression, even when movement type selection was active. Thus, the present study provides evidence on the varying effectiveness of response inhibition as a function of movement complexity, but only in demanding situations in which movement type selection is active. These results can be attributed to a top-down strategy to minimize error for actions most prone to develop kinematic error.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germán Gálvez-García
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.,Département de Psychologie Cognitive, Sciences Cognitives et Neuropsychologie, Institut de Psychologie, Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Javier Albayay
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.,Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Lucio Rehbein
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile
| | - Claudio Bascour-Sandoval
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.,Carrera de Kinesiología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco, Chile
| | - George A Michael
- Département de Psychologie Cognitive, Sciences Cognitives et Neuropsychologie, Institut de Psychologie, Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
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35
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Schmidt CC, Timpert DC, Arend I, Vossel S, Dovern A, Saliger J, Karbe H, Fink GR, Henik A, Weiss PH. Preserved but Less Efficient Control of Response Interference After Unilateral Lesions of the Striatum. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:414. [PMID: 30459578 PMCID: PMC6232767 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research on the neural basis of cognitive control processes has mainly focused on cortical areas, while the role of subcortical structures in cognitive control is less clear. Models of basal ganglia function as well as clinical studies in neurodegenerative diseases suggest that the striatum (putamen and caudate nucleus) modulates the inhibition of interfering responses and thereby contributes to an important aspect of cognitive control, namely response interference control. To further investigate the putative role of the striatum in the control of response interference, 23 patients with stroke-induced lesions of the striatum and 32 age-matched neurologically healthy controls performed a unimanual version of the Simon task. In the Simon task, the correspondence between stimulus location and response location is manipulated so that control over response interference can be inferred from the reaction time costs in incongruent trials. Results showed that stroke patients responded overall slower and more erroneous than controls. The difference in response times (RTs) between incongruent and congruent trials (known as the Simon effect) was smaller in the ipsilesional/-lateral hemifield, but did not differ significantly between groups. However, in contrast to controls, stroke patients exhibited an abnormally stable Simon effect across the reaction time distribution indicating a reduced efficiency of the inhibition process. Thus, in stroke patients unilateral lesions of the striatum did not significantly impair the general ability to control response interference, but led to less efficient selective inhibition of interfering responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia C Schmidt
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - David C Timpert
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Isabel Arend
- Department of Psychology and the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Simone Vossel
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Anna Dovern
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jochen Saliger
- Neurological Rehabilitation Centre Godeshöhe, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hans Karbe
- Neurological Rehabilitation Centre Godeshöhe, Bonn, Germany
| | - Gereon R Fink
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Avishai Henik
- Department of Psychology and the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Peter H Weiss
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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36
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Ambrosi S, Servant M, Blaye A, Burle B. Conflict processing in kindergarten children: New evidence from distribution analyses reveals the dynamics of incorrect response activation and suppression. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 177:36-52. [PMID: 30165290 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The development of cognitive control is known to follow a long and protracted development. However, whether the interference effect in conflict tasks in children would entail the same core processes as in adults, namely an automatic activation of incorrect response and its subsequent suppression, remains an open question. We applied distributional analyses to reaction times and accuracy of 5- and 6-year-old children performing three conflict tasks (flanker, Simon, and Stroop) in a within-participants design. This revealed both strong commonalities and differences between children and adults. As in adults, fast responses were more error prone than slow ones on incompatible trials, indicating a fast "automatic" activation of the incorrect response. In addition, the strength of this activation differed across tasks, following a pattern similar to that of adults. Moreover, modeling the data with a drift diffusion model adapted for conflict tasks allowed one to better assess the origin of the typical slowing down observed in children. Besides showing that advanced distribution analyses can be successfully applied to children, the current results support the notion that interference effects in 5- and 6-year-olds are driven by mechanisms very similar to the ones at play in adults but with different time courses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène Ambrosi
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, UMR 7290, 13331 Marseille, France
| | - Mathieu Servant
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, UMR 7291, 13331 Marseille, France; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
| | - Agnès Blaye
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, UMR 7290, 13331 Marseille, France
| | - Boris Burle
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LNC, UMR 7291, 13331 Marseille, France.
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37
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Bashore TR, Ally B, van Wouwe NC, Neimat JS, van den Wildenberg WPM, Wylie SA. Exposing an "Intangible" Cognitive Skill Among Collegiate Football Players: II. Enhanced Response Impulse Control. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1496. [PMID: 30186200 PMCID: PMC6113713 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
American football is played in a dynamic environment that places considerable demands on a player’s ability to make fast, precise reactions while controlling premature, impulsive reactions to spatial misinformation. We investigated the hypothesis that collegiate football players are more proficient than their non-athlete counterparts at controlling impulsive motor actions. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football players (n = 280) and non-athlete controls (n = 32) completed a variant of the Simon conflict task, which quantifies choice reaction speed and the proficiency of controlling spatially driven response impulses. Overall, the choice reaction times (RTs) and accuracy rates of football players and controls were equivalent. Similarly, football players and controls were equally susceptible to producing incorrect impulsive motor responses. However, the slowing of RT attributed to the activation and successful inhibition of these impulses (i.e., the Simon effect) was reduced significantly among football players compared to controls. Moreover, differences in impulse control varied by position among the players, with the reduction being greater for offensive than for defensive players. Among offensive players, running backs, wide receivers, and offensive linemen had greater impulse control than did controls, whereas among defensive players only linebackers had greater control. Notably, the Simon effect was reduced by 60% in running backs compared to controls. These results contribute to emerging evidence that elite football players possess more proficient executive control over their motor systems than their age counterparts and suggest that the speed of controlling impulsive motor reactions may represent an enhanced cognitive “intangible” among football players.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore R Bashore
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, United States
| | - Brandon Ally
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Nelleke C van Wouwe
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Joseph S Neimat
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | | | - Scott A Wylie
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
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38
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Summerside EM, Shadmehr R, Ahmed AA. Vigor of reaching movements: reward discounts the cost of effort. J Neurophysiol 2018. [PMID: 29537911 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00872.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Making a movement may be thought of as an economic decision in which one spends effort to acquire reward. Time discounts reward, which predicts that the magnitude of reward should affect movement vigor: we should move faster, spending greater effort, when there is greater reward at stake. Indeed, saccade peak velocities are greater and reaction-times shorter when a target is paired with reward. In this study, we focused on human reaching and asked whether movement kinematics were affected by expectation of reward. Participants made out-and-back reaching movements to one of four quadrants of a 14-cm circle. During various periods of the experiment only one of the four quadrants was paired with reward, and the transition from reward to nonreward status of a quadrant occurred randomly. Our experiment design minimized dependence of reward on accuracy, granting the subjects wide latitude in self-selecting their movement speed, amplitude, and variability. When a quadrant was paired with reward, reaching movements had a shorter reaction time, higher peak velocity, and greater amplitude. Despite this greater vigor, movements toward the rewarded quadrant suffered from less variability: both reaction times and reach kinematics were less variable when there was expectation of reward. Importantly, the effect of reward on vigor was specific to the movement component that preceded the time of reward (outward reach), not the movement component that followed it (return reach). Our results suggest that expectation of reward not only increases vigor of human reaching but also decreases its variability. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Movements may be thought of as an economic transaction where the vigor of the movement represents the effort that the brain is willing to expend to acquire a rewarding state. We show that in reaching, reward discounts the cost of effort, producing movements with shorter reaction time, higher velocity, greater amplitude, and reduced reaction-time variability. These results complement earlier observations in saccades, suggesting a common principle of economics across modalities of motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik M Summerside
- Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado , Boulder, Colorado
| | - Reza Shadmehr
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alaa A Ahmed
- Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado , Boulder, Colorado
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Wylie SA, Bashore TR, Van Wouwe NC, Mason EJ, John KD, Neimat JS, Ally BA. Exposing an "Intangible" Cognitive Skill among Collegiate Football Players: Enhanced Interference Control. Front Psychol 2018; 9:49. [PMID: 29479325 PMCID: PMC5811505 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
American football is played in a chaotic visual environment filled with relevant and distracting information. We investigated the hypothesis that collegiate football players show exceptional skill at shielding their response execution from the interfering effects of distraction (interference control). The performances of 280 football players from National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football programs were compared to age-matched controls in a variant of the Eriksen flanker task (Eriksen and Eriksen, 1974). This task quantifies the magnitude of interference produced by visual distraction on split-second response execution. Overall, football athletes and age controls showed similar mean reaction times (RTs) and accuracy rates. However, football athletes were more proficient at shielding their response execution speed from the interfering effects of distraction (i.e., smaller flanker effect costs on RT). Offensive and defensive players showed smaller interference costs compared to controls, but defensive players showed the smallest costs. All defensive positions and one offensive position showed statistically smaller interference effects when compared directly to age controls. These data reveal a clear cognitive advantage among football athletes at executing motor responses in the face of distraction, the existence and magnitude of which vary by position. Individual differences in cognitive control may have important implications for both player selection and development to improve interference control capabilities during play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A. Wylie
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Theodore R. Bashore
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, United States
| | - Nelleke C. Van Wouwe
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Emily J. Mason
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Kevin D. John
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Joseph S. Neimat
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Brandon A. Ally
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
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Resting heart rate variability is associated with ex-Gaussian metrics of intra-individual reaction time variability. Int J Psychophysiol 2018; 125:10-16. [PMID: 29408149 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Revised: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The relationships between vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and the cognitive mechanisms underlying performance can be elucidated with ex-Gaussian modeling-an approach that quantifies two different forms of intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). To this end, the current study examined relations of resting vmHRV to whole-distribution and ex-Gaussian IIV. Subjects (N = 83) completed a 5-minute baseline while vmHRV (root mean square of successive differences; RMSSD) was measured. Ex-Gaussian (sigma, tau) and whole-distribution (standard deviation) estimates of IIV were derived from reaction times on a Stroop task. Resting vmHRV was found to be inversely related to tau (exponential IIV) but not to sigma (Gaussian IIV) or the whole-distribution standard deviation of RTs. Findings suggest that individuals with high vmHRV can better prevent attentional lapses but not difficulties with motor control. These findings inform the differential relationships of cardiac vagal control to the cognitive processes underlying human performance.
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41
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White CN, Servant M, Logan GD. Testing the validity of conflict drift-diffusion models for use in estimating cognitive processes: A parameter-recovery study. Psychon Bull Rev 2018; 25:286-301. [PMID: 28357629 PMCID: PMC5788738 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-017-1271-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Researchers and clinicians are interested in estimating individual differences in the ability to process conflicting information. Conflict processing is typically assessed by comparing behavioral measures like RTs or error rates from conflict tasks. However, these measures are hard to interpret because they can be influenced by additional processes like response caution or bias. This limitation can be circumvented by employing cognitive models to decompose behavioral data into components of underlying decision processes, providing better specificity for investigating individual differences. A new class of drift-diffusion models has been developed for conflict tasks, presenting a potential tool to improve analysis of individual differences in conflict processing. However, measures from these models have not been validated for use in experiments with limited data collection. The present study assessed the validity of these models with a parameter-recovery study to determine whether and under what circumstances the models provide valid measures of cognitive processing. Three models were tested: the dual-stage two-phase model (Hübner, Steinhauser, & Lehle, Psychological Review, 117(3), 759-784, 2010), the shrinking spotlight model (White, Ratcliff, & Starns, Cognitive Psychology, 63(4), 210-238, 2011), and the diffusion model for conflict tasks (Ulrich, Schröter, Leuthold, & Birngruber, Cogntive Psychology, 78, 148-174, 2015). The validity of the model parameters was assessed using different methods of fitting the data and different numbers of trials. The results show that each model has limitations in recovering valid parameters, but they can be mitigated by adding constraints to the model. Practical recommendations are provided for when and how each model can be used to analyze data and provide measures of processing in conflict tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corey N White
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, 409 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA.
| | - Mathieu Servant
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gordon D Logan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES We investigated how broad motivational tendencies are related to the expression and suppression of action impulses in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS Sixty-nine participants with PD completed a Simon response conflict task and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales based on Gray's (1987) reinforcement sensitivity theory. Analyses determined relationships between BIS, BAS, and the susceptibility to making impulsive action errors and the proficiency of inhibiting interference from action impulses. RESULTS BIS scores correlated positively with rates of impulsive action errors, indicating that participants endorsing low BIS tendencies were much more susceptible to acting on strong motor impulses. Analyses of subgroups with high versus low BIS scores confirmed this pattern and ruled out alternative explanations in terms of group differences in speed-accuracy tradeoffs. None of the scores on the BIS or BAS scales correlated with reactive inhibitory control. CONCLUSIONS PD participants who endorse diminished predilection toward monitoring and avoiding aversive experiences (low BIS) show much greater difficulty restraining fast, impulsive motor errors. Establishing relationships between motivational sensitivities and cognitive control processes may have important implications for treatment strategies and positive health outcomes in participants with PD, particularly those at risk for falling and driving difficulties related to impulsive reactions. (JINS, 2018, 24, 128-138).
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Querne L, Fall S, Le Moing AG, Bourel-Ponchel E, Delignières A, Simonnot A, de Broca A, Gondry-Jouet C, Boucart M, Berquin P. Effects of Methylphenidate on Default-Mode Network/Task-Positive Network Synchronization in Children With ADHD. J Atten Disord 2017; 21:1208-1220. [PMID: 24420764 DOI: 10.1177/1087054713517542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A failure of the anti-phase synchronization between default-mode (DMN) and task-positive networks (TPN) may be involved in a main manifestation of ADHD: moment-to-moment variability. The study investigated whereby methylphenidate may improve TPN/DMN synchronization in ADHD. METHOD Eleven drug-naive ADHD children and 11 typically developing (TD) children performed a flanker task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The ADHD group was scanned without and 1 month later with methylphenidate. The signal was analyzed by independent component analysis. RESULTS The TD group showed anti-phase DMN/TPN synchronization. The unmedicated ADHD group showed synchronous activity in the posterior DMN only, which was positively correlated with response time variability for the flanker task. Methylphenidate initiated a partial anti-phase TPN/DMN synchronization, reduced variability, and abolished the variability/DMN correlation. CONCLUSION Although results should be interpreted cautiously because the sample size is small, they suggest that a failure of the TPN/DMN synchronization could be involved in the moment-to-moment variability in ADHD. Methylphenidate initiated TPN/DMN synchronization, which in turn appeared to reduce variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Querne
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France.,2 Service de Neuropédiatrie, CHU Amiens-Picardie, France
| | - Sidy Fall
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France.,2 Service de Neuropédiatrie, CHU Amiens-Picardie, France
| | - Anne-Gaëlle Le Moing
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France.,2 Service de Neuropédiatrie, CHU Amiens-Picardie, France
| | | | - Aline Delignières
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France.,2 Service de Neuropédiatrie, CHU Amiens-Picardie, France
| | - Anais Simonnot
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France
| | - Alain de Broca
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France
| | | | | | - Patrick Berquin
- 1 GRAMFC INSERM U1105, Université de Picardie Jules-vernes, France.,2 Service de Neuropédiatrie, CHU Amiens-Picardie, France
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Rousselet GA, Pernet CR, Wilcox RR. Beyond differences in means: robust graphical methods to compare two groups in neuroscience. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 46:1738-1748. [PMID: 28544058 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
If many changes are necessary to improve the quality of neuroscience research, one relatively simple step could have great pay-offs: to promote the adoption of detailed graphical methods, combined with robust inferential statistics. Here, we illustrate how such methods can lead to a much more detailed understanding of group differences than bar graphs and t-tests on means. To complement the neuroscientist's toolbox, we present two powerful tools that can help us understand how groups of observations differ: the shift function and the difference asymmetry function. These tools can be combined with detailed visualisations to provide complementary perspectives about the data. We provide implementations in R and MATLAB of the graphical tools, and all the examples in the article can be reproduced using R scripts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume A Rousselet
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, G12 8QB, Glasgow, UK
| | - Cyril R Pernet
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Neuroimaging Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Rand R Wilcox
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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van Wouwe NC, Pallavaram S, Phibbs FT, Martinez-Ramirez D, Neimat JS, Dawant BM, D'Haese PF, Kanoff KE, van den Wildenberg WPM, Okun MS, Wylie SA. Focused stimulation of dorsal subthalamic nucleus improves reactive inhibitory control of action impulses. Neuropsychologia 2017; 99:37-47. [PMID: 28237741 PMCID: PMC5493526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Frontal-basal ganglia circuitry dysfunction caused by Parkinson's disease impairs important executive cognitive processes, such as the ability to inhibit impulsive action tendencies. Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's disease improves the reactive inhibition of impulsive actions that interfere with goal-directed behavior. An unresolved question is whether this effect depends on stimulation of a particular Subthalamic Nucleus subregion. The current study aimed to 1) replicate previous findings and additionally investigate the effect of chronic versus acute Subthalamic Nucleus stimulation on inhibitory control in Parkinson's disease patients off dopaminergic medication 2) test whether stimulating Subthalamic Nucleus subregions differentially modulate proactive response control and the proficiency of reactive inhibitory control. In the first experiment, twelve Parkinson's disease patients completed three sessions of the Simon task, Off Deep brain stimulation and medication, on acute Deep Brain Stimulation and on chronic Deep Brain Stimulation. Experiment 2 consisted of 11 Parkinson's disease patients with Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation (off medication) who completed two testing sessions involving of a Simon task either with stimulation of the dorsal or the ventral contact in the Subthalamic Nucleus. Our findings show that Deep Brain Stimulation improves reactive inhibitory control, regardless of medication and regardless of whether it concerns chronic or acute Subthalamic Nucleus stimulation. More importantly, selective stimulation of dorsal and ventral subregions of the Subthalamic Nucleus indicates that especially the dorsal Subthalamic Nucleus circuitries are crucial for modulating the reactive inhibitory control of motor actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- N C van Wouwe
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - S Pallavaram
- Department of Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - F T Phibbs
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - D Martinez-Ramirez
- Department of Neurology, University of Florida Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - J S Neimat
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville Medical Center, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - B M Dawant
- Department of Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - P F D'Haese
- Department of Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - K E Kanoff
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - W P M van den Wildenberg
- Cognitive Science Center Amsterdam and Psychology Department, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M S Okun
- Department of Neurology, University of Florida Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - S A Wylie
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville Medical Center, Louisville, KY, USA
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46
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Effects of nicotine on response inhibition and interference control. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:1093-1111. [PMID: 28150023 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4542-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Nicotine is a cholinergic agonist with known pro-cognitive effects in the domains of alerting and orienting attention. However, its effects on attentional top-down functions such as response inhibition and interference control are less well characterised. Here, we investigated the effects of 7 mg transdermal nicotine on performance on a battery of response inhibition and interference control tasks. A sample of N = 44 healthy adult non-smokers performed antisaccade, stop signal, Stroop, go/no-go, flanker, shape matching and Simon tasks, as well as the attentional network test (ANT) and a continuous performance task (CPT). Nicotine was administered in a within-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, with order of drug administration counterbalanced. Relative to placebo, nicotine led to significantly shorter reaction times on a prosaccade task and on CPT hits but did not significantly improve inhibitory or interference control performance on any task. Instead, nicotine had a negative influence in increasing the interference effect on the Simon task. Nicotine did not alter inter-individual associations between reaction times on congruent trials and error rates on incongruent trials on any task. Finally, there were effects involving order of drug administration, suggesting practice effects but also beneficial nicotine effects when the compound was administered first. Overall, our findings support previous studies showing positive effects of nicotine on basic attentional functions but do not provide direct evidence for an improvement of top-down cognitive control through acute administration of nicotine at this dose in healthy non-smokers.
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47
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Delta plots with negative-going slopes as a potential marker of decreasing response activation in masked semantic priming. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2017; 82:590-599. [PMID: 28251371 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-017-0844-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Delta plots with negative-going slopes (nDPs) reflect the phenomenon that an RT difference between two conditions is greater for relatively fast than for relatively slow responses. This unusual distributional pattern has predominantly been observed in the spatial Simon task, where it has been interpreted as reflecting the selective inhibition of an automatically activated response. The literature suggesting that a similar fading mechanism influences RTs in masked identity priming inspired us to check an analogous semantic priming paradigm for nDPs. Consistent with the findings in other paradigms, two masked semantic priming experiments revealed stronger priming effects for relatively fast than for relatively slow responses, thus reflecting an nDP. These findings are compatible with the ideas that the activation produced by masked semantic primes decreases over the course of a trial, such as that of irrelevant spatial information and of masked identity primes, and that nDPs are a general signature of within-trial decreases in response activation across different tasks and paradigms.
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Holper LKB, Aleksandrowicz A, Müller M, Ajdacic-Gross V, Haker H, Fallgatter AJ, Hagenmuller F, Kawohl W, Rössler W. Distribution of Response Time, Cortical, and Cardiac Correlates during Emotional Interference in Persons with Subclinical Psychotic Symptoms. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:172. [PMID: 27660608 PMCID: PMC5014856 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A psychosis phenotype can be observed below the threshold of clinical detection. The study aimed to investigate whether subclinical psychotic symptoms are associated with deficits in controlling emotional interference, and whether cortical brain and cardiac correlates of these deficits can be detected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A data set derived from a community sample was obtained from the Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services. 174 subjects (mean age 29.67 ± 6.41, 91 females) were assigned to four groups ranging from low to high levels of subclinical psychotic symptoms (derived from the Symptom Checklist-90-R). Emotional interference was assessed using the emotional Stroop task comprising neutral, positive, and negative conditions. Statistical distributional methods based on delta plots [behavioral response time (RT) data] and quantile analysis (fNIRS data) were applied to evaluate the emotional interference effects. Results showed that both interference effects and disorder-specific (i.e., group-specific) effects could be detected, based on behavioral RTs, cortical hemodynamic signals (brain correlates), and heart rate variability (cardiac correlates). Subjects with high compared to low subclinical psychotic symptoms revealed significantly reduced amplitudes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (interference effect, p < 0.001) and middle temporal gyrus (disorder-specific group effect, p < 0.001), supported by behavioral and heart rate results. The present findings indicate that distributional analyses methods can support the detection of emotional interference effects in the emotional Stroop. The results suggested that subjects with high subclinical psychosis exhibit enhanced emotional interference effects. Based on these observations, subclinical psychosis may therefore prove to represent a valid extension of the clinical psychosis phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa K B Holper
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alekandra Aleksandrowicz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Mario Müller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Helene Haker
- The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany; LEAD Graduate School, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
| | - Florence Hagenmuller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Wolfram Kawohl
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Wulf Rössler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services, University Hospital of Psychiatry ZurichZurich, Switzerland; Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of São PauloSão Paulo, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University MedicineBerlin, Germany
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Wiecki TV, Antoniades CA, Stevenson A, Kennard C, Borowsky B, Owen G, Leavitt B, Roos R, Durr A, Tabrizi SJ, Frank MJ. A Computational Cognitive Biomarker for Early-Stage Huntington's Disease. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148409. [PMID: 26872129 PMCID: PMC4752511 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 01/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is genetically determined but with variability in symptom onset, leading to uncertainty as to when pharmacological intervention should be initiated. Here we take a computational approach based on neurocognitive phenotyping, computational modeling, and classification, in an effort to provide quantitative predictors of HD before symptom onset. A large sample of subjects-consisting of both pre-manifest individuals carrying the HD mutation (pre-HD), and early symptomatic-as well as healthy controls performed the antisaccade conflict task, which requires executive control and response inhibition. While symptomatic HD subjects differed substantially from controls in behavioral measures [reaction time (RT) and error rates], there was no such clear behavioral differences in pre-HD. RT distributions and error rates were fit with an accumulator-based model which summarizes the computational processes involved and which are related to identified mechanisms in more detailed neural models of prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. Classification based on fitted model parameters revealed a key parameter related to executive control differentiated pre-HD from controls, whereas the response inhibition parameter declined only after symptom onset. These findings demonstrate the utility of computational approaches for classification and prediction of brain disorders, and provide clues as to the underlying neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas V. Wiecki
- Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown, Providence, United States of America
| | - Chrystalina A. Antoniades
- Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6 West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Stevenson
- Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6 West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Kennard
- Division of Clinical Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6 West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Beth Borowsky
- CHDI Management Inc/CHDI Foundation, 155 Village Boulevard, Suite 200, Princeton, NJ 08540, United States of America
| | - Gail Owen
- Huntington’s Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, 2nd Floor Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Blair Leavitt
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Raymund Roos
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alexandra Durr
- Department of Genetics and Cytogenetics, and INSERM UMR S679, APHP Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Sarah J. Tabrizi
- Huntington’s Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, 2nd Floor Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Frank
- Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown, Providence, United States of America
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van Wouwe NC, Kanoff KE, Claassen DO, Spears CA, Neimat J, van den Wildenberg WPM, Wylie SA. Dissociable Effects of Dopamine on the Initial Capture and the Reactive Inhibition of Impulsive Actions in Parkinson's Disease. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 28:710-23. [PMID: 26836515 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine plays a key role in a range of action control processes. Here, we investigate how dopamine depletion caused by Parkinson disease (PD) and how dopamine restoring medication modulate the expression and suppression of unintended action impulses. Fifty-five PD patients and 56 healthy controls (HCs) performed an action control task (Simon task). PD patients completed the task twice, once withdrawn from dopamine medications and once while taking their medications. PD patients experienced similar susceptibility to making fast errors in conflict trials as HCs, but PD patients were less proficient compared with HCs at suppressing incorrect responses. Administration of dopaminergic medications had no effect on impulsive error rates but significantly improved the proficiency of inhibitory control in PD patients. We found no evidence that dopamine precursors and agonists affected action control in PD differently. Additionally, there was no clear evidence that individual differences in baseline action control (off dopamine medications) differentially responded to dopamine medications (i.e., no evidence for an inverted U-shaped performance curve). Together, these results indicate that dopamine depletion and restoration therapies directly modulate the reactive inhibitory control processes engaged to suppress interference from the spontaneously activated response impulses but exert no effect on an individual's susceptibility to act on impulses.
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