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Research is still needed to promote the development of structured art-based programs in prisons to strengthen socio-emotional skills. "Free Spirits" emerges as an innovative intervention that involves artistic and participatory co-creation dynamics in theater and music. A mixed-method quasi-experimental study was conducted in a Portuguese prison. Using self-report measures (emotional regulation, resilient coping) and a Go/No-Go paradigm (inhibitory control), quantitative data were collected pre- and posttest. A focus group was used to obtain participant's perceptions. The results suggested the effectiveness of the intervention in promoting more adaptive emotional management strategies and in the improvement of inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the heuristic model of emotion socialization by Eisenberg et al., parental reactions to children's negative emotions (RCNE) have an important role in this socialization process; however, its effects on children's social-emotional outcomes may be moderated by the children's temperament. This longitudinal study verified this proposition by testing maternal and paternal RCNE as predictors of preschoolers' behavioral adjustment and child inhibitory control as a moderator of these associations. Mothers and fathers of 113 Chinese children (M age = 57.41 months, SD = 7.16 months) reported on their RCNE and child inhibitory control at Time 1 (T1) and reported on child behavioral adjustment (i.e., externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and prosocial behaviors) both at T1 and 6 months later (Time 2, T2). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at T1, child age, and paternal education level, (a) paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems and positively predicted child prosocial behaviors, and (b) the associations between parental RCNE and child behavioral adjustment were moderated by child inhibitory control. Specifically, only for children low on inhibitory control, paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems, and maternal supportive reactions positively predicted child prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, first proposed by Gray and later revised, describes three motivational systems: Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), Behavioral Activation System (BAS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). Studies have shown that high BIS and FFFS activation are positively related to anxiety symptoms, yet the relationship between BAS and anxiety remains unclear. Research data have also suggested that anxiety symptoms occur with the loss of perceived control. Thus, although studies on the direct effect of locus of control (LOC) on trait anxiety have accumulated for many years, the issue of how LOC may mediate the relationship between BIS/BAS/FFFS sensitivity and anxiety has not been addressed. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of LOC orientation on trait anxiety among young adults in association with these three motivational systems. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 422 volunteers. The BIS/BAS Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rotter's Internal-External LOC Scale were applied. A series of mediation analyses were performed to estimate total, indirect, and direct effects. The results showed that BIS and FFFS positively predicted trait anxiety. In addition, LOC positively predicted trait anxiety and BIS. The results of the mediation analyses indicated that LOC functioned as a partial mediator between BIS and trait anxiety. This finding revealed that a high BIS level, one of the motivational systems, was associated with external LOC, which in turn contributed to reporting high trait anxiety in young adults. Hence, BIS and external LOC orientation could be suggested as risk factors for trait anxiety. As the external LOC orientation of individuals with high punishment sensitivity increased, their trait anxiety levels also increased. Therefore, it was suggested that it might be useful to be aware that LOC orientations of individuals with BIS sensitivity may pose a risk for trait anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spatial Stroop task, an arrow target produces a spatial Stroop effect, whereas a gaze target elicits a reversed congruency effect. The reversed congruency effect has been explained by the unique attentional mechanisms of eye gaze. However, recent studies have shown that not only gaze but arrow targets produced a reversed congruency effect when embedded in a complex background. The present study investigated whether non-gaze targets produce a reversed congruency effect. In Experiments 1 and 2, we used the tongue, which is not commonly used to indicate spatial directions in daily life, as a target in the spatial Stroop task, in addition to the conventional gaze and arrows. In Experiment 3, we used arrow stimuli embedded in a complex background as a target. Participants judged the left/right direction of the target presented in the left or right visual field. Although arrow and gaze targets replicated previous findings (spatial Stroop and reversed congruency effect, respectively), the tongue target produced a reversed congruency effect (Experiments 1 and 2). The spatial Stroop effect of arrow targets disappeared when they were in a complex background (Experiment 3). These results are inconsistent with previous accounts emphasising the unique status of eye gaze. We propose that temporal decay of the location code and response inhibition are responsible for the reversal of spatial interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occasionally, problems are solved with a sudden Aha! moment (insight), while the mundane approach to solving problems is analytical (non-insight). At first glance, non-insight appears to depend on the availability and taxation of cognitive resources to execute the step-by-step approach, whereas insight does not, or to a lesser extent. However, this remains debated. To investigate the reliance of both solution types on cognitive resources, we assessed the involvement of the prefrontal cortex using vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) as an index. Participants (N = 68) solved 70 compound remote associates word puzzles solvable with insight and non-insight. Before, during, and after solving the word puzzles, we measured the vmHRV. Our results showed that resting-state vmHRV (trait) showed a negative association with behavioural performance for both solution types. This might reflect inter-individual differences in inhibitory control. As the solution search requires one to think of remote associations, inhibitory control might hamper rather than aid this process. Furthermore, we observed, for both solution types, a vmHRV increase from resting-state to solution search (state), lingering on in the post-task recovery period. This could mark the increase of prefrontal resources to promote an open-minded stance, essential for divergent thinking, which arguably is crucial for this task. Our findings suggest that, at a general level, both solution types share common aspects. However, a closer analysis of early and late solutions and puzzle difficulty suggested that metacognitive differentiation between insight and non-insight improved with higher trait vmHRV, and that a unique association between trait vmHRV and puzzle difficulty was present for each solution type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether girls and boys with ADHD show distinct impairments in components of cognitive control across multiple tasks (go/no-go, stop signal, and flanker) and performance metrics (response speed, variability, and errors). Method: A total of 300 children, ages 8 to 12 years with ADHD (n = 210, 58 girls) or typically developing (TD; n = 99, 37 girls), completed all tasks. Traditional response measures (e.g., mean and standard deviation of reaction time, inhibition errors, and stop signal reaction time) and ex-Gaussian modeling of reaction times (mu, sigma, and tau) were analyzed. Results: Girls showed intact response inhibition in the context of slower response speed, while boys made more inhibition errors and did not slow their response speed. Both girls and boys with ADHD showed higher response variability and poorer interference control than TD children. Conclusion: Girls and boys with ADHD show distinct impairments in cognitive control that may be important for understanding the pathophysiology of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present work explores how the horizontal viewing angle of a virtual character's face influences perceptions of credibility and approachability. Background: When encountering virtual characters, people rely both on credibility and approachability judgments to form a first impression of the depicted virtual character. Research shows that certain perceptions are preferred either on frontal or tilted faces, but not how approachability or credibility judgments relate to horizontal viewing angles in finer granularity between 0° and 45°. Method: 52 participants performed a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) task rating 240 pairwise comparisons of 20 virtual character faces shown in four horizontal viewing angles (0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°) on approachability and credibility. They also rated scales on individual differences based on the BIS-BAS framework (behavioral inhibition system, drive, and reward responsiveness), self-esteem, and personality traits (neuroticism, loneliness). Results: Both approachability and credibility were negatively related to the horizontal viewing angle, but the negative relationship was less pronounced for approachability. Notably, 15° tilted faces were associated with higher approachability than frontal faces by people scoring high in reward responsiveness, drive, and self-esteem, and scoring low in neuroticism and loneliness. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the conditions under which showing a virtual character's face is preferred in a horizontally 15° tilted over a frontal position. Application: The differential impact of the horizontal viewing angle on approachability and credibility should be considered when displaying virtual character faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibitory control is central to many theories of cognitive and brain development, and impairments in inhibitory control are posited to underlie developmental psychopathology. In this study, we tested the possibility of shared versus unique associations between inhibitory control and three common symptom dimensions in youth psychopathology: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and irritability. We quantified inhibitory control using four different experimental tasks to estimate a latent variable in 246 youth (8–18 years old) with varying symptom types and levels. Participants were recruited from the Washington, D.C., metro region. Results of structural equation modeling integrating a bifactor model of psychopathology revealed that inhibitory control predicted a shared or general psychopathology dimension, but not ADHD-specific, anxiety-specific, or irritability-specific dimensions. Inhibitory control also showed a significant, selective association with global efficiency in a frontoparietal control network delineated during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. These results support performance-based inhibitory control linked to resting-state brain function as an important predictor of comorbidity in youth psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have confirmed that money scarcity can impede individuals' cognitive control; however, it remains unclear how this effect occurs. This study created a virtual shopping game that can vividly simulate individuals' shopping-related thought processes in daily life to systematically investigate how money scarcity influences cognitive control. Participants were randomly assigned to either a money scarcity group or a money rich group and were asked to perform a virtual shopping game, an emotion test, and a cognitive control task. In the first two experiments, the participants were asked to perform a space compatibility task (Experiment 1) or a face task (Experiment 2) after completing the virtual shopping task, in which they indicated whether they would purchase the probe commodity. The results showed that (1) the response times of the money scarcity group in both the space compatibility task and the face task were markedly lower than those of the money rich group, and (2) the cognitive flexibility and interference suppression of the money rich group were greater than those of the money scarcity group; however, there was no obvious difference in response inhibition. Experiment 3 embedded the space compatibility task within the virtual shopping task. The response times of the money scarcity group were still markedly slower than those of the money rich group. Thus, money scarcity impedes individuals' cognitive control, primarily by weakening their cognitive flexibility and interference suppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Expand research on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to a more applied agricultural target detection/selection task and examine the utility of various performance metrics, including composite measures of speed and accuracy, in a High-Go/Low-No-Go stimuli task. Background: Modified SARTs have been utilized to investigate mechanisms, such as failures of response inhibition, occurring in friendly fire and collateral damage incidents. Researchers have demonstrated that composite measures of speed and accuracy are useful for Low Go/High No-Go stimuli tasks, but this has not been demonstrated for High-Go/Low-No-Go tasks, such as the SART. Method: Participants performed a modified SART, where they selected ("sprayed") images of weeds (Go stimuli) that appeared on a computer screen, while withholding to rarer soybean plant images (No-Go stimuli). Results: Response time was a function of distance from a central starting point. Participants committed commission errors (sprayed the soybeans) at a significantly higher rate when the stimuli appeared under the cursor centered on the screen for each trial. Participant's omission errors (failure to spray a weed) increased significantly as a function of distance. The composite measures examined were primarily influenced by response time and omission errors limiting their utility when commission errors are of particular interest. Conclusion: Participants are far more accurate in their decision making when required to execute a longer duration motor task in High-Go/Low-No-Go experiments. Application: Demonstrates a serious human factors liability of target detection and snap-to-target systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examines the impact of visual and auditory distractors on attention and inhibition in children with and without ADHD. Method: The study used the MOXO d-CPT child version. The sample consisted of 208 children aged 8 to 12 years, including 64 with ADHD and 144 controls. Results: Children with ADHD and controls differed in their reaction to distracting stimuli; visual distractors cause a higher decrease in sustained attention and inhibitory control in the ADHD group. Moreover, auditory distractors generate improved performance in the control group but not in the ADHD group. In addition, age-related effects were found in both sustained attention and inhibitory control in all children, regardless of whether the ADHD condition was present. Conclusions: The findings indicate that children with ADHD performed poorer compared to controls, and that distractors differently affected the performance of the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies on physical activity interventions indicated a facilitative effect on cognitive performance in persons with intellectual disabilities; however, research is scarce, especially in low/middle-income countries. Aim: We explored the effects of a 6-week enriched physical education program on inhibitory control and attention functions in Ecuadorian children with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Thirty children with mild intellectual disabilities (10-14 years old) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Before and after the intervention, attention and inhibitory control were measured using computer-based nonverbal tasks. Results: The findings showed significantly more accurate and faster responses in the vigilance task in the intervention group than in the controls. There were no significant intervention-related changes in inhibitory control; however, there were more prominent accuracy tendencies toward improvement in the intervention group. Conclusions: Results provide evidence of the potential of physical activity programs to enhance attention in this population, which could serve as a mediator for inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined how 5- to 8-year-olds (N = 51; M age = 83 months; 27 female, 24 male; 69% White, 12% Black/African American, 8% Asian/Asian American, 6% Hispanic, 6% not reported) and adults (N = 18; M age = 20.13 years; 11 female, 7 male) accepted or rejected different distributions of resources between themselves and others. We used a reach-tracking method to track finger movement in 3D space over time. This allowed us to dissociate two inhibitory processes. One involved pausing motor responses to detect conflict between observed information and how participants thought resources should be divided; the other involved resolving the conflict between the response and the alternative. Reasoning about disadvantageous inequities involved more of the first system, and this was stable across development. Reasoning about advantageous inequities involved more of the second system and showed more of a developmental progression. Generally, reach tracking offers an on-line measure of inhibitory control for the study of cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic changes in neurodevelopment and cognitive functioning occur during adolescence, including a switch from reactive to more proactive forms of cognitive control, including response inhibition. Pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (pmTBI) affects these cognitions immediately post-injury, but the role of vascular versus neural injury in cognitive dysfunction remains debated. This study consecutively recruited 214 sub-acute pmTBI (8–18 years) and age/sex-matched healthy controls (HC; N = 186), with high retention rates (>80%) at four months post-injury. Multimodal imaging (functional MRI during response inhibition, cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reactivity) assessed for pathologies within the neurovascular unit. Patients exhibited increased errors of commission and hypoactivation of motor circuitry during processing of probes. Evidence of increased/delayed cerebrovascular reactivity within motor circuitry during hypercapnia was present along with normal perfusion. Neither age-at-injury nor post-concussive symptom load were strongly associated with imaging abnormalities. Collectively, mild cognitive impairments and clinical symptoms may continue up to four months post-injury. Prolonged dysfunction within the neurovascular unit was observed during proactive response inhibition, with preliminary evidence that neural and pure vascular trauma are statistically independent. These findings suggest pmTBI is characterized by multifaceted pathologies during the sub-acute injury stage that persist several months post-injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Neurocognitive impairments are associated with child and adult ADHD in clinical settings. However, it is unknown whether adult ADHD symptoms in the general population are associated with the same pattern of cognitive impairment. We examined this using a prospective, population-based cohort spanning birth to age 25 years. Methods: We examined associations between self-reported adult ADHD symptoms and cognitive task performance (attention and response inhibition) in adulthood and childhood. Results: Self-rated ADHD symptoms at age 25 were associated with poorer performance in age 25 cognitive tasks capturing ADHD-related functioning (attention B = −0.03, 95% CI [0.05, −0.01], p =.005; response inhibition B = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.05, −0.01], p =.002). Conclusions: Neurocognitive impairments linked to adult ADHD symptoms in the general population, are similar to those found in people with childhood ADHD symptoms and are consistent with findings in adult ADHD clinical samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We investigated the effects of auditory cues of varying reliability levels on response inhibition performance using a target detection task to determine if external cues offer performance benefits. Further, we examined how the slope of the speed accuracy trade-off changes as a function of auditory cue reliability and used the trade-off to understand where any performance gains may be realized. Background: Researchers have proposed that the sustained attention to response task (SART) can be used to study the mechanisms causing failures of response inhibition. External cues may mitigate the results of motor inhibition failure. The extent to which external cues can effectively aid performance depends on the level of cue reliability. Method: Ninety-one participants performed three SARTs with auditory cue assistance at three different levels of reliability (i.e. 0%, 60% and 100% reliable at cueing imminent No-Go stimuli). Results: We observed fewer errors of commission and faster reaction time in conditions with higher cue reliability. The slope of speed-accuracy trade-off relationship was impacted by cue reliability and was not a simple linear function. Conclusion: Reliable auditory cues aid performance by reducing reaction time and errors of commission. Auditory cues also impact the relationship between speed and accuracy trade-off. Application: Insights of cue effectiveness at different reliability levels help people make informed decisions in developing automation interfaces or sensors based on expected performance. Reliable cues mitigate the risk of impulsive errors; however, the reliability has to be high to have a noticeable impact on the speed-accuracy trade-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subtle visual manipulations to the presentation of mathematical notation influence the way that students perceive and solve problems. While there is a consistent impact of perceptual cues on students' problem-solving, other cognitive skills such as inhibitory control may interact with perceptual cues to affect students' arithmetic problem-solving performance. We present an online experiment in which college students completed a version of the Stroop task followed by arithmetic problems in which the spacing between numbers and operators was either congruent (e.g., 2 + 3×4) or incongruent (e.g., 2+3 × 4) to the order of precedence. We found that students were comparably accurate between problem types but might have spent longer responding to problems with congruent than incongruent spacing. There was no main effect of inhibitory control on students' performance on these problems. However, an exploratory analysis on a combined performance measure of accuracy and response time revealed an interaction between problem type and inhibitory control. Students with higher inhibitory control performed better on congruent versus incongruent problems, whereas students with lower inhibitory control performed worse on congruent versus incongruent problems. Together, these results suggest that the relation between inhibitory control and arithmetic performance may not be straightforward. Furthermore, this work advances perceptual learning theory and contributes new findings on the contexts in which perceptual cues, such as spacing, influence arithmetic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate if children and adolescents with a diagnosis of ASD or ADHD have distinct executive function (EF) profiles. Methods: Peer-reviewed articles comparing ASD, ADHD, and typically developing individuals under 19 years of age were identified. The domains evaluated were: working memory, response inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, attention, processing speed, and visuospatial abilities. Results: Fifty-eight articles met inclusion criteria. Analyses were performed on 45 performance metrics from 24 individual tasks. No differences in EF were found between individuals diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. Individuals diagnosed with ASD and ADHD exhibited worse performance in attention, flexibility, visuospatial abilities, working memory, processing speed, and response inhibition than typically developing individuals. Groups did not differ in planning abilities. Conclusion: Children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD have similar EF profiles. Further research is needed to determine if comorbidity accounts for the commonality in executive dysfunction between each disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize the existing literature reporting the effects of computerized cognitive trainings on the executive functions of children with ADHD. Method: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA statement; the primary sources used were five electronic databases (Scopus, Science Direct, Pubmed, Springer, Taylor & Francis). Results: 20 articles met the eligibility criteria, data on the training characteristics and the effects on executive functions were extracted, followed by an analysis of bias and the methodological quality of the studies. The results of the studies were widely heterogeneous, largely associated with the variety of training programs and the measurement instruments used. The most studied executive functions were working memory and inhibitory control. Some of the studies reported that the intervention led to significant effects on working memory and attention (N = 7), and improvements in inhibitory control (N = 5) and planning (N = 4) were also reported. At the same time, others did not report the effects of the intervention on these processes. The assessment of the quality of the evidence showed important risk biases among the reviewed studies. Conclusion: Some training based on computer systems showed positive effects on the executive functions of working memory, attention, and inhibitory control in children with ADHD. However, other training sessions did not show significant effects. In general, the evidence shows mixed results, a high diversity of measurement instruments, and high risks of bias between the studies. Therefore, the evidence has not been consistent about the general benefits of computerized training on the executive functions of children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common explanation for processing limitations in dual-tasking is the existence of a bottleneck during response selection, meaning that the selection of responses can only occur serially for different tasks. However, a large body of data shows that features of a (secondary) Task 2 can already influence the processing of a (primary) Task 1. Such effects are referred to as backward crosstalk effects (BCEs). In the present study, two types of such BCEs were investigated: the compatibility-based BCE, which depends on the dimensional (often spatial) overlap between task features, and a BCE based on a go/no-go task in Task 2 (no-go BCE). Joining a line of research that suggests different mechanisms for these two types of BCEs, we investigated them using a mouse-tracking setup. Time continuous analyses revealed that the compatibility-based BCE triggered a spatial activation of the Task 2 response early during Task 1 processing, whereas the no-go BCE triggered an inhibitory effect in the case of a no-go Task 2, which spills over to Task 1 execution. This occurred, however, earlier in the time course than expected. The results are discussed with regard to recent models of dual-task processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into account the complementary treatments used today, this study examines the impact of cognitive mindfulness therapy in persons with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA method, including a total of 34 experimental articles from scholarly journals indexed in Web of Science and Scopus whose year of publication is limited to the last five years (2017–2021). The variables studied the most in the scholarly publications are divided into two categories: cognitive (attention, concentration and emotional regulation) and behavioural (hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inhibitory control). A standard table reflects what variables are used in each publication examined. A strong positive impact was found for both types of variables after the application of this therapy, which produced positive effects in the samples. Mindfulness is a positive complementary treatment in people with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whether pretreatment working memory and response inhibition function are associated with the rapid and sustained antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine among patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and strong suicidal ideation is unclear. Methods: We enrolled 65 patients with TRD, comprising 33 who received a single infusion of 0.5 mg/kg ketamine and 32 who received a placebo infusion. The participants performed working memory and go/no-go tasks prior to infusion. We assessed suicidal symptoms at baseline and on postinfusion Days 2, 3, 5, and 7. Results: The full remission of suicidal symptoms persisted for 3 days after a single ketamine infusion and the ketamine-related antisuicidal effect persisted for 1 week. Lower cognitive impairment at baseline (indicated by a higher rate of correct responses on a working memory task) was associated with the rapid and sustained antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine in patients with TRD and strong suicidal ideation. Discussion: Patients with TRD and strong suicidal ideation but low cognitive impairment may benefit the most from the antisuicidal effect of low-dose ketamine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in attention and action control produced substantial evidence suggesting the presence of feature binding. This study explores the binding of task-irrelevant context features in cued task switching. We predicted that repeating a context feature in trial n retrieves the trial n − 1 episode. Consequently, performance should improve when the retrieved features match the features of the current trial. Two experiments (N = 124; N = 96) employing different tasks and materials showed that repeating the task-irrelevant context improved performance when the task and the response repeated. Furthermore, repeating the task-irrelevant context increased task repetition benefits only when the context feature appeared synchronously with cue onset, but not when the context feature appeared with a 300-ms delay (Experiment 1). Similarly, repeating the task-irrelevant context improved performance when the task and the response repeated only when the context feature was part of the cue, and not when it was part of the target (Experiment 2). Taken together, binding and retrieval processes seem to play a crucial role in task switching, alongside response inhibition processes. In turn, our study provided a better understanding of binding and retrieval of task-irrelevant features in general, and specifically on how they modulate response repetition benefits in task repetitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotional dysregulation, poor emotion recognition and impaired response inhibition have been highlighted as potential contributors to social difficulties in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is currently unknown how these areas of impairment relate to one another; therefore, this study aims to identify the areas of emotion regulation which are associated with social difficulties in adolescents with ADHD, and determine whether emotion regulation mediates the relationship between deficits in response inhibition and emotion recognition, and social functioning, in this cohort. Methods: Thirty Australian adolescents (Male = 21) with ADHD completed measures of response inhibition, emotion recognition, and emotion regulation. Results: Positive emotion regulation was significantly associated with social difficulties. Although emotion recognition significantly predicted social difficulties, there was no relationship between emotion recognition and emotion regulation in this sample, ruling out emotion regulation as a mediator of emotion recognition and social difficulties. Whilst response inhibition was significantly correlated with positive emotion regulation, positive emotion regulation did not mediate the relationship between response inhibition and social difficulties. Conclusions: Difficulties recognising and regulating emotions appear to independently contribute to social difficulties in adolescents with ADHD. Interventions to increase emotional understanding and developing strategies to down-regulate positive emotions may be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We assessed the feasibility and validity of remote researcher-led administration and self-administration of modified versions of two cognitive tasks sensitive to ADHD, a four-choice reaction time task (Fast task) and a combined Continuous Performance Test/Go No-Go task (CPT/GNG), through a new remote measurement technology system. Method: We compared the cognitive performance measures (mean and variability of reaction times (MRT, RTV), omission errors (OE) and commission errors (CE)) at a remote baseline researcher-led administration and three remote self-administration sessions between participants with and without ADHD (n = 40). Results: The most consistent group differences were found for RTV, MRT and CE at the baseline researcher-led administration and the first self-administration, with 8 of the 10 comparisons statistically significant and all comparisons indicating medium to large effect sizes. Conclusion: Remote administration of cognitive tasks successfully captured the difficulties with response inhibition and regulation of attention, supporting the feasibility and validity of remote assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive Functions (EFs) correspond to a general construct of cognitive abilities aimed at optimizing problem-solving and regulating behaviour effectively and efficiently. The current consensus model of EFs comprises three components: working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. The present study sought to evaluate differences in task performance assessing EFs when subjects are confronted with a social stress paradigm related to the 'white coat phenomenon'. It involved 40 Chilean university students, mean age 21.8 years, who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: in the presence of social stress (treatment) or in the absence of social stress (control). The results showed a partial impact of the white coat phenomenon, with statistically significant differences at p ≤.05, when comparing both conditions in relation to the tasks that evaluated inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, with both tasks presenting a higher speed of response in the experimental condition of social stress, with the accuracy of the responses being unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To test if inhibitory control was a significant predictor for arithmetic in children with ADHD and if the relationship between inhibitory control and arithmetic was mediated by working memory. Methods: Eighty-four children (ADHD, n = 54; Non-ADHD, n = 30) were tested on their interference control, behavioral inhibition, working memory, and arithmetic. Regression analysis was used to test the predictive role of inhibitory control in arithmetic. Moreover, mediation analysis was done to test whether working memory mediated the relationship between inhibitory control and arithmetic memory. Results: Interference control but not behavioral inhibition was a significant predictor for arithmetic. In addition, interference control had direct and indirect effects via working memory on arithmetic. Conclusions: Results demonstrated that inhibitory control contributed to arithmetic in children with ADHD. Furthermore, interference control had direct and indirect effects via working memory on arithmetic, suggesting interventions for arithmetic difficulties should involve training on both inhibition and working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Impaired attention and inhibitory control put children with ADHD at potentially high risk of injury--one of the leading causes of disability in the general pediatric population. Existing research has yet to examine this important health risk using nationally representative samples. This population-based study aimed to address this gap. Methods: National estimates of injury occurrences were generated from 66,236 children in the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey 2010-2019 datasets. Multiple logistic regression models further examined the impact of injury type, age, race/ethnicity, sex, parental education, income, marital and insurance status on injury prevalence. Results: Compared to children without ADHD, those with ADHD have significantly higher injury prevalence (OR = 1.20, 95% CI [1.07, 1.33]) across injury types and most sociodemographic subgroups. Conclusions: Children with ADHD are more likely to experience injury. Future research should investigate mechanisms of injury disparities to inform future preventive efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the cognitive predictors and constraints of children's strategic offers in the Ultimatum Game. The Ultimatum Game is a one-shot negotiation on the division of a given sum of rewards between two people, where the receiver has the right to punish the proposer by rejecting unfair offers, which results in nil reward for either party. Ninety-four Hong Kong children ranged between three and six years of age (48 girls, M = 4.94, SD = 0.90) participated in an Ultimatum Game, and tasks measuring theory of mind, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and verbal ability. Children's theory of mind, measured with false belief understanding tasks, was positively associated with their Ultimatum Game offers. Regression analysis further demonstrated that cognitive flexibility moderated the association between false belief understanding and children's offers in the Ultimatum Game. Being able to take the opponent's perspective prompted children to offer more in the Ultimatum Game, but only when their cognitive flexibility was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because emotional salience has a critical effect on cognitive processing, its effect on core executive functions has not been considered much. This study compares reaction time and accuracy of the response in the three core executive functions. The 92 students who participated in the study were assigned to two groups and performed a variety of core executive functions tests: inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility tests in versions where the stimuli had high emotional salience and low emotional salience. Each test evaluated performance according to accuracy of the response and reaction times. The results showed that high emotional salience is a characteristic of the stimuli that, in general, favours the speed and accuracy of answers in visual WM tasks and in IC processes but affects CF tasks depending on the level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined the contribution of the temporal dynamics of two cognitive control mechanisms—inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM)—to emotion dysregulation (ED) in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in ecological settings. Method: One hundred twenty-two participants (age 18–33 years; 60 with ADHD) reported their ED at baseline, followed by a 5-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, with short behavioral IC and WM tasks performed five times/day. Results: For IC, mean and lability of performance over EMA significantly accounted for differences in ED but not baseline performance. For WM, both baseline and mean of EMA, but not EMA lability, accounted for ED variance. ADHD status further contributed to the explained variance of ED. Conclusions: Our results support the contribution of dynamic IC processes to ED in ADHD, in addition to WM performance level, and highlight the importance of dynamic and ecological investigation of different cognitive control components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used machine-learning techniques to assess interactions between language and cognitive systems related to inhibitory control and conflict adaptation in reactive control tasks. We built theoretically driven candidate models of Simon and Number Stroop task data (N = 777 adult bilinguals ages 18–43 years living in Montréal, Canada) that differed in whether bilingual experience interacted with inhibitory control, including two forms of conflict adaptation: shorter term sequential congruency effects and longer term trial order effects. Models with continuous aspects of bilingual experience provided signal in predicting new, unmodeled data. Specifically, mixed language usage predicted trial order adaptation to conflict. This effect was restricted to Number Stroop, which overtly involves linguistic or symbolic information and relatively higher language- and response-related uncertainty. These results suggest that bilingual experience adaptively tunes aspects of the control system and offers a novel integrative modeling approach that can be used to pursue other complex individual difference questions within the psychological sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive attention is involved in working memory; however, the role of executive attention in the maintenance of information in spatial working memory is debated. This study examined whether inhibitory control was related to spatial working memory biases in adults in a simple spatial memory task where participants had to remember one location on an otherwise blank computer screen. On some trials, a distractor was presented during the maintenance period. Eighty-four participants completed the spatial working memory task and a battery of cognitive control measures. When a distractor was presented during the maintenance period of the spatial memory task, performance on two of the cognitive control measures, a measure of overall attention and a measure of inhibitory control was related to memory errors. When a distractor was not presented during the spatial memory task, memory errors were not related to performance on the cognitive control tasks. Overall, these effects demonstrated that attention is related to maintaining locations in spatial working memory in adults, and inhibitory control may also be related such that those with more efficient inhibitory control were less influenced by distractors presented during the maintenance period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a Plan to Foster Student Executive Function Development School professionals should develop a simple but comprehensive EF plan to build middle schoolers' EF skills, with a particular focus on students with or at risk for EBD. To improve these outcomes, in addition to typically used behavior management strategies, students with significant behavior problems need skill development in executive function (EF), a set of neurocognitive processes that are central to students' behavior and academic achievement ([36]). During a group writing activity the next week, Ms. Camillo is surprised when Brian asks to work with Mark. i Step 2: Foster Social Emotional Learning Educational professionals should also focus on reducing potential stressors linked with teacher-student and peer conflict, which have been found to be negatively associated with student EF ([10]), by building student SEL skills throughout the day. Step 5: Incorporate Games and Activities to Foster Student EF Skills Because EF improves with practice, school professionals should embed activities that encourage practice and repetition of EF skills ([31]). [Extracted from the article]

Objective: Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS, previously referred to as "sluggish cognitive tempo") is a set of symptoms defined by excessive mind-wandering, mental confusion, and slowed behaviors separable from ADHD inattention. Method: Of the studies examining CDS in relation to psychosocial outcomes, one of the most established correlates of CDS is social withdrawal. However, studies have yet to test mechanisms or moderators of the link between CDS and social withdrawal. Results: As a parallel body of literature exists in developmental psychopathology on predictors and outcomes of social withdrawal, this review merges these literatures to identify themes and advance a conceptual model on mechanisms (e.g., task-unrelated thought, poorer social skills, social anxiety) and moderators (e.g., behavioral inhibition, sex, parenting) of the CDS and social withdrawal link. Conclusion: This model provides researchers and clinicians with testable hypotheses to better understand the link between CDS and social withdrawal and to identify treatment targets to improve the social engagement of youth with CDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This study assessed bilinguals' language control (LC) and inhibitory control (IC) performance (switch costs and Stroop effects) simultaneously in the same participants to investigate how these processes influence each other. Design: Seventy-four Turkish-English bilinguals were presented with Turkish (L1) or English (L2) color words printed either in congruent or incongruent ink color and instructed to name the ink color of these words in the presentation language. Stimuli's language and congruency were either the same as in the previous trial or different. Data and analysis: Reaction times (RTs), switch costs (mean RTs on language repetition subtracted from switch trials), and the Stroop effects (mean RTs on congruent subtracted from incongruent trials) were analyzed using the linear mixed-effect model. Findings: The switch costs were larger on incongruent than congruent, and the Stroop effects were larger on language switch than repetition trials. This means that the LC performance decreased while resolving conflict, and the IC performance decreased during switching language, indicating that these two share a common IC mechanism. However, the switch costs and Stroop effects across L1 and L2 were symmetrical in all conditions, leaving the previous interpretation uncertain. Besides, the Stroop effects were larger when followed by congruent than incongruent trials during language repetition, whereas they were equal during switching. This means that the ability to adjust performance by previous experience was disrupted during language switching. Moreover, for the high-L2 proficiency group, this ability was diminished in language repetition trials too. These results indicate that rather than inhibition, other processes may primarily mediate bilinguals' LC. Originality: This study provides evidence for how language and inhibitory control influence each other by combining language switching and Stroop paradigms. Furthermore, it investigates the sequential congruency effects (SCE). Significance/implications: This study shows that SCE investigation may provide significant theoretical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control—the ability to inhibit inappropriate impulses—predicts economic, physical, and psychological well-being. However, recent findings demonstrate low correlations among self-control measures, raising the question of what self-control actually is. Here, we examined the idea that people high in self-control show more stable mental processing, characterized by processing steps that are fewer in number but longer lasting because of fewer interruptions by distracting impulses. To test this hypothesis, we relied on resting electroencephalography microstate analysis, a method that provides access to the stream of mental processing by assessing the sequential activation of neural networks. Across two samples (Study 1: N = 58 male adults from Germany; Study 2: N = 101 adults from Canada, 58 females), the temporal stability of resting networks (i.e., longer durations and fewer occurrences) was positively associated with self-reported self-control and a neural index of inhibitory control, and it was negatively associated with risk-taking behavior. These findings suggest that stable mental processing represents a core feature of a self-controlled mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlled behavior requires response inhibition, which is a cognitive function that involves withholding action as goals change. Response inhibition is often assessed using the stop-signal paradigm, in which participants respond to most stimuli but periodically withhold their response when a subsequent stop signal occurs. The stop-signal paradigm rests on the theoretical foundation of the independent race model, which assumes a stop racer that races independently against a go racer; behavior is determined by which racer finishes first. We highlight work showing violations of the keystone independence assumption of existing stop models and discuss promising new models of response inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the load theory of attention, an active cognitive control mechanism is needed to ensure that behaviour is controlled by target-relevant information when distractors are also perceived. Although the active cognitive control mechanism consists of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition components, predictions regarding the load effects of this mechanism were derived mostly from studies on working memory. We aimed to test whether these predictions are also valid for an inhibition component. The inhibitory load was manipulated physiologically by creating different bladder pressure and its effects on distractor interference were examined under low and high perceptual load conditions. The results indicated that the availability of inhibitory control resources was important for decreasing the interference of distractors in the low perceptual load condition and that the high perceptual load reduced the effects of distractors independently from the availability of inhibitory resources. The results were consistent with the predictions of load theory, and to the best of our knowledge, the study provided the first piece of evidence in terms of the load effect of inhibition component on distractor interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, many parents have struggled to maintain work-life balance. This investigation examines contributors to and protective factors from parental stress during the pandemic. As expected, perceived stress increased with burnout and decreased with parental inhibitory control, mindfulness in parenting, and perceived competence. Interestingly, it showed no association with child age nor the number of children in the home. Similarly, it investigated parental well-being as a function of childcare during COVID. Parents who did not feel that their childcare needs were being met were more stressed, experienced more work and personal burnout, and felt less mindful and competent in their parenting than did parents whose childcare needs were met. The results underscore the importance of providing supports to parents as they emerge from the pandemic, and demonstrate the need to proactively support families should similar crises arise in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study extends previous research reporting that orthographic forms, such as the use of a single letter or two letters to indicate the same sound, affect sound duration in second-language (L2) production. Native-language (L1) Korean L2 English sequential bilinguals performed a delayed repetition task for word pairs containing the same consonant or vowel spelled with one or two letters. Korean provided an interesting case because (1) it has an alphabetic orthographic system but not a Roman alphabet and thus, there may be no interorthographic interference and (2) it has no phonemic length contrast for vowels, whereas there is some disagreement on the contrastiveness of the consonant length, which can lead to an asymmetry in the grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence between vowels and consonants. The results showed that Korean learners produced the same English vowel with a short duration when spelled with a single letter and with a long duration when spelled with double letters or digraphs composed of two different letters; this variation in duration did not appear when producing English consonants spelled with a single or two letters. This study further examined whether individual differences in inhibitory control influenced the magnitude of orthographic effects in the production of English vowels by Korean learners. Individual differences in inhibitory control were not strongly related to the influence of orthography on vowel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rodent studies, faster extinction rate has been shown to predict less long-term fear. However, this has scarcely been studied in humans. The present report investigated the association between extinction rate and long-term fear in humans. We secondarily evaluated specificity of extinction rate by including other fear conditioning values as predictors, including acquisition intercept, acquisition rate, and extinction intercept. Lastly, we investigated whether trait measures of behavioral approach, behavioral inhibition, anxiety, and depression predicted long-term fear. Results show that slower extinction rate predicted less long-term fear when tested alone in the model. However, when including other fear conditioning variables, extinction rate no longer predicted long-term fear. Instead, greater fear at the beginning of acquisition was the most robust predictor of greater long-term fear (all three measures of fear), followed by greater fear at the beginning of extinction (unconditional stimulus expectancy only). These effects occurred for both the danger signal (i.e., conditional stimulus; CS+) and safety signal (i.e., CS−). The results suggest that fear at the start of acquisition and, secondarily, extinction are predictors of long-term fear. Lastly, there were no effects of trait behavioral approach, behavioral inhibition, anxiety, or depression. This report has relevance for improving our understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits predict behavioral problems in adolescence. But little is known about early modulatory factors. Behavioral Inhibition (BI) in particular has been suggested to protect against the development of CU-traits. This temperamental predisposition is characterized by heightened environmental sensitivity. The current prospective longitudinal study examined whether BI at 15 months of age predicted lower CU-traits across development to age 21. A longitudinal sample of normatively developing children (n = 125) was used. BI was assessed at 15 months using a standard stranger/robot paradigm. CU-traits were assessed at 2, 5, 9, 12, 14, 17, and 21 years with parent, teacher, and self-reports. Developmental pathways across all available data points were examined using Bayesian mixed models and k-means cluster analysis. Infant BI predicted lower CU-traits across development for girls, suggesting that BI buffers the long-term development of CU-traits for girls. CU-traits peaked in early adulthood. Boys scored higher and showed higher increases in CU-traits than girls from childhood onward. There was no gender difference regarding infant BI. Together, the findings demonstrated gender differences in the development of CU-traits, with a protective role of BI for girls. These results shed new light on the developmental trajectories and protective factors of CU-traits and provide starting points for interventions aiming at increasing children's responsiveness to external cues to prevent antisocial traits and conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind wandering is a state in which our mental focus shifts toward task-unrelated thoughts. Although it is known that mind wandering has a detrimental effect on concurrent task performance (e.g., decreased accuracy), its effect on executive functions is poorly studied. Yet the latter question is relevant to many real-world situations, such as rapid stopping during driving. Here, we studied how mind wandering would affect the requirement to subsequently stop an incipient motor response. In healthy adults, we tested whether mind wandering affected stopping and, if so, which component of stopping was affected: the triggering of the inhibitory brake or the implementation of the brake following triggering. We observed that during mind wandering, stopping latency increased, as did the percentage of trials with failed triggering. Indeed, 67% of the variance of the increase in stopping latency was explained by increased trigger failures. Thus, mind wandering primarily affects stopping by affecting the triggering of the brake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: The present study explores the question of whether learning a third language (L3) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom setting induces improved inhibitory control compared with that found in bilinguals, considering task complexity and language proficiency. Methodology: Thirty-six Chinese–English second language (L2) young adult learners and 121 Chinese–English–Japanese/French/Russian/German L3 young adult learners with three levels of L3 proficiency participated in the study. Simon arrow tasks were employed to measure two types of inhibitory control: response inhibition (the less complex task with univalent stimuli) and interference suppression (the more complex task with bivalent stimuli). Data and Analysis: Statistics using ANOVAs and multiple comparisons were employed to analyze the effects of L3 learning on the reaction time and accuracy for response inhibition and interference suppression, respectively. Findings: The results demonstrated that L3 learners did not outperform L2 learners in the two types of inhibitory control: response inhibition (less complex) and interference suppression (more complex). Moreover, L3 learners with a higher proficiency did not display better inhibitory control than those with a lower proficiency in response inhibition and interference suppression. However, as the L3 proficiency increased, some specific aspects of inhibitory control did improve and exhibited a nonlinear pattern. Originality: The present study extends bilingual advantage in inhibitory control to formal L3 learning, exploring whether bilingual advantage in inhibitory control also appears in L3 learners, considering task complexity and language proficiency. Significance/implications: The present study contributes to the theory of the relationship between multilingualism and inhibitory control by showing that this relationship may be more complex than it is understood currently. Learning an additional language to L2, particularly short-term learning, may not lead to an incremental advantage in overall inhibitory control. However, as learning time increases, changes may appear in specific aspects of inhibitory control, and may be a nonlinear one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in human temperament influence how we respond to stress and can confer vulnerability (or resilience) to emotional disorders. For example, high levels of behavioral inhibition in children predict increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders in later life. The biological underpinnings of temperament are unknown, although improved understanding can offer insight into the pathogenesis of emotional disorders. Our laboratory has used a rat model of temperamental differences to study neurodevelopmental factors that lead to a highly inhibited, stress vulnerable phenotype. Selective breeding for high versus low behavioral response to novelty created two rat strains that exhibit dramatic behavior differences over multiple domains relevant to emotional disorders. Low novelty responder (bLR) rats exhibit high levels of behavioral inhibition, passive stress coping, anhedonia, decreased sociability and vulnerability to chronic stress compared to high novelty responders (bHRs). On the other hand, bHRs exhibit high levels of behavioral dis-inhibition, active coping, and aggression. This review article summarizes our work with the bHR/bLR model showing the developmental emergence of the bHR/bLR phenotypes, the role the environment plays in shaping it, and the involvement of epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation that mediate differences in emotionality and stress reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Possible beneficial effects of neurofeedback in improving ADHD functional outcomes have been increasingly reported. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the relationship between neurofeedback and executive functioning in children with ADHD. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched to identify studies reporting the effects of neurofeedback on executive functioning, including response inhibition, sustained attention, and working memory, assessed by neuropsychological tests. Only randomized controlled studies of children aged 5 to 18 years were included using a random-effects model. Results: Ten studies were included. The effects of neurofeedback were not found on three domains of executive functions. A meta-regression analysis revealed a trend of numbers of neurofeedback sessions positively associated with response inhibition (p =.06). Conclusion: Results did not show the benefits of neurofeedback on executive functions assessed by neuropsychological tests. Future studies should focus on standard neurofeedback protocols, the intensity of intervention, and neuropsychological outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with anxiety disorders maladaptively appraise interpersonal threat cues leading to inaccurate interpretations of the self and others. However, little is known about the factors that mediate this association, therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between state and trait anxiety, self-esteem, and emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal and suppression. Young adults aged between 18–26 years participated in the study. They completed a set of self-reports measuring emotion regulation, self-esteem, state-trait anxiety, and positive and negative attributes. Participants also completed an experimental task, using the dot-probe paradigm, which measures threat bias and response inhibition. The findings showed that trait and state anxiety predicted suppression, reappraisal, and internalising problems, and is linked to response inhibition. Importantly, low self-esteem, significantly mediated the relationship between increased anxiety and suppression. Taken together, these results show specific associations between emotion regulation and anxiety, highlighting the significant impact of self-esteem in young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has demonstrated a link between cognitive abilities, specifically inhibitory control and lethal force decision-making performance. However, many previously used approaches to simulating shoot/don't shoot scenarios have lacked ecological validity. There is a need to investigate how inhibitory control impacts shoot/don't decisions using realistic simulations to better translate the findings to military and law enforcement settings. This study used multiple cognitive control tasks incorporating discrete judgements in go/no-go and stop signal tasks as well as subjective judgements in go/no-go tasks with both colour stimuli and emotional faces. These combined tasks provided a comprehensive evaluation of inhibitory control abilities. To ensure ecological validity in shooting performance, existing military training scenarios incorporated realistic weaponry and aiming behaviours across different shoot/don't-shoot simulations. The inhibitory control battery identified five principal components from the various tasks, including: stopping ability, response speed, emotion detection, colour detection, and emotional biases. These principal inhibitory control components were entered into hierarchical linear regressions with the dependent variables of unintended casualties inflicted and lethal rounds fired, respectively. Stopping ability better predicted the likelihood of inflicting an unintended casualty, whereas response speed better predicted the number of lethal rounds fired. These regression models included baseline metrics of marksmanship and shots fired, which supports a role for inhibitory control above and beyond basic shooting abilities or strategy. These collective findings provide mechanistic support for the relationship between inhibitory control and errors in shoot/don't-shoot decision-making while using realistic military training scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Action selection appears to rely on conjunctive representations that nonlinearly integrate task-relevant features. Here, we tested a corollary of this hypothesis: that such representations are also intricately involved during attempts to stop an action—a key aspect of action regulation. We tracked both conjunctive representations and those of constituent rule, stimulus, or response features through trial-by-trial representational similarity analysis of the electroencephalogram signal in a combined rule-selection and stop-signal paradigm. Across two experiments with student participants (N = 57), we found (a) that the strength of decoded conjunctive representations prior to the stop signal uniquely predicted trial-by-trial stopping success (Experiment 1) and (b) that these representations were selectively suppressed following the onset of the stop signal (Experiments 1 and 2). We conclude that conjunctive representations are key to successful action execution and therefore need to be suppressed when an intended action is no longer appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]