Prepotent motor activity and inhibitory control demands in different variants of the go/no-go paradigm

Effects of volume-matched once-weekly and thrice-weekly high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on body adiposity in adults with central obesity: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Objective

This study aims to examine the comparative effects of 75 min of volume-matched once-weekly and thrice-weekly high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on body adiposity in adults with central obesity.

Methods

This assessor-blinded, three-arm, randomized controlled trial will recruit 315 physically inactive adults with central obesity (aged ≥18 years, body mass index ≥23, waist circumference ≥90 cm for men and ≥80 cm for women). Participants will be randomly allocated to the once-weekly HIIT, thrice-weekly HIIT or usual care control group. Participants in the HIIT groups will receive weekly exercise training sessions for 16 weeks, prescribed either once or three times weekly. Each HIIT session will consist of a supervised program of four 4-min high-intensity intervals at 85%-95% peak heart rate (HRpeak) interspersed with 3-min active recovery intervals at 50%-70% HRpeak. Participants in the once-weekly HIIT group will perform the 25-min HIIT bout three times with a break between each 25-min HIIT bout. The usual care control group will receive bi-weekly health education classes. The outcome assessments will be conducted at baseline, 16 weeks (post-intervention) and 32 weeks (follow-up). The primary outcome will be total body adiposity assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The secondary outcome measures will include markers of cardiovascular and metabolic health (body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure, and blood lipids), mental health, cognitive performance, health-related quality of life, sleep quality, habitual physical activity, diet, medication, adverse events and adherence to the intervention.

Impact of the project

The findings from this study are expected to consolidate the therapeutic efficacy of HIIT for the management of central obesity and inform the comparative compliance, feasibility and suitability of once-weekly and thrice-weekly HIIT as exercise strategies to manage obesity. In particular, the present study is expected to provide a novel perspective on the utility of low-frequency HIIT (i.e., once-weekly) as an effective and sustainable exercise strategy to tackle the obesity pandemic. The anticipated findings will hold substantial translational value by informing public health policies and enhancing exercise compliance in the physically inactive obese population.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04887454).

Accelerometer-based and self-reported physical activity and sedentary time and their relationships with the P300 in a Go/No-Go task in older adults

Older adults who experience cognitive decline are more likely to have a reduced quality of life. Identifying lifestyle factors that may influence cognitive processing and in turn improve quality of life during older adulthood is an important area of interest. Cognitive function, as measured by the P300 event-related potential (ERP), has been noted to be modified by physical activity; however, no study to date has examined relationships between this neurophysiological measure and physical activity and sedentary time in older adults. Furthermore, there is a gap in understanding as to whether physical activity and sedentary time assessed using self-reported and accelerometer-based methods similarly relate to the P300. This study aimed to assess the P300 during a Go/No-Go task in relation to self-reported and accelerometer-based physical activity and sedentary time in a community sample of 75 older adults. Results indicated that participants engaging in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had larger P300 amplitudes across self-reported and accelerometer-based measurements; however, no relationships between sedentary time and P300 amplitude were observed. Notably, accelerometer-based moderate-to-vigorous physical activity explained P300 amplitudes over and above self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity-an effect that remained significant even after accounting for age. Although these results highlight the importance of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in relation to cognitive function, as measured via the P300 in older adults, a secondary analysis indicated that engaging in lifestyle activity may have similar effects on the P300 as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. In sum, the present study highlights the role of habitual engagement in physical activity as a possible means for supporting cognitive function during the aging process.

A novel electrochemical aptasensor based on AgPdNPs/PEI-GO and hollow nanobox-like Pt@Ni-CoHNBs for procymidone detection

Herein, an aptasensor based on a signal amplification strategy was developed for the sensitive detection of procymidone (PCM). AgPd nanoparticles/Polenimine Graphite oxide (AgPdNPs/PEI-GO) was weaned as electrode modification material to facilitate electron transport and increase the active sites on the electrode surface. Besides, Pt@Ni-Co nanoboxes (Pt@Ni-CoHNBs) were utilized to be carriers for signaling tags, after hollowing ZIF-67 and growing Pt, the resulting Pt@Ni-CoHNBs has a tremendous amounts of folds occurred on the surface, enables it to carry a larger quantity of thionine, thus amplify the detectable electrochemical signal. In the presence of PCM, the binding of PCM to the signal probe would trigger a change in electrical signal. The aptasensor was demonstrated with excellent sensitivity and a low detection limit of 0.98 pg·mL-1, along with a wide linear range of 1 μg·mL-1 to 1 pg·mL-1. Meanwhile, the specificity, stability and reproducibility of the constructed aptasensor were proved to be satisfactory.

Inhibitory control of gait initiation in humans: An electroencephalography study

Response inhibition is a crucial component of executive control. Although mainly studied in upper limb tasks, it is fully implicated in gait initiation. Here, we assessed the influence of proactive and reactive inhibitory control during gait initiation in healthy adult participants. For this purpose, we measured kinematics and electroencephalography (EEG) activity (event-related potential [ERP] and time-frequency data) during a modified Go/NoGo gait initiation task in 23 healthy adults. The task comprised Go-certain, Go-uncertain, and NoGo conditions. Each trial included preparatory and imperative stimuli. Our results showed that go-uncertainty resulted in delayed reaction time, without any difference for the other parameters of gait initiation. Proactive inhibition, that is, Go uncertain versus Go certain conditions, influenced EEG activity as soon as the preparatory stimulus. Moreover, both proactive and reactive inhibition influenced the amplitude of the ERPs (central P1, occipito-parietal N1, and N2/P3) and theta and alpha/low beta band activities in response to the imperative-Go-uncertain versus Go-certain and NoGo versus Go-uncertain-stimuli. These findings demonstrate that the uncertainty context; induced proactive inhibition, as reflected in delayed gait initiation. Proactive and reactive inhibition elicited extended and overlapping modulations of ERP and time-frequency activities. This study shows the protracted influence of inhibitory control in gait initiation.

Neural indices of heritable impulsivity: Impact of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on frontal beta power during early motor preparation

Studies of COMT Val158Met suggest that the neural circuitry subserving inhibitory control may be modulated by this functional polymorphism altering cortical dopamine availability, thus giving rise to heritable differences in behaviors. Using an anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography method and stratifying the sample by COMT genotype, from a larger sample of 153 subjects, we examined the spatial and temporal dynamics of beta oscillations during motor execution and inhibition in 21 healthy Met158/Met158 (high dopamine) or 21 Val158/Val158 (low dopamine) genotype individuals during a Go/NoGo paradigm. While task performance was unaffected, Met158 homozygotes demonstrated an overall increase in beta power across regions essential for inhibitory control during early motor preparation (∼100 ms latency), suggestive of a global motor "pause" on behavior. This increase was especially evident on Go trials with slow response speed and was absent during inhibition failures. Such a pause could underlie the tendency of Met158 allele carriers to be more cautious and inhibited. In contrast, Val158 homozygotes exhibited a beta drop during early motor preparation, indicative of high response readiness. This decrease was associated with measures of behavioral disinhibition and consistent with greater extraversion and impulsivity observed in Val homozygotes. These results provide mechanistic insight into genetically-determined interindividual differences of inhibitory control with higher cortical dopamine associated with momentary response hesitation, and lower dopamine leading to motor impulsivity.

Aggressiveness, inhibitory control, and emotional states: A provocation paradigm

The current study examines the effects of trait aggressiveness, inhibitory control and emotional states on aggressive behavior in a laboratory paradigm. One hundred and fifty-one adult participants took part (73 men, 71 women, and 7 nondisclosed). Event Related Potentials (ERPs) during a Go/No-Go task were utilized to capture the extent of inhibitory processing, with a laboratory provocation paradigm used to assess aggression. Contrary to the expectations, negative affective responses to provocation were negatively associated only with short-lived aggression and only among those with high past aggressiveness. Furthermore, past aggressiveness was related to a continuous increase in laboratory aggressive behavior regardless of the level of inhibitory control (P3 difference amplitude). However, feeling hostile was associated with short-lived aggressive behavior, only in those with lower levels of inhibitory control. These findings demonstrate the effect of distinct mechanisms on different patterns of aggressive behavior.

A differential impact of action-effect temporal contiguity on different measures of response inhibition in the Go\No-Go and Stop-signal paradigms

Response inhibition refers to suppressing a prepotent motor response and is often studied and discussed as an act of cognitive control. Much less attention was given to the potential contribution of motor control processes to response inhibition. Accumulated empirical findings show that a perceptual effect temporally contiguous with a response improves motor control performance. In the current study, we followed this work by manipulating action-effect temporal contiguity to enhance motor performance and investigated its impact on response selection and inhibition. In two experiments, we integrated a Go/No-Go (GNGT; Experiment 1) and a Stop-signal (SST; Experiment 2) task with the Effect-Motivation task, previously used to capture the facilitating impact of action-effect temporal contiguity on response times (RTs). Replicating previous findings, RTs were shorter following temporally contiguous compared to Lagged action-effect in Go trials in both the GNGT (Experiment 1) and SST (Experiment 2). Notably, an Immediate action-effect improved response inhibition in the GNGT (Experiment 1) but did not modulate Stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) in the SST (Experiment 2). Unexpectedly, the error rate on Go trials was higher in the Immediate effect condition in Experiment 2. We interpret the findings to suggest that an action's (Immediate) perceptual effect may promote response inhibition performance by enhancing selective association between the Go stimuli and the Go response and not by improving cognitive control ability. The findings also imply that an Immediate action-effect may hamper action control (e.g., by increasing general readiness to respond), at least when action control does not benefit from automatic stimulus-response association.

Contextual cueing during lethal force training: How target design and repetition can alter threat assessments

Lethal force training requires individuals to make threat assessments, which involves holistic scenario processing to identify potential threats. Photorealistic targets can make threat/non-threat judgments substantially more genuine and challenging compared to simple cardboard or silhouette targets. Unfortunately, repeated target use also brings unintended consequences that could invalidate threat assessment processes conducted during training. Contextually rich or unique targets could be implicitly memorable in a way that allows observers to recall weapon locations rather than forcing observers to conduct a naturalistic assessment. Experiment 1 demonstrated robust contextual cueing effects in a well-established shoot/don't-shoot stimulus set, and Experiment 2 extended this finding from complex scene stimuli to simple actor-only stimuli. Experiment 3 demonstrated that these effects also occurred among trained professionals using rifles rather than computer-based tasks. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the potential for uncontrolled target repetition to alter the fundamental processes of threat assessment during lethal force training.

Failures to launch preclude response inhibition

Neural analyses of response inhibition rely on separating trials with and without a behavioral response. Can researchers be sure the absence of a behavioral outcome equates to the presence of inhibitory control? We emphasize advancing response inhibition research by utilizing peripheral measures of response progress to define behavioral stopping contrasts.

Effects of sleep deprivation on food-related Pavlovian-instrumental transfer: a randomized crossover experiment

Recent research suggests that insufficient sleep elevates the risk of obesity. Although the mechanisms underlying the relationship between insufficient sleep and obesity are not fully understood, preliminary evidence suggests that insufficient sleep may intensify habitual control of behavior, leading to greater cue-elicited food-seeking behavior that is insensitive to satiation. The present study tested this hypothesis using a within-individual, randomized, crossover experiment. Ninety-six adults underwent a one-night normal sleep duration (NSD) condition and a one-night total sleep deprivation (TSD) condition. They also completed the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer paradigm in which their instrumental responses for food in the presence and absence of conditioned cues were recorded. The sleep × cue × satiation interaction was significant, indicating that the enhancing effect of conditioned cues on food-seeking responses significantly differed across sleep × satiation conditions. However, this effect was observed in NSD but not TSD, and it disappeared after satiation. This finding contradicted the hypothesis but aligned with previous literature on the effect of sleep disruption on appetitive conditioning in animals-sleep disruption following learning impaired the expression of appetitive behavior. The present finding is the first evidence for the role of sleep in Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effects. Future research is needed to further disentangle how sleep influences motivational mechanisms underlying eating.

The potential of infra-low frequency neurofeedback training in peak performance: The first double-blinded placebo-controlled longitudinal study in healthy adults

Infra-low frequency neurofeedback training (ILF-NFT) has shown promise in addressing cognitive and affective distress symptoms across a range of psychiatric disorders. This study tested ILF-NFT's effects in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled longitudinal context in healthy psychology students. Across five weeks, forty-two healthy psychology students (aged 18-35) were randomly allocated into two groups, receiving ten sessions of 30 minutes of active and sham ILF-NFT. Dependent variables were measured before, following, and two months after the intervention and were comprised of: heartrate variability assessments as a measure of stress resilience; digit span, n-back, trail making and go-no-go task measures of executive functioning performance; and SCL-90-R, WHOQOL-Bref, and peak performance measures of subjective self-report. Statistical analysis was performed using an ANCOVA and compared across groups correcting for baseline differences and multiple comparisons. ANCOVA analyses revealed no significant differences across active and placebo groups in any dependent variables, when correcting for multiple comparisons. Thus, the remaining analyses focused on questionnaire correlations. Here, significant correlations were observed between the novel peak performance questionnaire with the SCL-90-R and WHOQOL-Bref, confirming its construct and retest validity. Despite several methodological limitations, including a potential type-2 error, this study highlights limited effects of ILF-NFT in healthy volunteers. Future research should thus focus on clinically driven experimental designs to explore ILF-NFT's potential in psychiatric contexts. Further research utilization of the novel peak performance questionnaire is recommended for measures of peak performance.

An event-related potential study of prepotent motor activity and response inhibition deficits in schizophrenia

Response inhibition deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) are accompanied by reduced neural activities using event-related potential (ERP) measurements. However, it remains unclear whether the reduction in inhibition-related ERPs in SZ is contingent upon prepotent motor tendencies. This study aimed to examine the relationship between ERP markers of prepotent motor activity (lateralised readiness potential, LRP) and response inhibition (P3) by collecting behavioural and EEG data from healthy control (HC) subjects and SZ patients during a modified Go/No-Go task. A trial-averaged analysis revealed that SZ patients made more commission errors in No-Go trials compared with HC subjects, although there was no significant difference in the inhibition-related P3 effect (i.e. larger P3 amplitudes in No-Go compared with Go trials) between the two groups. Subsequently, No-Go trials were sorted and median-split into bins of stronger and weaker motor tendencies. Both HC and SZ participants made more commission errors when faced with stronger motor tendencies. The LRP-sorted P3 data indicated that HC subjects exhibited larger P3 effects in response to stronger motor tendencies, whereas this trial-by-trial association between P3 and motor tendencies was absent in SZ patients. Furthermore, SZ patients displayed diminished P3 effects in No-Go trials with stronger motor tendencies but not in trials with weaker motor tendencies, relative to HC subjects. Taken together, these findings suggest that SZ patients are unable to dynamically adjust inhibition-related neural activities in response to changing inhibitory control demands and emphasise the importance of considering prepotent motor activity when investigating the neural mechanisms underlying response inhibition deficits in SZ.

Inhibitory control in teleost fish: a methodological and conceptual review

Inhibitory control (IC) plays a central role in behaviour control allowing an individual to resist external lures and internal predispositions. While IC has been consistently investigated in humans, other mammals, and birds, research has only recently begun to explore IC in other vertebrates. This review examines current literature on teleost fish, focusing on both methodological and conceptual aspects. I describe the main paradigms adopted to study IC in fish, identifying well-established tasks that fit various research applications and highlighting their advantages and limitations. In the conceptual analysis, I identify two well-developed lines of research with fish examining IC. The first line focuses on a comparative approach aimed to describe IC at the level of species and to understand the evolution of interspecific differences in relation to ecological specialisation, brain size, and factors affecting cognitive performance. Findings suggest several similarities between fish and previously studied vertebrates. The second line of research focuses on intraspecific variability of IC. Available results indicate substantial variation in fish IC related to sex, personality, genetic, age, and phenotypic plasticity, aligning with what is observed with other vertebrates. Overall, this review suggests that although data on teleosts are still scarce compared to mammals, the contribution of this group to IC research is already substantial and can further increase in various disciplines including comparative psychology, cognitive ecology, and neurosciences, and even in applied fields such as psychiatry research.

Theta oscillations within right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contribute differently to speech versus limb inhibition

Evidence suggests that speech and limb movement inhibition are subserved by common neural mechanisms, particularly within the right prefrontal cortex. In a recent study, we found that cathodal stimulation of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) differentially modulated P3 event-related potentials for speech versus limb inhibition. In the present study, we further analyzed these data to examine the effects of cathodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over rDLPFC on frontal theta - an oscillatory marker of cognitive control - in response to speech and limb inhibition, during a Go/No-Go task in 21 neurotypical adults. Electroencephalography data demonstrated that both speech and limb No-Go elicited prominent theta activity over right prefrontal electrodes, with stronger activity for speech compared to limb. Moreover, we found that cathodal stimulation significantly increased theta power over right prefrontal electrodes for speech versus limb No-Go. Source analysis revealed that cathodal, but not sham, stimulation increased theta activity within rDLPFC and bilateral premotor cortex for speech No-Go compared to limb movement inhibition. These findings complement our previous report and suggest (1) right prefrontal theta activity is an amodal oscillatory mechanism supporting speech and limb inhibition, (2) larger theta activity in prefrontal electrodes for speech versus limb following cathodal stimulation may reflect allocation of additional neural resources for a more complex motor task, such as speech compared to limb movement. These findings have translational implications for conditions such as Parkinson's disease, wherein both speech and limb movement are impaired.

Inhibiting responses under the watch of a recently synchronized peer increases self-monitoring: evidence from functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Developing motor synchrony with a peer (through interventions such as the mirror game) can yield collaborative, cognitive and social benefits. However, it is also well established that observation by an audience can improve cognition. The combined and relative advantages offered by motor synchronization and audience effects are not yet understood. It is important to address this gap to determine the extent to which synchronizing activities might interact with the positive effects of an audience. In this preregistered study, we investigate the extent to which response inhibition may be improved when observed by a peer after motor synchronization with this peer. We compare behavioural and cortical (functional near-infrared spectroscopy; fNIRS) measures of inhibition between synchronized and non-synchronized dyads and find that the presence of a synchronized peer-audience introduces a speed-accuracy trade-off, consisting of slower reaction times and improved accuracy. This co-occurs with cortical activation in bilateral inferior frontal and middle prefrontal cortices, which are implicated in monitoring and maintenance of social alignment. Our findings have implications for carers and support people, who may benefit from synchronizing activities for rehabilitating inhibition and social skills in clinical settings.

A combined experimental-correlational approach to the construct validity of performance-based and self-report-based measures of sustained attention

The ability to sustain attention is often measured with either objective performance indicators, like within-person RT variability, or subjective self-reports, like mind wandering propensity. A more construct valid approach, however, may be to assess the covariation in these performance and self-report measures, given that each of these is influenced by different sources of measurement error. If the correlation between performance-variability and self-report measures reflects the sustained attention construct, then task manipulations aimed at reducing the sustained attention demands of tasks should reduce the correlation between them (in addition to reducing mean levels of variability and mind wandering). The current study investigated this claim with a combined experimental-correlation approach. In two experiments (Ns ~ 1,500 each), participants completed tasks that either maximized or minimized the demand for sustained attention. Our demand manipulations successfully reduced the mean levels of sustained attention failures in both the objective and subjective measures, in both experiments. In neither experiment, however, did the covariation between these measures change as a function of the sustained attention demands of the tasks. We can therefore claim only minimal support for the construct validity of our measurement approach to sustained attention.

A comprehensive characterization of cognitive performance, clinical symptoms, and cortical activity following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to investigate clinical symptoms, cognitive performance and cortical activity following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

METHODS

We recruited 30 individuals in the sub-acute phase post mTBI and 28 healthy controls with no history of head injury and compared these groups on clinical, cognitive and cortical activity measures. Measures of cortical activity included; resting state electroencephalography (EEG), task related EEG and combined transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG). Primary analyses investigated clinical, cognitive and cortical activity differences between groups. Exploratory analyses investigated the relationships between these measures.

RESULTS

At 4 weeks' post injury, mTBI participants exhibited significantly greater post concussive and clinical symptoms compared to controls; as well as reduced cognitive performance on verbal learning and working memory measures. mTBI participants demonstrated alterations in cortical activity while at rest and in response to stimulation with TMS.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study comprehensively characterized the multidimensional effect of mTBI in the sub-acute phase post injury, showing a broad range of differences compared to non-mTBI participants. Further research is needed to explore the relationship between these pathophysiologies and clinical/cognitive symptoms in mTBI.

The effects of age bias on neural correlates of successful and unsuccessful response inhibition in younger and older adults

Facilitating communication between generations has become increasingly important. However, individuals often demonstrate a preference for their own age group, which can impact social interactions, and such bias in young adults even extends to inhibitory control. To assess whether older adults also experience this phenomenon, a group of younger and older adults completed a Go/NoGo task incorporating young and old faces, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Within the networks subserving successful and unsuccessful response inhibition, patterns of activity demonstrated distinct neural age bias effects in each age group. During successful inhibition, the older adult group demonstrated significantly increased activity to other-age faces, whereas unsuccessful inhibition in the younger group produced significantly enhanced activity to other-age faces. Consequently, the findings of the study confirm that neural responses to successful and unsuccessful inhibition can be contingent on the stimulus-specific attribute of age in both younger and older adults. These findings have important implications in regard to minimizing the emergence of negative consequences, such as ageism, as a result of related implicit biases.

Electroencephalogram-Driven Machine-Learning Scenario for Assessing Impulse Control Disorder Comorbidity in Parkinson's Disease Using a Low-Cost, Custom LEGO-Like Headset

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may develop cognitive symptoms of impulse control disorders (ICDs) when chronically treated with dopamine agonist (DA) therapy for motor deficits. Motor and cognitive comorbidities critically increase the disability and mortality of the affected patients. This study proposes an electroencephalogram (EEG)-driven machine-learning scenario to automatically assess ICD comorbidity in PD. We employed a classic Go/NoGo task to appraise the capacity of cognitive and motoric inhibition with a low-cost, custom LEGO-like headset to record task-relevant EEG activity. Further, we optimized a support vector machine (SVM) and support vector regression (SVR) pipeline to learn discriminative EEG spectral signatures for the detection of ICD comorbidity and the estimation of ICD severity, respectively. With a dataset of 21 subjects with typical PD, 9 subjects with PD and ICD comorbidity (ICD), and 25 healthy controls (HC), the study results showed that the SVM pipeline differentiated subjects with ICD from subjects with PD with an accuracy of 66.3% and returned an around-chance accuracy of 53.3% for the classification of PD versus HC subjects without the comorbidity concern. Furthermore, the SVR pipeline yielded significantly higher severity scores for the ICD group than for the PD group and resembled the ICD vs. PD distinction according to the clinical questionnaire scores, which was barely replicated by random guessing. Without a commercial, high-precision EEG product, our demonstration may facilitate deploying a wearable computer-aided diagnosis system to assess the risk of DA-triggered cognitive comorbidity in patients with PD in their daily environment.

Cortical and subcortical contributions to non-motor inhibitory control: an fMRI study

Inhibition is a core executive cognitive function. However, the neural correlates of non-motor inhibitory control are not well understood. We investigated this question using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and a simple Count Go/NoGo task (n = 23), and further explored the causal relationships between activated brain regions. We found that the Count NoGo task activated a distinct pattern in the subcortical basal ganglia, including bilateral ventral anterior/lateral nucleus of thalamus (VA/VL), globus pallidus/putamen (GP/putamen), and subthalamic nucleus (STN). Stepwise regressions and mediation analyses revealed that activations in these region(s) were modulated differently by only 3 cortical regions i.e. the right inferior frontal gyrus/insula (rIFG/insula), along with left IFG/insula, and anterior cingulate cortex/supplementary motor area (ACC/SMA). The activations of bilateral VA/VL were modulated by both rSTN and rIFG/insula (with rGP/putamen as a mediator) independently, and the activation of rGP/putamen was modulated by ACC/SMA, with rIFG/insula as a mediator. Our findings provide the neural correlates of inhibitory control of counting and causal relationships between them, and strongly suggest that both indirect and hyperdirect pathways of the basal ganglia are involved in the Count NoGo condition.

Effect of colour-shape associations on visual feature discrimination

Non-synesthetes exhibit a tendency to associate specific shapes with particular colours (i.e., circle-red, triangle-yellow, and square-blue). Here, we used two Go/No-go tasks to examine the congruency priming effect of colour-shape associations on recognition efficiency of colour and shape features. At the beginning of each trial, a target colour or shape word was introduced, followed by a coloured-shape visual stimulus. Participants were required to press a key to a target stimulus ("go" cues), while withholding their responses to a non-target stimulus ("no-go" cues). The targets were presented either visually (visual word, Experiment 1) or auditorily (spoken word, Experiment 2). Results showed a congruency effect of colour-shape associations on recognition efficiency for colour and shape features in both experiments. Response times were shorter in congruent than in incongruent conditions, that a target could be recognised faster when it was presented with the congruent visual features than with incongruent ones, irrespective of the presentation form (visual or auditory). These results suggest that colour-shape associations can be strong to influence visual recognition of colour and shape features.

Neuropsychological Deficits in Disordered Screen Use Behaviours: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Over the last few decades, excessive and disordered screen use has become more prevalent, prompting investigations into its associated consequences. The extent to which disordered screen use behaviours impact neuropsychological functioning has been reportedly mixed and at times inconsistent. This review sought to synthesise the literature and estimate the magnitude of overall cognitive impairment across a wide range of disordered screen use behaviours. We also sought to determine the cognitive domains most impacted, and whether the observed impairments were moderated by the classification of screen-related behaviours (i.e., Internet or gaming) or the format of cognitive test administration (i.e., paper-and-pencil or computerised). A systematic search of databases (Embase, PsycINFO, MEDLINE) identified 43 cross-sectional articles that assessed neuropsychological performance in disordered screen use populations, 34 of which were included in the meta-analysis. A random-effects meta-analysis revealed significant small/medium (g = .38) cognitive deficits for individuals with disordered screen use behaviours relative to controls. The most affected cognitive domain with a significant medium effect size (g = .50) was attention and focus followed by a significant reduction in executive functioning (g = .31). The classification of disordered screen use behaviours into Internet or gaming categories or the format of cognitive testing did not moderate these deficits. Additionally, excluding disordered social media use in an exploratory analysis had little effect on the observed outcomes. This study highlights a number of methodological considerations that may have contributed to disparate findings and shows that disordered screen use can significantly impact cognitive performance. Recommendations for future research are also discussed. Data for this study can be found at https://osf.io/upeha/ .

Distinct effects of different neurofeedback protocols on the neural mechanisms of response inhibition in ADHD

OBJECTIVE

In attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impaired response inhibition is frequently observed. A promising non-pharmacological treatment is electroencephalography (EEG)-neurofeedback (NF) training. However, the widely used theta-down/beta-up regulation (↓θ↑β) NF protocol may not be optimal for targeting these deficits. We examined how neurofeedback protocols training the upregulation of theta and/or beta power affect inhibitory control in children and adolescents with ADHD.

METHODS

64 patients with ADHD took part in the three NF trainings. Aside from parent-reported ADHD symptoms and behavioural performance data, neurophysiological parameters collected via a Go/Nogo task and corrected to account for intraindividual variability were compared in a pre-post design and to an ADHD (n = 20) as well as a typically developing control group (n = 24).

RESULTS

The examined NF protocols resulted in similar improvements in response inhibition with the neurophysiological mechanisms differing substantially. The upregulation of theta led to a specific Nogo-P3 increase, while training beta upregulation as well as the combined protocol resulted in less specific effects.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows distinct effects of different theta/beta-neurofeedback protocols on the neural mechanisms underlying improvements in response inhibition in patients with ADHD.

SIGNIFICANCE

These effects shed further light on the oscillatory dynamics underlying cognitive control in ADHD and how these may be targeted in neurofeedback treatments.

Prepotent response inhibition in autism: Not an inhibitory deficit?

Research outcomes on prepotent response inhibition in neurodevelopmental conditions during adulthood seem inconsistent, especially in autism. To gain further insight in these inconsistencies, the current study investigates inhibitory performance, as well as task strategies such as adaptive behavior during inhibitory tasks in autistic adults. As Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often co-occurring in autism and associated with differences in both inhibition and adaptation, the role of ADHD symptoms is explored. Additionally, prior research is extended to middle- and late-adulthood, and the role of cognitive aging is assessed. Hundred-and-five autistic adults and 139 non-autistic adults (age: 20-80 yrs) were compared on a Go-NoGo task. No significant group differences in inhibitory difficulties (commission errors) or adaptation (post error slowing) were observed, and both did not relate significantly to ADHD symptoms. However, when controlling for reaction time autistic individuals made significantly more inhibitory errors than non-autistic individuals, yet the effect size was modest (Cohen's d = .27). Exploratory analyses showed that adaption significantly related to inhibition in non-autistic individuals only, possibly hinting at altered adaptive behavior during inhibitory tasks in autistic adults. ADHD symptoms related to response variability in the autism group only. Furthermore, task strategy changed with older age in both groups, with slower and more cautious responses at older age. Taken together, although minor differences may exist, autistic and non-autistic people show largely similar patterns of inhibitory behavior throughout adulthood. Differences in task timing and strategy seem relevant for future longitudinal studies on cognitive aging across neurodevelopmental conditions.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex differentially modulates inhibitory mechanisms for speech vs. limb movement

Evidence suggests that planning and execution of speech and limb movement are subserved by common neural substrates. However, less is known about whether they are supported by a common inhibitory mechanism. P3 event-related potentials (ERPs) is a neural signature of motor inhibition, which are found to be generated by several brain regions including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC). However, the relative contribution of rDLPFC to the P3 response associated with speech versus limb inhibition remains elusive. We investigated the contribution of rDLPFC to the P3 underlying speech versus limb movement inhibition. Twenty-one neurotypical adults received both cathodal and sham high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over rDLPFC. ERPs were subsequently recorded while subjects were performing speech and limb Go/No-Go tasks. Cathodal HD-tDCS decreased accuracy for speech versus limb No-Go. Both speech and limb No-Go elicited a similar topographical distribution of P3, with significantly larger amplitudes for speech versus limb at a frontocentral location following cathodal HD-tDCS. Moreover, results showed stronger activation in cingulate cortex and rDLPFC for speech versus limb No-Go following cathodal HD-tDCS. These results indicate (1) P3 is an ERP marker of amodal inhibitory mechanisms that support both speech and limb inhibition, (2) larger P3 for speech versus limb No-Go following cathodal HD-tDCS may reflect the recruitment of additional neural resources-particularly within rDLPFC and cingulate cortex-as compensatory mechanisms to counteract the temporary stimulation-induced decline in speech inhibitory process. These findings have translational implications for neurological conditions that concurrently affect speech and limb movement.

Self-control training supplementing inpatient multidisciplinary obesity treatment in children and adolescents

Research points to self-control as a possible mechanism for facilitating health behaviour and weight loss. The dual pathway model underpins the role of strong bottom-up reactivity towards food and weak top-down executive functions in obesity. Despite flourishing lab studies on attention bias modification or inhibition trainings, relatively few focused on training both processes to improve self-control in children and adolescents in inpatient multidisciplinary obesity treatment (MOT). Being part of the WELCOME project, this study investigated the effectiveness of Brain Fitness training (using the Dot Probe and Go/No-Go) as an adjunct to inpatient MOT in 131 Belgian children and adolescents. Changes in self-control (performance-based inhibitory control and attention bias as well as self-reported eating behaviour) in the experimental group were compared to sham training. Multiple Imputation was used to handle missing data. Inhibitory control and external eating improved over time (pre/post/follow-up), but we found no evidence for a significant interaction between time and condition. Future research should pay more attention to the role of individual variability in baseline self-control, sham training, and ecological validity of self-control training to improve real-life health behaviour and treatment perspectives for children and adolescents with weight problems.

Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effects in individuals with binge eating

BACKGROUND

The food addiction model of binge-eating postulates that hyperpalatable food can sensitize the reward processing system and lead to elevated cue-elicited motivational biases towards food, which eventually become habitual and compulsive. However, previous research on food reward conditioning in individuals with binge-eating is scarce. The present study examined the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) effects in individuals with recurrent binge-eating. It was hypothesized that hyperpalatable food would elicit specific transfer effects, i.e., biased responding for the signaled food even after satiation on that food, and this effect would be stronger in individuals with binge-eating compared to healthy controls.

METHODS

Fifty-one adults with recurrent binge-eating and 50 weight-matched healthy controls (mean age: 23.95 [SD = 5.62]; % female = 76.2%) completed the PIT paradigm with food rewards. Participants also completed measures of hunger, mood, impulsivity, response disinhibition, and working memory. Mixed ANOVAs were conducted to examine transfer effects and if they differed between individuals with binge-eating and those without.

RESULTS

The group by cue interaction effect was not significant, suggesting that the specific transfer effect did not differ between groups. The main effect of cue was significant, indicating that the outcome-specific cue biased instrumental responding towards the signaled hyperpalatable food. However, the biased instrumental responding was attributable to suppressed responding in the presence of the cue predicting no reward, rather than enhanced responding in the presence of the specific food-predicting cues.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings did not support the hypothesis that individuals with binge-eating would be more vulnerable to specific transfer effects elicited by hyperpalatable food, as measured by the PIT paradigm.

Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the differential effect of reward prospect on response selection and inhibition

Reward and cognitive control play crucial roles in shaping goal-directed behavior. Yet, the behavioral and neural underpinnings of interactive effects of both processes in driving our actions towards a particular goal have remained rather unclear. Given the importance of inhibitory control, we investigated the effect of reward prospect on the modulatory influence of automatic versus controlled processes during response inhibition. For this, a performance-contingent monetary reward for both correct response selection and response inhibition was added to a Simon NoGo task, which manipulates the relationship of automatic and controlled processes in Go and NoGo trials. A neurophysiological approach was used by combining EEG temporal signal decomposition and source localization methods. Compared to a non-rewarded control group, rewarded participants showed faster response execution, as well as overall lower response selection and inhibition accuracy (shifted speed-accuracy tradeoff). Interestingly, the reward group displayed a larger interference of the interactive effects of automatic versus controlled processes during response inhibition (i.e., a larger Simon NoGo effect), but not during response selection. The reward-specific behavioral effect was mirrored by the P3 amplitude, underlining the importance of stimulus-response association processes in explaining variability in response inhibition performance. The selective reward-induced neurophysiological modulation was associated with lower activation differences in relevant structures spanning the inferior frontal and parietal cortex, as well as higher activation differences in the somatosensory cortex. Taken together, this study highlights relevant neuroanatomical structures underlying selective reward effects on response inhibition and extends previous reports on the possible detrimental effect of reward-triggered performance trade-offs on cognitive control processes.

Change in brain asymmetry reflects level of acute alcohol intoxication and impacts on inhibitory control

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used substances and frequently abused, yet little is known about the neural underpinnings driving variability in inhibitory control performance after ingesting alcohol. This study was a single-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized design with participants (N = 48 healthy, social drinkers) completing three study visits. At each visit participants received one of three alcohol doses; namely, a placebo dose [equivalent Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) = 0.00%], a low dose of alcohol (target BAC = 0.04%), or a moderate dose of alcohol (target BAC = 0.08%). To measure inhibitory control, participants completed a Go/No-go task paradigm twice during each study visit, once immediately before dosing and once after, while their brain activity was measured with time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy (TD-fNIRS). BAC and subjective effects of alcohol were also assessed. We report decreased behavioral performance for the moderate dose of alcohol, but not the low or placebo doses. We observed right lateralized inhibitory prefrontal activity during go-no-go blocks, consistent with prior literature. Using standard and novel metrics of lateralization, we were able to significantly differentiate between all doses. Lastly, we demonstrate that these metrics are not only related to behavioral performance during inhibitory control, but also provide complementary information to the legal gold standard of intoxication (i.e. BAC).

How does Go/No-Go training lead to food devaluation? Separating the effects of motor inhibition and response valence

Palatable, unhealthy food stimuli can be devalued via Go/No-Go (GNG) training that consistently pairs such stimuli with motor inhibition. However, it remains unclear whether this devaluation is caused via learned associations with motor inhibition or via inferential learning based on the valence of emitted motor responses. The present research disentangles the effects of motor assignment and response valence in GNG training through task instructions. In two studies, chocolate stimuli were consistently paired with motor inhibition ("no-go") or with motor excitation ("go"). Task instructions indicated that no-go responses were negatively valenced ("do not take") and that go responses were positively valenced ("take"), or identified no-go responses as positively valenced ("keep") and go as negatively valenced ("throw away"). The results show an effect of response valence on chocolate evaluations, but no effect of motor assignment: Chocolate stimuli were consistently devalued following pairings with a negatively valenced response, regardless of whether this response entailed motor inhibition or excitation. These findings align best with an inferential account of GNG training, suggesting that devaluation effects critically depend on inferential processes regarding motor response valence. GNG training procedures may, therefore, be optimised by disambiguating the valence of go and no-go motor responses prior to training.

Sexual Stimuli Cause Behavioral Disinhibition in Both Men and Women, but Even More So in Men

In our society men are considered more impulsive than women, especially in the violent and sexual domain. This correlation of sex and impulsivity might trace back to enhanced male impulsivity in general or a domain specific effect of emotions on impulsivity. The evidence for sex differences in the interaction of emotional or sexual stimuli and impulsivity has been relatively inconclusive so far. In this study, we investigated the effects of various emotional stimuli on responsivity in a Go/No-Go task. Participants had to respond quickly to a visual cue and withhold their response to another visual cue, while different emotional pictures were presented in the background, including sexual stimuli, non-sexual positive stimuli and negative stimuli. Both men (N = 37) and women (N = 38) made most commission errors in the sexual condition, indicating a disinhibiting effect in both genders. On top of this, men made even more commission errors than women, specifically in the sexual condition and not in other conditions. Men rated sexual stimuli as more positive, but did not differ from women in arousal ratings and pupil dilation. These findings may partly indicate increased impulsive behavior under sexual arousal in men, most likely driven by enhanced approach motivation due to more positive value but not higher arousal of sexual stimuli. The results are consistent with the theory of evolutionarily based concealment of sexual interest in women.

Prepared to stop: how sense of agency in a preceding trial modulates inhibitory control in the current trial

Feeling in control of actions and events can enhance motivation for further actions. How this sense of agency (SoA) in fact influences flexible motor control remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of SoA on subsequent response inhibition in a modified go/no-go task with EEG recordings. We manipulated participants' SoA by varying the presence, predictability, and emotional valence of a visual outcome for a given motor action. When participants unexpectedly did not receive any visible outcome following their action on trial n - 1, they exhibited slower responses and lower hit rates to the go signal but higher rates of successful inhibition to the no-go signal on trial n, regardless of the emotional valence of the expected action outcome. Furthermore, enhanced inhibitory tendencies were accompanied by reduced N2 and P3 amplitudes, midfrontal theta power, and theta synchronization between midfrontal and medial to parietal areas, indicating that less top-down control is required for successful response inhibition on trial n after experiencing low SoA on trial n - 1. These findings suggest that feeling less in control in a preceding trial makes it easier to implement inhibitory control in the current trial, thereby providing new insights into the role of SoA in goal-directed behavior.

Ready to go: Higher sense of agency enhances action readiness and reduces response inhibition

Sense of agency is the subjective feeling of being in control of one's actions and their effects. Many studies have elucidated the cognitive and sensorimotor processes that drive this experience. However, less is known about how sense of agency influences flexible cognitive and motor control. Here, we investigated the effect of sense of agency on subsequent action regulation using a modified Go/No-Go task. In Experiment 1, we modulated participants' sense of agency by varying the occurrence of action outcomes (present vs. absent) both locally on a trial-by-trial basis and globally in terms of the overall probability of action outcomes within a block of trials (high vs. low). Importantly, we investigated how this manipulation influenced participants' responses to subsequent Go, No-Go, or Free-Choice cues. When participants' previous action led to an outcome (i.e., a happy face) compared with no outcome, they responded more accurately and faster to Go cues, reacted less accurately to No-Go cues, as well as made go decisions more frequently and faster to Free-Choice cues. These effects were even stronger when action outcomes occurred more frequently overall in a given block or in several previous trials. Experiment 2 further demonstrated that the effects of action outcome manipulation on subsequent action regulation were independent of the emotional valence of the action outcome (i.e., a happy or an angry face). Our results suggest that a higher sense of agency as induced by the presence of action outcomes enhanced action readiness and suppressed response inhibition. These findings highlight the impact of the control felt on the control used in action regulation, thereby providing new insights into the functional significance of the sense of agency on human behavior.

Are Intelligent People Better Liars? Relationships between Cognitive Abilities and Credible Lying

Lying is essential to social communication. Despite years of research, its detection still poses many challenges. This is partly because some individuals are perceived as truthful and reliable, even when lying. However, relatively little is known about these effective liars. In our study, we focused on the cognitive functioning of effective liars. We tested 400 participants who completed tasks measuring executive functions, verbal fluency, and fluid intelligence, and also made four statements (two true and two false, half of them written and half oral). The reliability of the statements was then assessed. Only fluid intelligence was found to be relevant for reliable lying. This relationship was only evident for oral statements, suggesting that the importance of intelligence is highlighted when statements are made spontaneously without prior preparation.

Relationship Between Inhibitory Control and Arithmetic in Elementary School Children With ADHD: The Mediating Role of Working Memory

OBJECTIVES

To test if inhibitory control was a significant predictor for arithmetic in children with ADHD and if the relationship between inhibitory control and arithmetic was mediated by working memory.

METHODS

Eighty-four children (ADHD, n = 54; Non-ADHD, n = 30) were tested on their interference control, behavioral inhibition, working memory, and arithmetic. Regression analysis was used to test the predictive role of inhibitory control in arithmetic. Moreover, mediation analysis was done to test whether working memory mediated the relationship between inhibitory control and arithmetic memory.

RESULTS

Interference control but not behavioral inhibition was a significant predictor for arithmetic. In addition, interference control had direct and indirect effects via working memory on arithmetic.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrated that inhibitory control contributed to arithmetic in children with ADHD. Furthermore, interference control had direct and indirect effects via working memory on arithmetic, suggesting interventions for arithmetic difficulties should involve training on both inhibition and working memory.

Measuring food-related inhibition with go/no-go tasks: Critical considerations for experimental design

The use of go/no-go tasks to assess inhibitory control over food stimuli is becoming increasingly popular. However, the wide variability in the design of these tasks makes it difficult to fully leverage their results. The goal of this commentary was to provide researchers with crucial aspects to consider when designing food-related go/no-go experiments. We examined 76 studies that used food-themed go/no-go tasks and extracted characteristics related to participant population, methodology, and analysis. Based on our observations of common issues that can influence study conclusions, we stress the importance for researchers to design an appropriate control condition and match stimuli between experimental conditions in terms of emotional and physical properties. We also emphasize that stimuli should be tailored to the participants under study, whether at the individual or group level. To ensure that the task truly measures inhibitory abilities, researchers should promote the establishment of a prepotent response pattern by presenting more go than no-go trials and by using short trials. Researchers should also pre-specify the criteria used to identify potentially invalid data. While go/no-go tasks represent valuable tools for studying food cognition, researchers should choose task parameters carefully and justify their methodological and analytical decisions in order to ensure the validity of results and promote best practices in food-related inhibition research.

Electrophysiological Correlates of Different Proactive Controls during Response Competition and Inhibition Tasks

The present study aims to investigate the behavioral outcomes and the antecedent brain dynamics during the preparation of tasks in which the discrimination is either about the choice (choice response task; CRT) or the action (Go/No-go), and in a task not requiring discrimination (simple response task; SRT). Using event-related potentials (ERPs), the mean amplitude over prefrontal, central, and parietal-occipital sites was analyzed in 20 young healthy participants in a time frame before stimulus presentation to assess cognitive, motor, and visual readiness, respectively. Behaviorally, participants were faster and more accurate in the SRT than in the CRT and the Go/No-go. At the electrophysiological level, the proactive cognitive and motor ERP components were larger in the CRT and the Go/No-go than the SRT, but the largest amplitude emerged in the Go/No-go. Further, the amplitude over parieto-occipital leads was enhanced in the SRT. The strongest intensity of the frontal negative expectancy wave over prefrontal leads in the Go/No-go task could be attributed to the largest uncertainty about the target presentation and subsequent motor response selection and execution. The enhanced sensory readiness in the SRT can be related to either an increased visual readiness associated with task requirements or a reduced overlap with proactive processing on the scalp.

Decreased Functional Connectivity of Brain Networks in the Alpha Band after Sleep Deprivation Is Associated with Decreased Inhibitory Control in Young Male Adults

Sleep deprivation leads to reduced inhibitory control in individuals. However, the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the effects of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on inhibitory control and their neuroelectrophysiological mechanisms from the perspective of the time course of cognitive processing and brain network connectivity, using event-related potential (ERP) and resting-state functional connectivity techniques. Twenty-five healthy male participants underwent 36 h of TSD (36-h TSD), completing Go/NoGo tasks and resting-state data acquisition before and after TSD; their behavioral and electroencephalogram data were recorded. Compared to baseline, participants' false alarms for NoGo stimuli increased significantly (t = -4.187, p < 0.001) after 36-h TSD. ERP results indicated that NoGo-N2 negative amplitude increased and latency was prolonged (t = 4.850, p < 0.001; t = -3.178, p < 0.01), and NoGo-P3 amplitude significantly decreased and latency was prolonged (t = 5.104, p < 0.001; t = -2.382, p < 0.05) after 36-h TSD. Functional connectivity analysis showed that the connectivity of the default mode and visual networks in the high alpha band was significantly reduced after TSD (t = 2.500, p = 0.030). Overall, the results suggest that the negative amplitude increase in N2 after 36-h TSD may reveal that more attention and cognitive resources are invested after TSD; the significant decrease in P3 amplitude may indicate the impairment of advanced cognitive processing. Further functional connectivity analysis indicated impairment of the brain's default mode network and visual information processing after TSD.

Temporary Self-Deprivation Can Impair Cognitive Control: Evidence From the Ramadan Fast

During Ramadan, people of Muslim faith fast by not eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset. This is likely to have physiological and psychological consequences for fasters, and societal and economic impacts on the wider population. We investigate whether, during this voluntary and temporally limited fast, reminders of food can impair the fasters' reaction time and accuracy on a non-food-related test of cognitive control. Using a repeated measures design in a sample of Ramadan fasters (N = 190), we find that when food is made salient, fasters are slower and less accurate during Ramadan compared with after Ramadan. Control participants perform similarly across time. Furthermore, during Ramadan performances vary by how recently people had their last meal. Potential mechanisms are suggested, grounded in research on resource scarcity, commitment, and thought suppression, as well as the psychology of rituals and self-regulation, and implications for people who fast for religious or health reasons are discussed.

The Supplementary Motor Area and Automatic Cognitive Control: Lack of Evidence from Two Neuromodulation Techniques

The SMA is fundamental in planning voluntary movements and execution of some cognitive control operations. Specifically, the SMA has been known to play a dominant role in controlling goal-directed actions as well as those that are highly predicted (i.e., automatic). Yet, the essential contribution of SMA in goal-directed or automatic control of behavior is scarce. Our objective was to test the possible direct role of SMA in automatic and voluntary response inhibition. We separately applied two noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) inhibitory techniques over SMA: either continuous theta-burst stimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial static magnetic field stimulation. Each NIBS technique was performed in a randomized, crossover, sham-controlled design. Before applying NIBS, participants practiced a go/no-go learning task where associations between stimulus and stopping behaviors were created (initiation and inhibition). After applying each NIBS, participants performed a go/no-go task with reversed associations (automatic control) and the stop signal task (voluntary control). Learning associations between stimuli and response initiation/inhibition was achieved by participants and therefore automatized during training. However, no significant differences between real and sham NIBS were found in either automatic (go/no-go learning task) or voluntary inhibition (stop signal task), with Bayesian statistics providing moderate evidence of absence. In conclusion, our results are compatible with a nondirect involvement of SMA in automatic control of behavior. Further studies are needed to prove a noncausal link between prior neuroimaging findings relative to SMA controlling functions and the observed behavior.

TMS over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex affects the timing of motor imagery but not overt action: Further support for the motor-cognitive model

The Motor-Cognitive model suggests a functional dissociation between motor imagery and overt action, in contrast to the Functional Equivalence view of common processes between the two behaviours. According to the Motor-Cognitive model, motor imagery differs from overt action primarily through the use of executive resources to monitor and elaborate a motor image during execution, which can result in a lack of correspondence between motor imagery and its overt action counterpart. The present study examined the importance of executive resources in motor imagery by using TMS to impair the function of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while measuring the time to complete imagined versus overt actions. In two experiments, TMS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex slowed motor imagery but did not affect overt actions. TMS over the same region also interfered with performance of a mental calculation task, though it did not reliably affect less demanding cognitive tasks also thought to rely on executive functions. Taken together, these results were consistent with the Motor-Cognitive model but not with the idea of functional equivalence. The implications of these results for the theoretical understanding of motor imagery, and potential applications of the Motor-Cognitive model to the use of motor imagery in training and rehabilitation, are discussed.

How speed impacts threat assessment in lethal force decisions

Despite the importance of being both fast and accurate in lethal force decisions, there is little empirical evidence to identify how speed impacts threat-related decisions and perception. Two experiments used speeded and unspeeded manipulations to determine how the speed imperative impacted threat assessments. Experiment 1 used drift diffusion modeling to quantify decision parameters, including rate of information processing, decision threshold, bias, and non-decisional processes. Speeded conditions reduced the information threshold needed to make decisions and shortened non-decisional processes, yet this manipulation had no impact on the rate of information processing or starting bias. Experiment 2 explored perceptual differences in threat assessment. Participants confidently made threat assessments despite only 30 ms exposure to stimuli with little impact on their subjective threat ratings based on exposure duration. Taken together, these results document the influence of speed on decision-making parameters of threat assessments while demonstrating little impact on threat perception.

Challenging inhibitory control with high- and low-calorie food: A behavioural and TMS study

Most people are often tempted by their impulses to "indulge" in high-calorie food, even if this behaviour is not consistent with their goal to control weight in the long term and might not be healthy. The outcome of this conflict is strongly dependent on inhibitory control. It has already been reported that individuals with weaker inhibitory control consume more high-calorie food, are more often unsuccessful dieters, overweight or obese compared to people with more effective inhibitory control. In the present study, we aimed at investigating inhibitory control in the context of human eating behaviour. A sample of 20 healthy normal-weight adults performed a 50% probability visual affective Go/NoGo task involving food (high- and low-calorie) and non-food images as stimuli. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was administered over the right primary motor cortex (M1) either 300 ms after image presentation to measure corticospinal excitability during the different stimulus categories or 300 ms after the appearance of a fixation point, as a control stimulation condition. The experimental session consisted of a food target and a non-food target block. Behavioural outcomes showed a natural implicit inclination towards high-calorie food in that participants were faster and more accurate compared to the other categories. This advantage was selectively deleted by TMS, which slowed down reaction times. MEPs did not differ according to the stimulus category, but, as expected, were bigger for Go compared to NoGo trials. Participants judged high-calorie food also as more appetising than low-calorie food images. Overall, our results point to a differential modulation when targeting inhibitory control, in favour of the more palatable food category (high-calorie). Present data suggest that the activity of the motor system is modulated by food nutritional value, being more engaged by appetising food. Future work should explore to what extent these processes are affected in patients with eating disorders and should aim to better characterise the related dynamics of cortical connectivity within the motor network.

Dynamic cognitive inhibition in the context of frustration: Increasing racial representation of adolescent athletes using mobile community-engaged EEG methods

Introduction

Concussive events and other brain injuries are known to reduce cognitive inhibition, a key aspect of cognition that supports ones' behaviors and impacts regulation of mood or affect. Our primary objective is to investigate how induction of negative affect (such as frustration) impacts cognitive inhibition and the dynamic process by which youth athletes modulate responses. Secondary objective is to address the lack of Black representation in the scientific literature that promotes brain health and investigates pediatric sports-related brain injury. In particular, neuroscience studies predominantly include White participants despite broad racial representation in sport, in part due to technological hurdles and other obstacles that challenge research access for Black participants.

Methods

Using electroencephalography (EEG), we evaluate the dynamic brain processes associated with cognitive inhibition in the context of frustration induction in adolescent athletes during pre-season conditioning (i.e., prior to contact; N = 23) and a subset during post-season (n = 17).

Results

The N2 component was sensitive to frustration induction (decreased N2 amplitude, slower N2 latency), although effects were less robust at postseason. Trial-by-trial changes indicated a steady decrease of the N2 amplitude during the frustration block during the preseason visit, suggesting that affective interference had a dynamic effect on cognitive inhibition. Lastly, exploratory analyses provide preliminary evidence that frustration induction was less effective for athletes with a previous history of concussion or migraines (trending result) yet more effective for athletes endorsing a history with mental health disorders.

Discussion

We emphasize the urgent need to improve representation in cognitive neuroscience, particularly as it pertains to brain health. Importantly, we provide detailed guides to our methodological framework and practical suggestions to improve representative participation in studies utilizing high-density mobile EEG.

Function without feeling: neural reactivity and intercommunication during flexible motor adjustments evoked by emotional and neutral stimuli

Motor conflicts arise when we need to quickly overwrite prepotent behavior. It has been proposed that affective stimuli modulate the neural processing of motor conflicts. However, previous studies have come to inconsistent conclusions regarding the neural impact of affective information on conflict processing. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging during a Go/Change-Go task, where motor conflicts were either evoked by neutral or emotionally negative stimuli. Dynamic causal modeling was used to investigate how motor conflicts modulate the intercommunication between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior insula (AI) as 2 central regions for cognitive control. Conflicts compared to standard actions were associated with increased BOLD activation in several brain areas, including the dorsal ACC and anterior insula. There were no differences in neural activity between emotional and non-emotional conflict stimuli. Conflicts compared to standard actions lowered neural self-inhibition of the ACC and AI and led to increased effective connectivity from the ACC to AI contralateral to the acting hand. Thus, our study indicates that neural conflict processing is primarily driven by the functional relevance of action-related stimuli, not their inherent affective meaning. Furthermore, it sheds light on the role of interconnectivity between ACC and AI for the implementation of flexible behavioral change.

Improving fluid intelligence of children through working memory training: The role of inhibition control

Intelligence is strongly associated with working memory. Working memory training can improve fluid intelligence, but the underlying mechanism requires further investigation. Because inhibition control may play a key role in working memory training, this study investigated this process from an electrophysiological perspective. In total, 40 children aged 9 to 11 years were enrolled and randomly divided into a training group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). The training group received 20 days of working memory training, whereas the control group did not receive any training. Before and after the training period, all participants were tested using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), and electrophysiological indicators were recorded while they performed go/no-go and Stroop tasks. The results revealed that relative to the control group, the training group had significantly improved RSPM scores in the test conducted after their training. For the go/no-go tasks, the training group exhibited a significant decrease in N2 amplitude, a significant increase in P3 amplitude, a significant decrease in theta band energy, and an improvement in response inhibition ability. No significant change was observed for the Stroop task. Correlation analysis revealed that an improvement in individual response inhibition can positively predict an improvement in fluid intelligence. These results suggest that working memory training enhances the fluid intelligence of children by enhancing their response inhibition ability.

Assessing Inhibitory Control in the Real World Is Virtually Possible: A Virtual Reality Demonstration

Executive functions are the key ingredient for behaviour regulation. Among them, inhibitory control is one of the main exponents of executive functions, and in the last decades, it has received a good amount of attention thanks to the development of chronometric tasks associated with paradigms that allow exploring human behaviour when the inhibitory component is needed. Among the different paradigms typically used, the Simon and flanker tasks are probably the most popular ones. These have been subjected to modifications in order to assess inhibitory control from different perspectives (e.g., in different samples or in combination with different research techniques). However, its use has been relegated to classical presentation modalities within laboratory settings. The accessibility of virtual reality (VR) technology has opened new research avenues to investigate inhibition control with a high ecological validity while retaining tightly controlled lab conditions and good measurement accuracy. We present two cutting-edge modifications of the standard Simon and flanker tasks that have been adapted to real-world settings using VR and human-like avatars as target stimuli. Our findings show that virtual reality is a credible tool for testing inhibitory control with a high degree of transferability and generalizability to the real world.