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Li Z, Chen Y, Yin S, Chen A. Self-referential information optimizes conflict adaptation. Mem Cognit 2024; 52:648-662. [PMID: 38261248 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01490-8] [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] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Self-referential information has been shown to optimize behavioral performance in various domains. The present study examined the role of self-referential information as a cue to enhance cognitive control and, more specifically, conflict adaptation. A revised color Stroop task was used with stimuli consisting of possessive pronouns and color words (e.g., "my green"). The results showed that self-referential information reduced conflict adaptation (the congruency sequence effect at trial level in Experiment 1, at block level in Experiment 2, and the list-wide proportion congruency effect at block level in Experiment 3). These findings suggest that self-referential information can act as a cue to optimize conflict adaptation. This study highlights the role of self-referential information in cognitive control adjustments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifang Li
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yongqiang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Shouhang Yin
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
| | - Antao Chen
- School of Psychology, Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, 200438, China.
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2
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Wentura D, Messeh L, Wirth BE. Attentional bias towards happy faces in the dot-probe paradigm: it depends on which task is used. Cogn Emot 2024; 38:217-231. [PMID: 37987765 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2283014] [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: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Two recent articles [Gronchi et al., 2018. Automatic and controlled attentional orienting in the elderly: A dual-process view of the positivity effect. Acta Psychologica, 185, 229-234; Wirth & Wentura, 2020. It occurs after all: Attentional bias towards happy faces in the dot-probe task. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82(5), 2463-2481] report attentional biases for happy facial expressions in the dot-probe paradigm, albeit in different directions. While Wirth and Wentura report a bias towards happy expressions, Gronchi et al. found a reversed effect. A striking difference between the studies was the task performed by the participants. While in Wirth and Wentura, participants performed a discrimination task, they performed a location task in Gronchi et al. In Experiment 1, we directly compared the two versions of the dot-probe paradigm. With the discrimination task, the bias towards happy faces was replicated. However, the location task yielded a null effect. In Experiment 2, we found a cueing effect with an abrupt onset cue in both tasks. However, for the location task a congruence-sequence effect (a typical characteristic of response-priming processes) occurred. This result suggests that in the location task, attentional processes are confounded with response-priming processes. We recommend to generally use discrimination tasks.
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Bognar M, Szekely Z, Varga MA, Nagy K, Spinelli G, Hartanto A, Majeed NM, Chen NRY, Gyurkovics M, Aczel B. Cognitive control adjustments are dependent on the level of conflict. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3116. [PMID: 38326342 PMCID: PMC10850143 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53090-4] [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] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The congruency sequence effect (CSE) is one of the most investigated effects in the cognitive control literature. The conflict monitoring theory suggests that the CSE is the result of adjustments in cognitive control based on perceived conflict. A recent paper by Zhang and colleagues, has investigated whether the manipulation of conflict level by changing distractor incompatibility in a flanker task affects the amount of adjustments in cognitive control. Their study produced mixed findings, somewhat supporting the original conflict monitoring theory, but also suggesting other explanations, such as the repetition expectancy account. We replicated the experimental design in a multisite online study (N = 347), with Hungarian, Italian, and Singaporean participants. Our results supported the prediction that changes in the level of conflict trigger conflict adaptation, revealing that increasing conflict levels induced stronger adaptive control. Bayesian hypothesis testing indicated a monotonic reduction in congruency effects as a function of previous conflict strength. This finding is in line with the extension of the traditional conflict monitoring theory, as well as other theories like affective signaling and expected value of control, implying that the relationship between conflict and interference effects is gradual, rather than a binary function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miklos Bognar
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary.
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Zsuzsa Szekely
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Marton A Varga
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kinga Nagy
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | | | | | | | - Mate Gyurkovics
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Balazs Aczel
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
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McLaughlin DJ, Colvett JS, Bugg JM, Van Engen KJ. Sequence effects and speech processing: cognitive load for speaker-switching within and across accents. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:176-186. [PMID: 37442872 PMCID: PMC10867039 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02322-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Prior work in speech processing indicates that listening tasks with multiple speakers (as opposed to a single speaker) result in slower and less accurate processing. Notably, the trial-to-trial cognitive demands of switching between speakers or switching between accents have yet to be examined. We used pupillometry, a physiological index of cognitive load, to examine the demands of processing first (L1) and second (L2) language-accented speech when listening to sentences produced by the same speaker consecutively (no switch), a novel speaker of the same accent (within-accent switch), and a novel speaker with a different accent (across-accent switch). Inspired by research on sequential adjustments in cognitive control, we aimed to identify the cognitive demands of accommodating a novel speaker and accent by examining the trial-to-trial changes in pupil dilation during speech processing. Our results indicate that switching between speakers was more cognitively demanding than listening to the same speaker consecutively. Additionally, switching to a novel speaker with a different accent was more cognitively demanding than switching between speakers of the same accent. However, there was an asymmetry for across-accent switches, such that switching from an L1 to an L2 accent was more demanding than vice versa. Findings from the present study align with work examining multi-talker processing costs, and provide novel evidence that listeners dynamically adjust cognitive processing to accommodate speaker and accent variability. We discuss these novel findings in the context of an active control model and auditory streaming framework of speech processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew J McLaughlin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Paseo Mikeletegi, 69, 20009, Donostia-San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain.
| | - Jackson S Colvett
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Julie M Bugg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kristin J Van Engen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
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5
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Möde L, Borgolte A, Ghaneirad E, Roy M, Sinke C, Szycik GR, Bleich S, Wiswede D. Cognitive control in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: a study with event-related potentials. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1180827. [PMID: 37599885 PMCID: PMC10436303 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1180827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Little is known about cognitive control in adults with high-functioning forms of autism spectrum disorder because previous research focused on children and adolescents. Cognitive control is crucial to monitor and readjust behavior after errors to select contextually appropriate reactions. The congruency effect and conflict adaptation are measures of cognitive control. Post-error slowing, error-related negativity and error positivity provide insight into behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of error processing. In children and adolescent with autism spectrum disorder deficits in cognitive control and error processing have been shown by changes in post-error slowing, error-related negativity and error positivity in the flanker task. Methods We performed a modified Eriksen flanker task in 17 adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and 17 healthy controls. As behavioral measures of cognitive control and error processing, we included reaction times and error rates to calculate congruency effects, conflict adaptation, and post-error slowing. Event-related potentials namely error-related negativity and error positivity were measured to assess error-related brain activity. Results Both groups of participants showed the expected congruency effects demonstrated by faster and more accurate responses in congruent compared to incongruent trials. Healthy controls exhibited conflict adaptation as they obtained performance benefits after incongruent trials whereas patients with autism spectrum disorder did not. The expected slowing in reaction times after errors was observed in both groups of participants. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder demonstrated enhanced electrophysiological error-processing compared to healthy controls indicated by increased error-related negativity and error positivity difference amplitudes. Discussion Our findings show that adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder do not show the expected upregulation of cognitive control in response to conflicts. This finding implies that previous experiences may have a reduced influence on current behavior in these patients which possibly contributes to less flexible behavior. Nevertheless, we observed intact behavioral reactions after errors indicating that adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder can flexibly adjust behavior in response to changed environmental demands when necessary. The enhancement of electrophysiological error-processing indicates that adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder demonstrate an extraordinary reactivity toward errors reflecting increased performance monitoring in this subpopulation of autism spectrum disorder patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Möde
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Anna Borgolte
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Erfan Ghaneirad
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Mandy Roy
- Asklepios, Psychiatric Hospital Ochsenzoll, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Gregor R. Szycik
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Bleich
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Center of Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Daniel Wiswede
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Parr T, Holmes E, Friston KJ, Pezzulo G. Cognitive effort and active inference. Neuropsychologia 2023; 184:108562. [PMID: 37080424 PMCID: PMC10636588 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to integrate some key constructs in the cognitive neuroscience of cognitive control and executive function by formalising the notion of cognitive (or mental) effort in terms of active inference. To do so, we call upon a task used in neuropsychology to assess impulse inhibition-a Stroop task. In this task, participants must suppress the impulse to read a colour word and instead report the colour of the text of the word. The Stroop task is characteristically effortful, and we unpack a theory of mental effort in which, to perform this task accurately, participants must overcome prior beliefs about how they would normally act. However, our interest here is not in overt action, but in covert (mental) action. Mental actions change our beliefs but have no (direct) effect on the outside world-much like deploying covert attention. This account of effort as mental action lets us generate multimodal (choice, reaction time, and electrophysiological) data of the sort we might expect from a human participant engaging in this task. We analyse how parameters determining cognitive effort influence simulated responses and demonstrate that-when provided only with performance data-these parameters can be recovered, provided they are within a certain range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Parr
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UK.
| | - Emma Holmes
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UK
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UK
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
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Bognar M, Gyurkovics M, van Steenbergen H, Aczel B. Phasic affective signals by themselves do not regulate cognitive control. Cogn Emot 2023; 37:650-665. [PMID: 37017095 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2191172] [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: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive control is a set of mechanisms that help us process conflicting stimuli and maintain goal-relevant behaviour. According to the Affective Signalling Hypothesis, conflicting stimuli are aversive and thus elicit (negative) affect, moreover - to avoid aversive signals - affective and cognitive systems work together by increasing control and thus, drive conflict adaptation. Several studies have found that affective stimuli can indeed modulate conflict adaptation, however, there is currently no evidence that phasic affective states not triggered by conflict also trigger improved cognitive control. To investigate this possibility, we intermixed trials of a conflict task and trials involving the passive viewing of emotional words. We tested whether affective states induced by affective words in a given trial trigger improved cognitive control in a subsequent conflict trial. Applying Bayesian analysis, the results of four experiments supported the lack of adaptation to aversive signals, both in terms of valence and arousal. These results suggest that phasic affective states by themselves are not sufficient to elicit an increase in control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miklos Bognar
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Mate Gyurkovics
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Balazs Aczel
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
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8
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Performance-contingent reward increases the use of congruent distracting information. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023; 85:905-929. [PMID: 36918512 PMCID: PMC10014142 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02682-9] [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: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
In conflict tasks like the Simon task, participants are instructed to respond to a task-relevant target dimension while ignoring additional distracting information. In the Simon task the distracting spatial information can be congruent or incongruent with the task-relevant target information, causing a congruency effect. As seen in the proportion congruency effect and the congruency sequence effect, this congruency effect is larger in mostly congruent blocks and following congruent trials, respectively. Common theories suggest that when the proportion of incongruent trials is high or after an incongruent trial, focus on the task-relevant target information is increased and distracting information is inhibited. In two experiments, we investigated how reward modulates these phenomena. Specifically, performance-contingent reward - but not non-contingent reward - increased the usage of the distracting information in mostly congruent blocks or following congruent trials, while the adaptation to incongruency (i.e., mostly incongruent blocks or preceding incongruent trials) was the same in all conditions. Additional diffusion model analyses found that this effect of performance-contingent reward was captured by the drift rate parameter. These results suggest an increased focus on the target information by incongruent trials independent from reward, while the adaptation to (mostly) congruent trials characterized by increased usage of distracting information can be motivationally boosted. That is, performance-contingent reward increases the use of congruent distracting information beyond a mere relaxation of the increased target-focus following (mostly) congruent trials.
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9
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Ros L, Satorres E, Fernández-Aguilar L, Delhom I, López-Torres J, Latorre JM, Melendez JC. Differential effects of faces and words in cognitive control in older adults with and without major depressive disorder: An emotional Stroop task study. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023; 30:239-248. [PMID: 34137651 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1927037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Aging and major depressive disorders have been associated with impaired cognitive control. These deficits are also influenced by the affective valence and by the type of stimulus processed. Using an emotional Stroop task, the current study aims to examine cognitive control deficits and their association with emotion regulation in depression and the influence of the type of stimulus (words and faces) in this association. A total of 26 older patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) (19 women; age range: 65-84 years) and 26 older healthy controls (18 women; age range: 65-80 years) participated in the study. The results showed that MDD individuals presented greater Stroop effects than their healthy controls and an absence of the conflict adaptation effect defined as a reduction of the influence of irrelevant stimulus dimensions after incongruent trials. Additionally, our results also showed that the processing of emotional words in depressed participants is more automatic than the processing of emotional faces. These findings suggest that older depressed individuals have greater difficulty in recognizing affective facial expressions than older healthy controls, while the over-learned behavior of word reading greatly reduces differences in the performance of the emotional Stroop task between groups (MDD and healthy controls).
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Affiliation(s)
- L Ros
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.,Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit, Research Institute of Neurological Disabilities, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - E Satorres
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - L Fernández-Aguilar
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.,Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit, Research Institute of Neurological Disabilities, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - I Delhom
- Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, International University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - J López-Torres
- Group of Preventive Activities in the University Field of Health Sciences, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.,Albacete Zone VIII Health Centre and Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - J M Latorre
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.,Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit, Research Institute of Neurological Disabilities, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - J C Melendez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Koob V, Mackenzie I, Ulrich R, Leuthold H, Janczyk M. The role of task-relevant and task-irrelevant information in congruency sequence effects: Applying the diffusion model for conflict tasks. Cogn Psychol 2023; 140:101528. [PMID: 36584549 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2022.101528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In conflict tasks, such as the Simon, Eriksen flanker, or Stroop task, the congruency effect is often reduced after an incongruent compared to a congruent trial: the congruency sequence effect (CSE). It was suggested that the CSE may reflect increased processing of task-relevant information and/or suppression of task-irrelevant information after experiencing an incongruent relative to a congruent trial. In the present study, we contribute to this discussion by applying the Diffusion Model for Conflict tasks (DMC) framework in the context of CSEs to flanker and Simon tasks. We argue that DMC independently models the task-relevant and task-irrelevant information and thus is a first good candidate for disentangling their unique contributions. As a first approach, we fitted DMC conjointly or separately to previously congruent or incongruent trials, using four empirical flanker and two Simon data sets. For the flanker task, we fitted the classical DMC version. For the Simon task, we fitted a generalized DMC version which allows the task-irrelevant information to undershoot when swinging back to zero. After considering the model fits, we present a second approach, where we implemented a cognitive control mechanism to simulate the influence of increased processing of task-relevant information or increased suppression of task-irrelevant information. Both approaches demonstrate that the suppression of task-irrelevant information is essential to create the typical CSE pattern. Increased processing of task-relevant information, however, could rarely describe the CSE accurately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Koob
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
| | - Ian Mackenzie
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Ulrich
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Janczyk
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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11
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Ruitenberg MFL, Abrahamse EL, Santens P, Notebaert W. Testing the dopamine overdose hypothesis in action control: A study in people with Parkinson's disease. J Neuropsychol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marit F. L. Ruitenberg
- Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Leiden The Netherlands
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Elger L. Abrahamse
- Department of Communication and Cognition Tilburg University Tilburg The Netherlands
- Department of Educational Sciences Atlántico Medio University Las Palmas Spain
| | - Patrick Santens
- Department of Neurology Ghent University Hospital Ghent Belgium
| | - Wim Notebaert
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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12
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Zhang M, Li Q, Li Y, Chen Y, Gu Y, Yin S, Chen A. Temporal dynamics of conflict adaptation across different conflict strengths. Psychophysiology 2022; 60:e14160. [PMID: 35975726 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Conflict adaptation is considered to reflect the adjustment of cognitive control, and it is critical for adaptive behavior. Despite intensive investigations on conflict adaptation, straightforward evidence on how changes in conflict strength influence the behavioral and neural dynamics of conflict adaptation remains scarce. To address this issue, we manipulated conflict strength by varying distractor-target congruency to investigate whether conflict strength per se or the expectancy of conflict strength triggers the adjustment of cognitive control. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures were recorded while participants performed a variant four-choice flanker task without feature repetitions. The behavioral results showed that reaction times increased with increasing conflict strength. Importantly, there were conflict adaptations between the congruent and incongruent-low, congruent and incongruent-high, and incongruent-low and incongruent-high conditions. Consistent with the behavioral results, the EEG results revealed that N2 and P3 were sensitive to conflict strength. Critically, there were typical conflict adaptations between every two conflict conditions on the early P3 amplitude related to the adjustment of attentional strategies. However, there were no differences among these conflict adaptation effects, both on reaction times and the early P3 amplitude, demonstrating that the expectancy of conflict strength rather than conflict strength per se may play a crucial role in conflict adaptation. Altogether, these results emphasize the functional role of expectancy based on previous conflict strength in the exertion of cognitive control, which is in accordance with the repetition expectation theory than with the conflict monitoring theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qing Li
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yilu Li
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yongqiang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Gu
- Student Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Shouhang Yin
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Antao Chen
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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13
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Wentura D, Paulus A. Social Message Account or Processing Conflict Account - Which Processes Trigger Approach/Avoidance Reaction to Emotional Expressions of In- and Out-Group Members? Front Psychol 2022; 13:885668. [PMID: 35967716 PMCID: PMC9366909 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.885668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Faces are characterized by the simultaneous presence of several evaluation-relevant features, for example, emotional expression and (prejudiced) ethnicity. The social message account (SMA) hypothesizes the immediate integration of emotion and ethnicity. According to SMA, happy in-group faces should be interpreted as benevolent, whereas happy out-group faces should be interpreted as potentially malevolent. By contrast, fearful in-group faces should be interpreted as signaling an unsafe environment, whereas fearful out-group faces should be interpreted as signaling inferiority. In contrast, the processing conflict account (PCA) assumes that each face conveys two rather independent evaluative features, emotion and ethnicity. Thus, stimuli might be either affectively congruent or incongruent, and thereby exert influences on behavior. The article reviews the evidence with regard to the two accounts before reporting an experiment that aims at disentangling them. In an approach/avoidance task (AAT), either happy/fearful faces of German and Turks were presented or happy/fearful faces of young and old persons. There are prejudices against Turk/Middle-eastern persons (in Germany) as well as against old persons. For SMA, the two prejudices are of different type; thus prediction for the AAT diverge for the two group conditions. In contrast, for PCA both group features (i.e., Turk ethnicity and old age) are negative features (in comparison to their counterparts) which are affectively congruent or incongruent to the emotional expression. Hence, the results pattern in the AAT should be comparable for the two group conditions. In accordance with SMA but in contrast to PCA, we found different patterns for the two group conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Wentura
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
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14
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Asanowicz D, Kotlewska I, Panek B. Neural Underpinnings of Proactive and Preemptive Adjustments of Action Control. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:1590-1615. [PMID: 35802602 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to trace the neural basis of proactive and preemptive adjustments of executive control and their effects on online processing of response conflict. In two EEG experiments, participants performed the flanker task with predictive cueing of conflict. The following questions were addressed: "Does conflict cueing improve performance?" We observed improved behavioral performance in the predictive condition, suggesting that participants proactively utilized the cues to prepare for the upcoming demands. "How is conflict processing affected by predictive cueing?" Conflict-related modulations of midfrontal N2 and theta power were smaller in the predictive than in the neutral condition. This suggests that proactive control suppressed the impact of incongruent flankers so that the conflict was reduced, and so was the involvement of online control. "Is proactive control implemented through preactivation of online control?" Conflict cueing increased midfrontal theta power also before target onset, suggesting preactivation of the control processes beforehand. "Do proactive and reactive control depend on common or unique processes?" Unlike the online control, the proactive control triggered a burst of theta power in the right hemisphere's dorsal and ventral lateral prefrontal cortices, connected with the midfrontal area via theta phase coherence. This indicates that the two control modes involve partially unique but coordinated neural processes. "Is preemptive control implemented through modulations of visual processing?" Predictive cueing modulated both the pretarget preparatory alpha desynchronization and the target selection-related posterior contralateral negativity (N2pc and sustained posterior contralateral negativity), in line with the hypothesis of preemptive tuning of sensory selection aimed at reducing the impact of conflicting stimuli.
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15
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Yang G, Wang K, Nan W, Li Q, Zheng Y, Wu H, Liu X. Distinct Brain Mechanisms for Conflict Adaptation within and across Conflict Types. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 34:445-460. [PMID: 34942641 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive conflict, like other cognitive processes, shows the characteristic of adaptation, that is, conflict effects are attenuated when immediately following a conflicting event, a phenomenon known as the conflict adaptation effect (CAE). One important aspect of CAE is its sensitivity to the intertrial coherence of conflict type, that is, behavioral CAE occurs only if consecutive trials are of the same conflict type. Although reliably observed behaviorally, the neural mechanisms underlying such a phenomenon remains elusive. With a paradigm combining the classic Simon task and Stroop task, this fMRI study examined neural correlates of conflict adaptation both within and across conflict types. The results revealed that when the conflict type repeated (but not when it alternated), the CAE-like neural activations were observed in dorsal ACC, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior parietal lobe, and so forth (i.e., regions within typical task-positive networks). In contrast, when the conflict type alternated (but not when it repeated), we found CAE-like neural deactivations in the left superior frontal gyri (i.e., a region within the typical task-negative network). Network analyses suggested that the regions of ACC, IFG, superior parietal lobe, and superior frontal gyrus can be clustered into two antagonistic networks, and the ACC-IFG connection was associated with the within-type CAE. This evidence suggests that our adaptation to cognitive conflicts within a conflict type and across different types may rely on these two distinct neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guochun Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Wang
- South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | | | - Qi Li
- Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | | | | | - Xun Liu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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16
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Schuch S, Philipp AM, Maulitz L, Koch I. On the reliability of behavioral measures of cognitive control: retest reliability of task-inhibition effect, task-preparation effect, Stroop-like interference, and conflict adaptation effect. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:2158-2184. [PMID: 34921344 PMCID: PMC8683338 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01627-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the reliability (retest and split-half) of four common behavioral measures of cognitive control. In Experiment 1 (N = 96), we examined N – 2 task repetition costs as a marker of task-level inhibition, and the cue-stimulus interval (CSI) effect as a marker of time-based task preparation. In Experiment 2 (N = 48), we examined a Stroop-like face-name interference effect as a measure of distractor interference control, and the sequential congruency effect (“conflict adaptation effect”) as a measure of conflict-triggered adaptation of cognitive control. In both experiments, the measures were assessed in two sessions on the same day, separated by a 10 min-long unrelated filler task. We observed substantial experimental effects with medium to large effect sizes. At the same time, split-half reliabilities were moderate, and retest reliabilities were poor, for most measures, except for the CSI effect. Retest reliability of the Stroop-like effect was improved when considering only trials preceded by congruent trials. Together, the data suggest that these cognitive control measures are well suited for assessing group-level effects of cognitive control. Yet, except for the CSI effect, these measures do not seem suitable for reliably assessing interindividual differences in the strength of cognitive control, and therefore are not suited for correlational approaches. We discuss possible reasons for the discrepancy between robustness at the group level and reliability at the level of interindividual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Schuch
- Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jaegerstrasse 17/19, 52066, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Andrea M Philipp
- Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jaegerstrasse 17/19, 52066, Aachen, Germany
| | - Luisa Maulitz
- Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jaegerstrasse 17/19, 52066, Aachen, Germany
| | - Iring Koch
- Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Jaegerstrasse 17/19, 52066, Aachen, Germany.
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17
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Roy JC, Houvenaghel JF, Duprez J, Guillery M, Drapier D, Robert G. Dynamics of cognitive action control in late-life depression during action selection. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 143:276-284. [PMID: 34530338 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Late-Life Depression (LLD) is characterized by deficits in cognitive control. We investigated the effect of LLD on a subset of cognitive control functions, the Cognitive Action Control (CAC), distinguishing on-line and adaptive control. METHODS We compared LLD subjects (n = 31) and Healthy Controls (HC, n = 31) on their performance in a Simon task. The online congruency effect and adaptive effect were compared for reaction times (RT) and accuracy rates between the groups using mixed models. We applied distributional analyses of RT to differentiate the strength of impulsive action selection and the proficiency of selective action suppression. Finally, we measured correlations between the performances on the task and clinical scores of the LLD group. RESULTS LLD had increased error rates in congruent trials compared to HC. Conversely, the adaptive CAC was equivalent between the groups. Distributional analyses showed that the fastest actions were less led by pertinent information in LLD. This phenomenon was found exclusively for congruent trials preceded by non-congruent trials. On the other hand, LLD patients, when they take time, were better than HC to suppress selectively non-relevant information. No difference was observed for adaptation to the preceding condition. No association between behavioral measurements and clinical scores were found. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that LLD participants have a specific cognitive disturbance of CAC, showing less facilitation than HC in congruent situations. We propose that this originates in a difficulty in LLD patients in disengaging their attention from conflict situations, which is consistent with a biased CAC to aversive stimuli in depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Charles Roy
- Academic Psychiatry Department, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France; Université Rennes 1, Campus Santé de Villejean, France.
| | - Jean-François Houvenaghel
- Neurology Department, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France; Behavior and Basal Ganglia Research Unit (EA4712), Université Rennes 1, Rennes, France
| | - Joan Duprez
- Univ Rennes, INSERM, LTSI -U1099, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Murielle Guillery
- Academic Psychiatry Department, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France; Behavior and Basal Ganglia Research Unit (EA4712), Université Rennes 1, Rennes, France
| | - Dominique Drapier
- Academic Psychiatry Department, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France; Université Rennes 1, Campus Santé de Villejean, France; Behavior and Basal Ganglia Research Unit (EA4712), Université Rennes 1, Rennes, France
| | - Gabriel Robert
- Academic Psychiatry Department, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France; Université Rennes 1, Campus Santé de Villejean, France; Behavior and Basal Ganglia Research Unit (EA4712), Université Rennes 1, Rennes, France
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18
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Qian Q, Li Y, Song M, Feng Y, Fu Y, Shinomori K. Interactive modulations between congruency sequence effects and validity sequence effects. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:1944-1957. [PMID: 34709462 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01612-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Sequential modulations have been found in both conflict and spatial orienting tasks. The former is called congruency sequence effects (CSE) and the latter is called validity sequence effects (VSE). Although the two effects have similar phenomenon descriptions, the relationship of the cognitive control mechanisms under the two effects is still unclear. Using a modified attentional network test (ANT), a flanker task and an arrow cueing task are integrated into a single task, which enables the test of the possible interactions between CSE and VSE. Since a confound-minimized design is used, the observed sequence effects cannot be attributed to the feature integration of low-level stimulus features or the contingency learning. It was found that the CSE are only significant when the arrow cue in preceding trial is invalid, and the VSE are only significant when the target letter in preceding trial is congruent with the distractor letters. The findings suggest that the sequential modulations during orienting and executive control of attention networks are highly interacted with each other, and the sequence effects in these networks are possibly controlled by a complex and multifaceted adaptive control mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Qian
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Computer Technology Applications, Faculty of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China. .,Brain Cognition and Brain-Computer Intelligence Fusion Innovation Group, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
| | - Yingna Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Computer Technology Applications, Faculty of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Miao Song
- School of Information and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong Feng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Computer Technology Applications, Faculty of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Yunfa Fu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Computer Technology Applications, Faculty of Information Engineering and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.,Brain Cognition and Brain-Computer Intelligence Fusion Innovation Group, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
| | - Keizo Shinomori
- School of Information, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, 782-8502, Japan.,Vision and Affective Science Integrated Laboratory, Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, 782-8502, Japan
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19
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Ruitenberg MFL, Koppelmans V. Cognition in Motion: Evidence for Intact Action Control With Healthy Aging. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 76:252-261. [PMID: 33099601 PMCID: PMC7813184 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Healthy aging is associated with impairments in motor functioning. Such functioning is not limited to the physical execution of actions, but also involves cognitive processes that allow for goal-directed behavior. The present study examined whether aging affects 2 of such cognitive components that control motor functioning, namely action planning and action adaptation, and whether age effects are associated across components. Method A group of 103 participants aged 18–82 years performed 2 tasks that have previously been linked to action planning and adaptation, respectively. Results Despite observations that aging was associated with slower and less accurate responses, Bayesian models showed evidence indicating that older age was not associated with poorer action planning and conflict adaptation. Discussion These findings challenge the view that healthy aging is associated with a general deficit in motor functioning and suggest that some cognitive aspects of motor control may be relatively spared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marit F L Ruitenberg
- Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands
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20
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Ruitenberg MFL, van Wouwe NC, Wylie SA, Abrahamse EL. The role of dopamine in action control: Insights from medication effects in Parkinson's disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:158-170. [PMID: 33905788 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder associated primarily with overt motor symptoms. Several studies show that PD is additionally accompanied by impairments in covert cognitive processes underlying goal-directed motor functioning (e.g., action planning, conflict adaptation, inhibition), and that dopaminergic medication may modulate these action control components. In this review we aim to leverage findings from studies in this domain to elucidate the role of dopamine (DA) in action control. A qualitative review of studies that investigated the effects of medication status (on vs. off) on action control in PD suggests a component-specific role for DA in action control, although the expression of medication effects depends on characteristics of both the patients and experimental tasks used to measure action control. We discuss these results in the light of findings from other research lines examining the role of DA in action control (e.g., animal research, pharmacology), and recommend that future studies use multi-method, within-subject approaches to model DA effects on action control across different components as well as underlying striatal pathways (ventral vs. dorsal).
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Affiliation(s)
- M F L Ruitenberg
- Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - N C van Wouwe
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - S A Wylie
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - E L Abrahamse
- Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
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21
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Rey-Mermet A, Gade M, Steinhauser M. Multiplicative priming of the correct response can explain the interaction between Simon and flanker congruency. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248172. [PMID: 33690621 PMCID: PMC7943002 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Simon task, participants perform a decision on non-spatial features (e.g., stimulus color) by responding with a left or right key-press to a stimulus presented on the left or right side of the screen. In the flanker task, they classify the central character while ignoring the flanking characters. In each task, there is a conflict between the response-relevant features and the response-irrelevant features (i.e., the location on the screen for the Simon task, and the flankers for the flanker task). Thus, in both tasks, resolving conflict requires to inhibit irrelevant features and to focus on relevant features. When both tasks were combined within the same trial (e.g., when the row of characters was presented on the left or right side of the screen), most previous research has shown an interaction. In the present study, we investigated whether this interaction is affected by a multiplicative priming of the correct response occurring when both Simon and flanker irrelevant features co-activate the correct response (Exp. 1), a spatial overlap between Simon and flanker features (Exp. 2), and the learning of stimulus-response pairings (Exp. 3). The results only show an impact of multiplicative priming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alodie Rey-Mermet
- Department of Psychology, General Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
- Faculty of Psychology, Swiss Distance University Institute, Brig, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Miriam Gade
- Department of Psychology, General Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
- Department of Sciences, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marco Steinhauser
- Department of Psychology, General Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
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22
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Questienne L, van Dijck JP, Gevers W. The Role of Subjective Experiences in Conflict Tasks: A Review. Psychol Belg 2021; 61:46-62. [PMID: 33614105 PMCID: PMC7879994 DOI: 10.5334/pb.508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive control research is concerned with the question how we install adaptive behaviour in the case of (cognitive) conflict. In this review we focus on the role that awareness of this conflict plays in our ability to exert cognitive control. We will argue that visual conflict is not the only building block of metacognitive experiences of conflict and discuss how they are related to cognitive control. So, a first aim of the current review is to understand how these different metacognitive judgements are created. To do so, we draw some remarkable parallels with research on metacognition in decision making and memory research. Next, we elaborate on the relationship between metacognition and adaptive behaviour, with a specific focus on the role of subjective experiences in the Gratton effect. The grey areas that persist in the current literature are highlighted. In addition to deciphering the mechanisms of metacognitive judgements in cognitive control, this overview also aims to further enlarge our understanding of metacognitive abilities at a more general level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Questienne
- Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN) and UNI. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LNC, UMR 7291, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Philippe van Dijck
- Department of Applied Psychology, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wim Gevers
- Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN) and UNI. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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23
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Gyurkovics M, Levita L. Dynamic Adjustments of Midfrontal Control Signals in Adults and Adolescents. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:795-808. [PMID: 33026426 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa258] [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: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During task performance, our level of cognitive control is dynamically adjusted to task demands as reflected, for example, by the congruency sequence effect (CSE) in conflict tasks. Although brain areas related to cognitive control show protracted maturation across adolescence, previous studies found that adolescents show similar behavioral CSEs to adults. In the present study, we investigated whether there are age-related changes in the neural underpinnings of dynamic control adjustments using electroencephalography. Early adolescents (ages 12-14, N = 30) and young adults (ages 25-27, N = 29) completed a confound-minimized flanker task optimized for the detection of sequential control adjustments. The CSE was observed in midfrontal theta power thought to capture anterior cingulate cortex-mediated monitoring processes but was not modulated significantly by age. Adolescents, however, showed a smaller congruency effect in the power and cross-trial temporal consistency of midfrontal theta oscillations than adults. No age differences were observed in phase-based connectivity between midfrontal and lateral frontal regions in the theta band. These findings provide strong support for the role of midfrontal theta oscillations in conflict monitoring and reactive control and suggest that the cognitive system of early adolescents initially responds less reliably to the occurrence of conflict than that of adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mate Gyurkovics
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Liat Levita
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Registered Replication Report of Weissman, D. H., Jiang, J., & Egner, T. (2014). Determinants of congruency sequence effects without learning and memory confounds. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:3777-3787. [PMID: 32935289 PMCID: PMC7593296 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02021-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The congruency sequence effect (CSE) refers to the finding that the effect of cognitive conflict is smaller following conflicting, incongruent trials than after non-conflicting, congruent trials in conflict tasks, such as the Stroop, Simon, and flanker tasks. This is typically interpreted as an upregulation of cognitive control in response to conflict. Weissman, Jiang, & Egner (2014) investigated whether the CSE appears in these three tasks and a further variant where task-irrelevant distractors precede the target (prime-probe task), in the absence of learning and memory confounds in samples collected online. They found significant CSEs only in the prime-probe and Simon tasks, suggesting that the effect is more robust in tasks where the distractor can be translated into a response faster than the target. In this Registered Replication Report we collected data online from samples approx. 2.5 times larger than in the original study for each of the four tasks to investigate whether the task-related differences in the magnitude of the CSE are replicable (Nmin = 115, Nmax = 130). Our findings extend but do not contradict the original results: Bayesian analyses suggested that the CSE was present in all four tasks in RT but only in the Simon task in accuracy. The size of the effect did not differ between tasks, and the size of the congruency effect was not correlated with the size of the CSE across participants. These findings suggest it might be premature to conclude that the difference in the speed of distractor- vs target-related response activation is a determinant of the size of cross-trial modulations of control. The practical implications of our results for online data collection in cognitive control research are also discussed.
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25
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Bundt C, Boehler CN, Verbruggen F, Brass M, Notebaert W. Reward does not modulate corticospinal excitability in anticipation of a Stroop trial. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:1019-1028. [PMID: 33222331 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Action preparation is associated with a transient decrease of corticospinal excitability just before target onset. We have previously shown that the prospect of reward modulates preparatory corticospinal excitability in a Simon task. While the conflict in the Simon task strongly implicates the motor system, it is unknown whether reward prospect modulates preparatory corticospinal excitability in tasks that implicate the motor system less directly. To that effect, we examined reward-modulated preparatory corticospinal excitability in the Stroop task. We administered a rewarded cue-target delay paradigm using Stroop stimuli that afforded a left or right index finger response. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was administered over the left primary motor cortex and electromyography was obtained from the right first dorsal interosseous muscle. In line with previous findings, there was a preparatory decrease in corticospinal excitability during the delay period. In contrast to our previous study using the Simon task, preparatory corticospinal excitability was not modulated by reward. Our results indicate that reward-modulated changes in the motor system depend on specific task-demands, possibly related to varying degrees of motor conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Bundt
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Multimodal Imaging and Cognitive Control Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience Cluster, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Carsten N Boehler
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Marcel Brass
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wim Notebaert
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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26
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Roquet A, Michel BF, Lemaire P. Alzheimer's disease disrupts domain-specific and domain-general processes in numerosity estimation. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2020; 42:690-709. [PMID: 32757739 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2020.1798882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This study investigated how Alzheimer's Disease (AD) affects numerosity estimation abilities (e.g., finding the approximate number of items in a collection). METHOD Across two experiments, performance from HOA (i.e., Healthy Older Adults; N = 48) and AD patients (N = 50) was compared on dot comparison tasks. Participants were presented with two dot arrays and had to select the more numerous dot array in comparison tasks. They also took a Simon task and a number-line tasks (i.e., number-line tasks in which they had to indicate the position of a number on a line 0 to 100 or on a line 0 to 1,000 in the number-line task). RESULTS In Experiment 1, (a) AD patients obtained significantly poorer performance while comparing collections of dots, especially harder (small-ratio) collections, (b) these deficits correlated with poorer performance on the number-line task for larger numerosities (i.e., 0 to 1,000), and (c) AD patients showed poorer performance on incongruent (where numerosity and area occupied by dots mismatched) than on congruent items (where both features matched), while HOA showed no congruency effects. Experiment 2 showed (a) congruency effects in both groups when convex hull was tested as an incongruent feature, and (b) comparable sequential modulations of congruency effects in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings showed that numerosity abilities decline in AD patients, and that this decline results from impaired domain-specific processes (i.e., numerosity processing) and domain-general processes (i.e., inhibition). These findings have important implications to further our understanding of how specific and general cognitive processes contribute to numerosity estimation/comparison performance, and how such contributions change during Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Roquet
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix-Marseille Université & CNRS , Marseille, France
| | | | - Patrick Lemaire
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix-Marseille Université & CNRS , Marseille, France
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27
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Colvett JS, Nobles LM, Bugg JM. The unique effects of relatively recent conflict on cognitive control. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2020; 46:1344-1367. [PMID: 32744839 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
In tasks like Stroop, it is well documented that cognitive control is affected by experiences with past conflict on 2 timescales. The "immediate" timescale is evidenced by congruency sequence effects while the "long" timescale is evidenced by list-wide proportion congruence effects. What remains underspecified is whether relatively recent experiences with conflict (i.e. recent timescale of a few preceding trials) also uniquely affect control and how experiences on different timescales are weighted. We conducted 3 preregistered experiments using a novel Stroop paradigm designed to isolate the effects of the recent timescale and measured cognitive control via diagnostic items. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the level of conflict experienced in the recent timescale within mostly congruent and mostly incongruent lists. Controlling for conflict experiences in the long and immediate timescales, we found that conflict in the recent timescale affected cognitive control and did so similarly across list types. In Experiment 2 we found a boundary condition for the effects of recent conflict -when the recent timescale was preceded by 50% congruent trials, conflict in the recent timescale did not affect cognitive control. Experiment 3 systematically replicated the findings of Experiment 1 and demonstrated that conflict in the recent timescale affected cognitive control even after a long unfilled delay between recent conflict and subsequent diagnostic trials. These novel findings expand understanding of how conflict experiences in the recent timescale affect cognitive control and highlight the need to expand theories of cognitive control to incorporate the recent timescale and its interaction with other timescales. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackson S Colvett
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Lindsay M Nobles
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Julie M Bugg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
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28
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Zekveld AA, van Scheepen JAM, Versfeld NJ, Kramer SE, van Steenbergen H. The Influence of Hearing Loss on Cognitive Control in an Auditory Conflict Task: Behavioral and Pupillometry Findings. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:2483-2492. [PMID: 32610026 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose The pupil dilation response is sensitive not only to auditory task demand but also to cognitive conflict. Conflict is induced by incompatible trials in auditory Stroop tasks in which participants have to identify the presentation location (left or right ear) of the words "left" or "right." Previous studies demonstrated that the compatibility effect is reduced if the trial is preceded by another incompatible trial (conflict adaptation). Here, we investigated the influence of hearing status on cognitive conflict and conflict adaptation in an auditory Stroop task. Method Two age-matched groups consisting of 32 normal-hearing participants (M age = 52 years, age range: 25-67 years) and 28 participants with hearing impairment (M age = 52 years, age range: 23-64 years) performed an auditory Stroop task. We assessed the effects of hearing status and stimulus compatibility on reaction times (RTs) and pupil dilation responses. We furthermore analyzed the Pearson correlation coefficients between age, degree of hearing loss, and the compatibility effects on the RT and pupil response data across all participants. Results As expected, the RTs were longer and pupil dilation was larger for incompatible relative to compatible trials. Furthermore, these effects were reduced for trials following incompatible (as compared to compatible) trials (conflict adaptation). No general effect of hearing status was observed, but the correlations suggested that higher age and a larger degree of hearing loss were associated with more interference of current incompatibility on RTs. Conclusions Conflict processing and adaptation effects were observed on the RTs and pupil dilation responses in an auditory Stroop task. No general effects of hearing status were observed, but the correlations suggested that higher age and a greater degree of hearing loss were related to reduced conflict processing ability. The current study underlines the relevance of taking into account cognitive control and conflict adaptation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana A Zekveld
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ear and Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J A M van Scheepen
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ear and Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Niek J Versfeld
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ear and Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sophia E Kramer
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ear and Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands
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29
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Roquet A, Poletti C, Lemaire P. Sequential modulations of executive control processes throughout lifespan in numerosity comparison. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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30
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Adelhöfer N, Beste C. EEG Signal Decomposition Evidence for a Role of Perceptual Processes during Conflict-related Behavioral Adjustments in Middle Frontal Regions. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:1381-1393. [PMID: 32163322 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Conflict monitoring processes are central to cope with fluctuating environmental demands. However, the efficacy of these processes depends on previous trial history/experience, which is reflected in the "congruency sequence effect" (CSE). Several theoretical accounts have been put forward to explain this effect. Some accounts stress the role of perceptual processes in the emergence of the CSE. As yet, it is elusive how these perceptual processes are implemented on a neural level. We examined this question using a newly developed moving dots flanker task. We combine decomposition methods of EEG data and source localization. We show that perceptual processes modulate the CSE and can be isolated in neurophysiological signals, especially in the N2 ERP time window. However, mechanisms relating perception to action are also coded and modulated in this time window. We show that middle frontal regions (BA 6) are associated with processes dealing with purely perceptual processes. Inferior frontal regions (BA 45) are associated with processes dealing with stimulus-response transition processes. Likely, the neurophysiological modulations reflect unbinding processes at the perceptual level, and stimulus-response translation level needed to respond correctly on the presented (changed) stimulus-response relationships. The data establish a direct relationship between psychological concepts focusing on perceptual processes during conflict monitoring and neurophysiological processes using signal decomposition.
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31
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Landman LL, van Steenbergen H. Emotion and conflict adaptation: the role of phasic arousal and self-relevance. Cogn Emot 2020; 34:1083-1096. [PMID: 32036746 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1722615] [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] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Conflict adaptation reflects the increase in cognitive control after previous conflict between task-relevant and task-irrelevant information. Tonic (sustained) arousal elicited by emotional words embedded in a conflict task has previously been shown to increase conflict adaptation. However, the role of phasic (transient) emotional arousal remains unclear. In Experiment 1 (N = 55), we therefore investigated the effect of phasic arousal using a colour flanker task with negative, positive, and neutral words as stimuli. We hypothesised that phasic arousal elicited in this context will increase conflict adaptation in the subsequent trial. Indeed, when the words were positive or negative as compared to neutral, we observed increased conflict adaptation. In Experiment 2 (N = 54), we examined the role of the self-relevance by presenting words with a self-related pronoun ("my") or sender-related pronoun ("his"/"her"). We expected that emotional words with high self-relevance would lead to stronger effects of emotional arousal on conflict adaptation. Confirming this hypothesis, results showed that emotional words within a self-related context again increased conflict adaptation, whereas this effect was not observed in the sender-related context. Taken together, these results are the first to show that phasic arousal elicited by emotional words increases conflict adaptation, in particular when these words have high self-relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa L Landman
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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32
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Abstract
Conflict adaptation refers to our ability to modulate our attention in line with changing situational demands, so we can engage in goal-directed behavior. While there is ample evidence demonstrating that such adaptation in conflict tasks can be captured using different response modalities, it remains unknown whether these effects rely on domain-general mechanisms applied to different response modalities, or are the result of more inherently response-specific processes. Here, we used an individual-differences approach to evaluate whether conflict adaptation in two highly similar tasks using different response modalities are related. Specifically, participants performed two versions of a Stroop task, one in which they responded via key presses and one in which they responded via mouse movements. In both tasks, we manipulated the item-specific proportion of (in)congruent trials (80% vs. 20% congruent). This allowed us to evaluate the item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) effect, a hallmark indicator of conflict adaptation. ISPC effects were observed in both response modalities. However, we found no indications that individual differences in the ISPC effects of the two response modalities were related. This raises the question whether findings from studies on conflict adaptation measured by different modalities can reliably be compared. Furthermore, these results suggest that response modality plays a more integrative role in these adaptive processes, rather than being the mere output of a domain-general control mechanism. This is consistent with contingency learning accounts of the ISPC effect and associative learning models of cognitive control.
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33
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Berger A, Mitschke V, Dignath D, Eder A, van Steenbergen H. The face of control: Corrugator supercilii tracks aversive conflict signals in the service of adaptive cognitive control. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13524. [PMID: 31930536 PMCID: PMC7079141 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive control is the ability to monitor, evaluate, and adapt behavior in the service of long‐term goals. Recent theories have proposed that the integral negative emotions elicited by conflict are critical for the adaptive adjustment of cognitive control. However, evidence for the negative valence of conflict in cognitive control tasks mainly comes from behavioral studies that interrupted trial sequences, making it difficult to directly test the link between conflict‐induced affect and subsequent increases in cognitive control. In the present study, we therefore use online measures of valence‐sensitive electromyography (EMG) of the facial corrugator (frowning) and zygomaticus (smiling) muscles while measuring the adaptive cognitive control in a Stroop‐like task. In line with the prediction that conflict is aversive, results showed that conflict relative to non‐conflict trials led to increased activity of the corrugator muscles after correct responses, both in a flanker task (Experiment 1) and in a prime‐probe task (Experiment 2). This conflict‐induced corrugator activity effect correlated marginally with conflict‐driven increases in cognitive control in the next trial in the confound‐minimalized task used in Experiment 2. However, in the absence of performance feedback (Experiment 3), no reliable effect of conflict was observed in the facial muscle activity despite robust behavioral conflict adaptation. Taken together, our results show that facial EMG can be used as an indirect index of the temporal dynamics of conflict‐induced aversive signals and/or effortful processes in particular when performance feedback is presented, providing important new insights into the dynamic affective nature of cognitive control. Cognitive control plays a pivotal role in goal‐directed behavior. Nevertheless, it still remains elusive what mechanisms determine how cognitive control is recruited. Recent theories have proposed that negative emotions elicited by conflict help to adaptively increase the cognitive control. Although there is indeed accumulating evidence for the negative valence of conflict, no study has yet linked this directly to increased adaptive control. Using valence‐sensitive EMG measures, we here show that conflict is associated with increased activation of the corrugator (frowning) muscle and that the size of this effect predicts the size of conflict‐driven control adjustment in the next trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Berger
- Department of Psychology, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Mitschke
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - David Dignath
- Institute for Psychology, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Andreas Eder
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden University Institute of Psychology, Leiden, The Netherlands
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34
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Eben C, Billieux J, Verbruggen F. Clarifying the Role of Negative Emotions in the Origin and Control of Impulsive Actions. Psychol Belg 2020; 60:1-17. [PMID: 31915527 PMCID: PMC6941237 DOI: 10.5334/pb.502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This critical review elaborates on the origin of impulsive actions and how these can be controlled. We focus in particular on the role of negative events. First, we outline how impulsive actions often originate from negative events that are (emotionally) appraised. A discrepancy between this current state and a desired goal state leads to action tendencies. The urgency of the resulting action depends on the importance of the goal and the size of the discrepancy. Second, we discuss how such impulsive actions can be regulated or controlled e.g. by biasing competition between different options, or by completely suppressing all motor output. Importantly, such control mechanisms might also depend on emotional factors. To reconcile these findings, we present a coherent theoretical framework, taking into account various cognitive, affective, and motivational mechanisms as well as contextual factors that play a crucial role in the origin and control of impulsive actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Eben
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, BE
| | - Joël Billieux
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, CH
- Health and Behaviour Institute, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, LU
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35
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Mood state and conflict adaptation: an update and a diffusion model analysis. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2019; 85:322-344. [PMID: 31659454 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01258-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated the affective modulation of conflict adaptation. In a first step, we conducted a direct replication of a previous study (Schuch & Pütz, 2018). Positive vs. negative mood state was induced by a success-failure manipulation (between-groups, N = 40 per group). In a subsequent task-switching experiment, the congruency sequence effect was assessed in task repetitions and task switches, measuring conflict adaptation within tasks and between tasks, respectively. We found conflict adaptation (averaged across task repetitions and task switches) to be enhanced in negative mood. We did not replicate our previous finding of enhanced conflict adaptation in task switches in positive mood. In a second step, we combined the replication data with the original data set, yielding a larger database with N = 80 per mood group. Using diffusion modeling, we explored the affective modulation of conflict adaptation in task repetitions. Conflict adaptation was reflected in drift rate, consistent with the idea that response conflict triggers an increase in processing selectivity, thereby attenuating the influence of the irrelevant stimulus dimension. Conflict adaptation was also reflected in boundary separation, suggesting that response conflict on the previous trial triggered an increase in response caution. The mood manipulation did not seem to affect processing selectivity (as captured by drift rate) but affected the setting of response caution (as captured by the boundary separation parameter), with faster and more error-prone responding in the negative than positive mood group. We discuss theoretical implications of these findings, and also briefly consider the affective modulations of other cognitive control measures.
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36
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Ménétré E, Laganaro M. Attentional Reorientation and Inhibition Adjustment in a Verbal Stroop Task: A Lifespan Approach to Interference and Sequential Congruency Effect. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2028. [PMID: 31551876 PMCID: PMC6743350 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02028] [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: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several parameters influence the interference effect elicited in a Stroop task, especially contextual information. Contextual effects in the Stroop paradigms are known as the Gratton or Sequential congruency effect (SCE). This research aims at isolating two processes contributing to the SCE in a Stroop paradigm, namely attentional reorientation from the color to the word and vice-versa, as well as inhibition (engagement/disengagement from one trial to the next one). To this end, in Study 1 subprocesses of the SCE were isolated. Specifically, attentional reorientation and inhibition were segregated by submitting young adults to a discrete verbal Stroop task including neutral trials. In Study 2, the same procedure was applied to 124 participants aged from 10 to 80 years old to analyze how interference, SCE, and the aforementioned decomposition of attention and inhibition change across the lifespan. In both studies, the Gratton effect was only partially replicated, while both attentional reorientation and inhibition effects were observed, supporting the idea that these two processes contribute to SCE on top of conflict monitoring and of other processes highlighted in different theories (contingency learning, feature integration, and repetition expectancy). Finally, the classical age-related evolution was replicated in Study 2 on raw interference scores, but no age effect was observed when processing speed was taken into account, nor on the isolated attentional reorientation and inhibition processes, which is in line with the hypothesis of stability of the inhibition processes over age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Ménétré
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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37
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Algom D, Chajut E. Reclaiming the Stroop Effect Back From Control to Input-Driven Attention and Perception. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1683. [PMID: 31428008 PMCID: PMC6688540 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
According to a growing consensus, the Stroop effect is understood as a phenomenon of conflict and cognitive control. A tidal wave of recent research alleges that incongruent Stroop stimuli generate conflict, which is then managed and resolved by top-down cognitive control. We argue otherwise: control studies fail to account for major Stroop results obtained over a century-long history of research. We list some of the most compelling developments and show that no control account can serve as a viable explanation for major Stroop phenomena and that there exist more parsimonious explanations for other Stroop related phenomena. Against a wealth of studies and emerging consensus, we posit that data-driven selective attention best accounts for the gamut of existing Stroop results. The case for data-driven attention is not new: a mere twenty-five years ago, the Stroop effect was considered “the gold standard” of attention (MacLeod, 1992). We identify four pitfalls plaguing conflict monitoring and control studies of the Stroop effect and show that the notion of top-down control is gratuitous. Looking at the Stroop effect from a historical perspective, we argue that the recent paradigm change from stimulus-driven selective attention to control is unwarranted. Applying Occam’s razor, the effects marshaled in support of the control view are better explained by a selectivity of attention account. Moreover, many Stroop results, ignored in the control literature, are inconsistent with any control account of the effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Algom
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Eran Chajut
- Department of Education and Psychology, Open University of Israel, Ra'anana, Israel
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38
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Braem S, Bugg JM, Schmidt JR, Crump MJC, Weissman DH, Notebaert W, Egner T. Measuring Adaptive Control in Conflict Tasks. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:769-783. [PMID: 31331794 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Revised: 06/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in the cognitive and neural mechanisms of adaptive control processes that operate in selective attention tasks. This has spawned not only a large empirical literature and several theories but also the recurring identification of potential confounds and corresponding adjustments in task design to create confound-minimized metrics of adaptive control. The resulting complexity of this literature can be difficult to navigate for new researchers entering the field, leading to suboptimal study designs. To remediate this problem, we present here a consensus view among opposing theorists that specifies how researchers can measure four hallmark indices of adaptive control (the congruency sequence effect, and list-wide, context-specific, and item-specific proportion congruency effects) while minimizing easy-to-overlook confounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Senne Braem
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Julie M Bugg
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Matthew J C Crump
- Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn, NY, USA
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39
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Burns DM, Fox EL, Greenstein M, Olbright G, Montgomery D. An old task in new clothes: A preregistered direct replication attempt of enclothed cognition effects on Stroop performance. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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40
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Notaro G, van Zoest W, Altman M, Melcher D, Hasson U. Predictions as a window into learning: Anticipatory fixation offsets carry more information about environmental statistics than reactive stimulus-responses. J Vis 2019; 19:8. [PMID: 30779844 DOI: 10.1167/19.2.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A core question underlying neurobiological and computational models of behavior is how individuals learn environmental statistics and use them to make predictions. Most investigations of this issue have relied on reactive paradigms, in which inferences about predictive processes are derived by modeling responses to stimuli that vary in likelihood. Here we deployed a novel anticipatory oculomotor metric to determine how input statistics impact anticipatory behavior that is decoupled from target-driven-response. We implemented transition constraints between target locations, so that the probability of a target being presented on the same side as the previous trial was 70% in one condition (pret70) and 30% in the other (pret30). Rather than focus on responses to targets, we studied subtle endogenous anticipatory fixation offsets (AFOs) measured while participants fixated the screen center, awaiting a target. These AFOs were small (<0.4° from center on average), but strongly tracked global-level statistics. Speaking to learning dynamics, trial-by-trial fluctuations in AFO were well-described by a learning model, which identified a lower learning rate in pret70 than pret30, corroborating prior suggestions that pret70 is subjectively treated as more regular. Most importantly, direct comparisons with saccade latencies revealed that AFOs: (a) reflected similar temporal integration windows, (b) carried more information about the statistical context than did saccade latencies, and (c) accounted for most of the information that saccade latencies also contained about inputs statistics. Our work demonstrates how strictly predictive processes reflect learning dynamics, and presents a new direction for studying learning and prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Notaro
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Wieske van Zoest
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Magda Altman
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - David Melcher
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Uri Hasson
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Trento, Italy.,Center for Practical Wisdom, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
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Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) enhances conflict-triggered adjustment of cognitive control. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 18:680-693. [PMID: 29693214 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0596-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Response conflicts play a prominent role in the flexible adaptation of behavior as they represent context-signals that indicate the necessity for the recruitment of cognitive control. Previous studies have highlighted the functional roles of the affectively aversive and arousing quality of the conflict signal in triggering the adaptation process. To further test this potential link with arousal, participants performed a response conflict task in two separate sessions with either transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which is assumed to activate the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NE) system, or with neutral sham stimulation. In both sessions the N2 and P3 event-related potentials (ERP) were assessed. In line with previous findings, conflict interference, the N2 and P3 amplitude were reduced after conflict. Most importantly, this adaptation to conflict was enhanced under tVNS compared to sham stimulation for conflict interference and the N2 amplitude. No effect of tVNS on the P3 component was found. These findings suggest that tVNS increases behavioral and electrophysiological markers of adaptation to conflict. Results are discussed in the context of the potentially underlying LC-NE and other neuromodulatory (e.g., GABA) systems. The present findings add important pieces to the understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms of conflict-triggered adjustment of cognitive control.
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42
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Abstract
The idea that conflict detection triggers control adjustments has been considered a basic principle of cognitive control. So far, this "conflict-control loop" has mainly been investigated in the context of response conflicts in single tasks. In this theoretical position paper, we explore whether, and how, this principle might be involved in multitasking performance, as well. We argue that several kinds of conflict-control loops can be identified in multitasking at multiple levels (e.g., the response level and the task level), and we provide a selective review of empirical observations. We present examples of conflict monitoring and control adjustments in dual-task and task-switching paradigms, followed by a section on error monitoring and posterror adjustments in multitasking. We conclude by outlining future research questions regarding monitoring and control in multitasking, including the potential roles of affect and associative learning for conflict-control loops in multitasking.
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Aschenbrenner AJ, Balota DA. Additive Effects of Item-Specific and Congruency Sequence Effects in the Vocal Stroop Task. Front Psychol 2019; 10:860. [PMID: 31105619 PMCID: PMC6491926 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00860] [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: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a growing interest in assessing how cognitive processes fluidly adjust across trials within a task. Dynamic adjustments of control are typically measured using the congruency sequence effect (CSE), which refers to the reduction in interference following an incongruent trial, relative to a congruent trial. However, it is unclear if this effect stems from a general control mechanism or a distinct process tied to cross-trial reengagement of the task set. We examine the relationship of the CSE with another measure of control referred to as the item-specific proportion congruency effect (ISPC), the finding that frequently occurring congruent items exhibit greater interference than items that are often incongruent. If the two effects reflect the same control mechanism, one should find interactive effects of CSE and ISPC. We report results from three experiments utilizing a vocal Stroop task that manipulated these two effects while controlling for variables that are often confounded in the literature. Across three experiments, we observed large CSE and ISPC effects. Importantly, these effects were robustly additive with one another (Bayes Factor for the null approaching 9). This finding indicates that the CSE and ISPC arise from independent mechanisms and suggests the CSE in Stroop may reflect a more general response adjustment process that is not directly tied to trial-by-trial changes in attentional control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Aschenbrenner
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - David A Balota
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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44
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Associative priming and conflict differentially affect two processes underlying cognitive control: Evidence from reaching behavior. Psychon Bull Rev 2019; 26:1400-1410. [DOI: 10.3758/s13423-019-01576-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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45
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Group analyses can hide heterogeneity effects when searching for a general model: Evidence based on a conflict monitoring task. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2019; 193:171-179. [PMID: 30641293 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Revised: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In experimental psychology, a unique model of general processing is often sought to represent the behaviors of all individuals. We address the question of whether seeking this objective - a unique model - is the most fruitful scientific strategy by studying a specific case example. In order to approach an answer to such a question, we compared the conventional approach in experimental psychology with analyses at the individual level by applying a specific mathematical modeling approach. A sample of 1159 individuals completed an experimental task based on managing conflict (a type of Simon task). Key findings revealed that at least four models are required to properly account for individuals' performance. Interestingly, four out of ten participants failed to show stimulus-response congruency effects in the experimental task, whereas the remaining 60% followed distinguishable theoretical models (consistent with conflict-monitoring theory and/or priming and episodic memory effects). The reported findings suggest that individuals' psychological characteristics might help to explain some of the reproducibility issues that are currently of great concern in psychology. These findings, along with further recent research, support the view that general and differential psychological approaches work better together for addressing relevant theoretical issues in psychological research.
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Abstract
Pupillometry research has experienced an enormous revival in the last two decades. Here we briefly review the surge of recent studies on task-evoked pupil dilation in the context of cognitive control tasks with the primary aim being to evaluate the feasibility of using pupil dilation as an index of effort exertion, rather than task demand or difficulty. Our review shows that across the three cognitive control domains of updating, switching, and inhibition, increases in task demands typically leads to increases in pupil dilation. Studies show a diverging pattern with respect to the relationship between pupil dilation and performance and we show how an effort account of pupil dilation can provide an explanation of these findings. We also discuss future directions to further corroborate this account in the context of recent theories on cognitive control and effort and their potential neurobiological substrates.
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Wang Y, Damen TGE, Aarts H. An examination of the sequential trial effect on experiences of agency in the Simon task. Conscious Cogn 2018; 66:17-25. [PMID: 30390460 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous research shows that agency experiences are reduced when response selection is dysfluent. Expanding on this work, we report two experiments addressing the influence of Simon response conflict on agency. Participants responded to congruent and incongruent Simon task trials and indicated their experienced agency after each response. Results show that incongruent trials were related to reduced agency experiences, thus replicating earlier work on the response-selection agency-link. Furthermore, the data further showed an interesting sequence effect: The congruency effect on experienced agency mainly emerged when a trial was preceded by a congruent trial. There was however no congruency effect on experienced agency when a trial was preceded by an incongruent trial. These findings are briefly discussed in the context of research on response selection and experiences of agency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuru Wang
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - Tom G E Damen
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - Henk Aarts
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
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Dolk T, Freigang C, Bogon J, Dreisbach G. RETRACTED: Auditory (dis-)fluency triggers sequential processing adjustments. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 191:69-75. [PMID: 30223147 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.08.021] [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: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
An increasing amount of studies indicates that experiencing increased task demands, triggered for example by conflicting stimulus features or low perceptual fluency, lead to processing adjustments. While these demand-triggered processing adjustments have been shown for different paradigms (e.g., response conflict tasks, perceptual disfluency, task switching, dual tasking), most of them are restricted to the visual modality. The present study investigated as to whether the challenge to understand speech signals in normal-hearing subjects would also lead to sequential processing adjustments if the processing fluency of the respective auditory signals changes from trial to trial. To that end, we used spoken number words (one to nine) that were either presented with high (clean speech) or low perceptual fluency (i.e., vocoded speech as used in cochlear implants-Experiment 1; speech embedded in multi-speaker babble noise as typically found in bars-Experiment 2). Participants had to judge the spoken number words as smaller or larger than five. Results show that the fluency effect (performance difference between high and low perceptual fluency) in both experiments was smaller following disfluent words. Thus, if it's hard to understand, you try harder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Dolk
- Department of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | | | - Johanna Bogon
- Department of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Gesine Dreisbach
- Department of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Liu P, Wang X, Cao G, Li J, Zhang J, Cao R. A sequential trial effect based on the motor interference effect from dangerous objects: An ERP study. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e01112. [PMID: 30176195 PMCID: PMC6192396 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This study aims to investigate whether processing a prepared response toward a dangerous object in a previous trial influences subsequent trial processing. METHODS The design manipulated the Go/NoGo factor of the current trial, the target dangerousness of the previous trial and that of the current trial. RESULTS In current Go trials, the behavioral results revealed a classical motor interference effect in trials that were preceded by a safe trial (a longer reaction time (RT) and a larger error rate for the previous safe and current dangerous (sD) condition than for the previous safe and current safe (sS) condition). However, the motor interference effect diminished in trials that were preceded by a dangerous trial (insignificant differences in the mean RTs and error rates between the previous dangerous and current dangerous (dD) condition and the previous dangerous and current safe (dS) condition). The event-related potential (ERP) results identified more positive P2 and parietal P3 amplitudes (indicating attentional resource allocation) for the dD condition than for the dS condition. However, the P2 and parietal P3 amplitudes of the sD condition did not significantly differ from those of the sS condition. DISCUSSIONS These results support the hypothesis that the avoidance motivation elicited by a dangerous target in a previous trial may indicate a dangerous situation, which leads to recruitment of more attentional resources allocated to the subsequent dangerous trial. Therefore, RTs are improved and errors are reduced in the consecutive dangerous condition, subsequently decreasing the motor interference effect in trials preceded by a dangerous trial compared with trials preceded by a safe trial. However, analysis of current NoGo trials revealed that none of the main effects or interactions reached significance in both the behavioral and ERP results, indicating that the hypothesis holds true only if the prepared response needs to be executed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Liu
- School of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaoyi Wang
- School of Economics and Management, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Gai Cao
- School of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jia Li
- Mental Health Education Center of Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- School of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Rong Cao
- School of Public Management, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
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50
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Hinault T, Larcher K, Zazubovits N, Gotman J, Dagher A. Spatio-temporal patterns of cognitive control revealed with simultaneous electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:80-97. [PMID: 30259592 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Optimal performance depends in part on the ability to inhibit the automatic processing of irrelevant information and also on the adjusting the level of control from one trial to the next. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal neural correlates of cognitive control using simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, while 22 participants (10 women) performed a numerical Stroop task. We investigated the spatial and temporal dynamic of the conflict adaptation effects (i.e., reduced interference on items that follow an incongruent stimulus compared to after a congruent stimulus). Joint independent component analysis linked the N200 component to activation of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the conflict slow potential to widespread activations within the fronto-parietal executive control network. Connectivity analyses with psychophysiological interactions and dynamic causal modeling demonstrated coordinated engagement of the cognitive control network after the processing of an incongruent item, and this was correlated with better behavioral performance. Our results combined high spatial and temporal resolution to propose the following network of conflict adaptation effect and specify the time course of activation within this model: first, the anterior insula and inferior frontal gyrus are activated when incongruence is detected. These regions then signal the need for higher control to the ACC, which in turn activates the fronto-parietal executive control network to improve the performance on the next trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hinault
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kevin Larcher
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Natalja Zazubovits
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean Gotman
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alain Dagher
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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