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The experience of itch and its associated chronic conditions (i.e., atopic dermatitis) form a significant burden of disease. Knowledge of how the brain processes itch, that might occur uniquely for chronic itch populations, could be used to guide more effective psychotherapeutic interventions for these groups. To build the evidence base for such approaches, we conducted a series of coordinates-based fMRI analyses, to identify the shared neural mechanisms for itch across the published literature. Upon so doing, we identified a core "itch network" that spans the Basal Ganglia/Thalamus, Claustrum and Insula. Additionally, we found evidence that the Paracentral Lobule and Medial Frontal Gyrus, regions associated with cognitive control and response inhibition, deactivate during itch. Interestingly, a separate analysis for chronic itch populations identified significant recruitment of the Left Paracentral Lobule, potentially suggesting the recruitment of cognitive control mechanisms to resist the urge to scratch. We position these results in light of further integrative studies that could use neuroimaging alongside clinical studies, to explore how transdiagnostic psychological approaches—such as mindfulness and compassion training—might help to improve quality of life for individuals who experience chronic itch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • There is a learning cost when an attentional set must shift to new cues. • An attentional shift to cues experienced as redundantly predictive still has a cost. • mPFC inactivation increases the cost of an attentional set shift. • mPFC inactivation enhances subsequent learning about previously redundant cues. • A reduction in learned inattention can account for both effects. Without a functioning prefrontal cortex, humans and other animals are impaired in measures of cognitive control and behavioral flexibility, including attentional set-shifting. However, the reason for this is unclear with evidence suggesting both impaired and enhanced attentional shifting. We inhibited the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats while they performed a modified version of an attentional set-shifting task to explore the nature of this apparent contradiction. Twelve adult male Lister hooded rats received AAV5-CaMKIIa-hM4D(Gi)-mCherry viral vector bilaterally into mPFC to express inhibitory 'Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs' (iDREADDs). The receptors were activated by systemic clozapine N -oxide (CNO) to inhibit mPFC function. The rats were tested in the standard attentional set-shifting task four times: twice after i.p. administration and twice after oral administration of vehicle or CNO (10 mg/kg). They were then tested twice in a modified task, with or without oral CNO. The modified task had an extra stage before the extradimensional shift, in which the relevant exemplars remained relevant and new exemplars that were fully predictive but redundant replaced the previous irrelevant exemplars. These exemplars then became relevant at the subsequent ED stage. In the standard task, mPFC inactivation impaired attentional set-shifting, consistent with previous findings. However, in the modified task, mPFC inactivation abolished ED shift-costs. The results support the suggestion that the mPFC is needed for the downregulation of attention that prevents learning about redundant and irrelevant stimuli. With mPFC inactivated, the rat learns more rapidly when previously redundant exemplars become the only relevant information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher cardiorespiratory fitness has been associated with improved cognitive control in preadolescent children, with various studies highlighting related brain health benefits. This cross-sectional study aimed to provide novel insights into the fitness-cognition relationship by investigating task-related changes in effective connectivity within two brain networks involved in cognitive control: the cingulo-opercular and fronto-parietal networks. Twenty-four higher-fit and twenty-four lower-fit preadolescent children completed a modified flanker task that modulated inhibitory control demand while their EEG and task performance were concurrently recorded. Effective connectivity for correct trials in the theta band was estimated using directed transfer function. The results indicate that children with higher fitness levels demonstrated greater connectivity in specific directions within the cingulo-opercular network (average effect size, d = 0.72). Brain-behavior correlations demonstrated a positive association between the majority of these connections and general task accuracy, which was also higher in higher fit children (average correlation coefficient, ρ = 0.34). The findings further support a positive relationship between fitness and cognitive performance in children. EEG findings offer novel insights into the potential brain mechanisms underlying the fitness-cognition relationship. The study suggests that increased task-related connectivity within the cingulo-opercular network may mediate the cognitive benefits associated with higher fitness levels in preadolescent children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hypoxia due to reduced partial pressure of oxygen from highaltitude exposure affects the cognitive function of high-altitude migrants. Executive function is an important component of human cognitive function, characterized by high oxygen consumption during activity, and its level can be measured using cognitive control capacity (CCC). In addition, there is evidence for the potential value of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) interventions in improving cognitive decline on the plateau. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of long-term high-altitude exposure on CCC in highaltitude newcomers and whether hyperbaric oxygen intervention has an ameliorative effect. Methods: This study measured the magnitude of participants' CCC using a Backward Masking Majority Function Task (MFT-M). Study 1 was a controlled study of different altitude conditions, with 64 participants in the high-altitude newcomer group and 64 participants in the low-altitude resident group, each completing the MFT-M task once. Study 2 was a controlled HBO intervention study in which newcomers who had lived at a high altitude for 2 years were randomly divided into the HBO group (n = 28) and control group (n = 28). 15 times hyperbaric oxygen interventions were performed in the HBO group. Subjects in both groups completed the MFT-M task once before and once after the intervention. Results: Study 1 showed that CCC was significantly higher in the low-altitude resident group than in the high-altitude newcomer group (p = 0.031). Study 2 showed that the CCC in the HBO group was significantly higher after 15 hyperbaric interventions than before (p = 0.005), while there was no significant difference in the control group (p = 0.972). The HBO group had significantly higher correct task rates than the control group after the intervention (p = 0.001). Conclusion: This study confirms that long-term high-altitude exposure leads to impairment of CCC in high-altitude newcomers and that hyperbaric oxygen intervention is effective in improving CCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alterations in the reward and cognitive control systems are commonly observed among adolescents with internet dependence (ID), and this impairment is often accompanied by social dysfunctions, such as academic burnout. However, the intercorrelations among ID, reward, cognitive control processing, and learning burnout remain unclear. We recruited 1074 Chinese adolescents to investigate the complex interrelationships among these variables using network analysis. The resulting network revealed patterns that connected ID to the behavioral inhibition/activation system (BIS/BAS), self-control, and learning burnout; these results exhibited reasonable stability and test–retest consistency. Throughout the network, the node of BAS-drive was the critical influencing factor, and the node of self-control was the protection factor. In addition, several symptoms of learning burnout and ID were positively associated with sensitivity to punishment. As revealed by the network comparison test, the network constructed among internet dependent (ID) group differed from the network constructed among internet nondependent (IND) group not only in the edges between BIS and learning burnout but also in terms of the edges associated with learning burnout. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the complex mechanisms underlying ID among adolescents from the perspective of the network relationships between core influencing factors and negative consequences. It validates the dual-system model of risky behavior among adolescents and offers a foundation for early warning and interventions for ID in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanistically targeted behavioral interventions are a much-needed strategy for improving outcomes in depression, especially for vulnerable populations with comorbidities such as obesity. Such interventions may change behavior and outcome by changing underlying neural circuit function. However, it is unknown how these circuit-level modifications unfold over intervention and how individual differences in early circuit-level modifications may explain the heterogeneity of treatment effects. We addressed this need within a clinical trial of problem-solving therapy for participants with depression symptoms and comorbid obesity, focusing on the cognitive control circuit as a putative neural mechanism of action. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was applied to measure the cognitive control circuit activity at five time points over 24 months. Compared with participants who received usual care, those receiving problem-solving therapy showed that attenuations in cognitive control circuit activity were associated with enhanced problem-solving ability, which suggests that this circuit plays a key role in the mechanisms of problem-solving therapy. Attenuations in circuit activity were also associated with improved depression symptoms. Changes in cognitive control circuit activity at 2 months better predicted changes in problem-solving ability and depression symptoms at 6, 12, and 24 months, with predictive improvements ranging from 17.8 to 104.0%, exceeding baseline demographic and symptom characteristics. Our findings suggest that targeting the circuit mechanism of action could enhance the prediction of treatment outcomes, warranting future model refinement and improvement to pave the way for its clinical application. Editor's summary: Behavioral intervention therapies can improve symptoms of depression but do not work for all patients. To identify brain circuit changes that might underlie treatment response, Zhang et al. performed a longitudinal fMRI imaging study on patients with depression and comorbid obesity who received either problem-solving therapy (I-CARE) or usual care (U-CARE). They found that decreased cognitive control circuit activity measured at different time points over 24 months correlated with better treatment outcomes. A predictive model based on control circuit changes at 2 months outperformed a standard model based on demographic and clinical parameters. These results suggest an approach that could support treatment outcome predictions for depression, but further optimization and validation are needed. —Daniela Neuhofer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind wandering, a subjective daily experience often conflated with daydreaming or zoning out, has been primarily investigated as “task-unrelated thoughts” in psychology and cognitive neuroscience concerning attention, creativity, mindfulness, mental health, and aging. However, diverse evidence also reveals the limitations of this mainstream definition and prompts alternative viewpoints, that have yet to be systematically reviewed and compared. In addition, the issue regarding its mechanisms or predictive factors in terms of the occurrence of task-related thought remains unsettled. This article thus examines mind-wandering research from two perspectives: “What is mind wandering?” and “How does it occur and how can it be regulated?” Three current viewpoints (the task-centric view, the dynamic framework view, and the family resemblance view) are first introduced in terms of definitions, measurement, related evidence, relations with cognitive performance, creativity and mental health, and limitations. Then we examine the issue regarding how executive control functions or cognitive resources influence the occurrence of mind wandering, on which inconsistent evidence has been addressed. Finally, we propose “the awareness-modulation hypothesis”, highlighting the modulatory role of present-moment awareness (an aspect of mindfulness) to integrate the current diverse evidence better. Its implications for the age of distraction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language control in bilingual speakers is thought to be implicated in effectively switching between languages, inhibiting the non‐intended language, and continuously monitoring what to say and what has been said. It has been a matter of controversy concerning whether language control operates in a comparable manner to cognitive control processes in non‐linguistic domains (domain‐general) or if it is exclusive to language processing (domain‐specific). As midfrontal theta oscillations have been considered as an index of cognitive control, examining whether a midfrontal theta effect is evident in tasks requiring bilingual control could bring new insights to the ongoing debate. To this end, we reanalysed the EEG data from two previous bilingual production studies where Dutch–English bilinguals named pictures based on colour cues. Specifically, we focused on three fundamental control processes in bilingual production: switching between languages, inhibition of the nontarget language, and monitoring of speech errors. Theta power increase was observed in switch trials compared to repeat trials, with a midfrontal scalp distribution. However, no theta power difference was observed in switch trials following a shorter sequence of same‐language trials compared to a longer sequence, suggesting a missing modulation of inhibitory control. Similarly, increased midfrontal theta power was observed when participants failed to switch to the intended language compared to correct responses. Altogether, these findings tentatively support the involvement of domain‐general cognitive control mechanisms in bilingual switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer presence influences risk‐taking behavior, particularly in adolescence. Based on the dual system model, this event‐related potential study examined whether and how the presence of a peer displayed a preference for risky behavior would increase adolescents' risk‐taking by disrupting their cognitive control processes in either emotional or non‐emotional contexts. A sample of 106 adolescents (17–19 years of age) completed two Stoop tasks and a Balloon Analog Risk Task under three peer presence conditions. Results revealed that compared to other conditions, the presence of a risk‐averse peer caused adolescents to make safer decisions through improving their conflict monitoring (more negative N200‐diff), whereas a risk‐preference peer's presence led adolescents to more risky decisions through disrupting their conflict resolution (more positive N450‐diff) but they were only observed on the Emotional Stroop task. These findings suggest that different peer presence contexts could increase or decrease adolescents' risk‐taking behaviors by influencing their cognitive control under an emotional context rather than in a non‐emotional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a vulnerability factor for affective disorders that may originate from deficits in cognitive control (CC). Although measures of ED are often designed to assess trait-like tendencies, the extent to which such measures capture a time-varying (TV) or state-like construct versus a time-invariant (TI) or trait-like personality characteristic is unclear. The link between the TV and TI components of ED and CC is also unclear. In a 6-wave, 5-month longitudinal study, community participants (n = 1281) completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), a commonly used measure of ED and measures of CC. A latent variable (trait-state-occasion) model showed that the proportion of TI factor variance (.80) was greater than the TV factor variance (.19). Although TV factor stability was significant, the coefficients were small in magnitude. Furthermore, regression weights for the ED TI factor (average $\beta$ β = −.62) were significant and larger than those for the TV factor (average $\beta$ β = −.10) in predicting latent CC at each of the six-time points. These findings suggest that ED, as assessed by the DERS-16, is largely TI and this TI component is more strongly linked to CC than the TV component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing two tasks simultaneously involves the coordination of their processing. This task coordination is particularly required in dual‐task situations with varying task orders. When task order switches between subsequent trials, task order coordination leads to task order switch costs in comparison with order repetitions. However, it is open, whether task order coordination is exclusively controlled by the relation of the task orders of the current and the previous trials, or whether additional conditions such as task order before the previous trial leads to a behavioral and neural adjustment of task order coordination. To answer this question, we reanalyzed the data of two previously published experiments with order‐cued dual‐task paradigms. We did so with regard to whether task order switch costs and the EEG component order‐switch positivity in the current dual‐task trial would be modulated by order switches vs. repetitions in the previous trial (Trial N‐1). In Experiment 1, we found a modulation of the task order switch costs in RTs and response reversals; these costs were reduced after an order switch compared with order repetitions in Trial N‐1. In Experiment 2, there were no effects on the task order switch costs in the behavioral data. Nonetheless, we found the order‐switch positivity to be strongly modulated by the order transition of the previous trial in both experiments. The order‐switch positivity was substantially reduced if the previous trial was an order switch (compared to an order repetition) by itself. This implies that order coordination of dual tasks is adjusted in a gradual way depending on trial's history. The present study investigates the neurophysiological effects of task‐order coordination and its meta‐control adjustment in dual‐task situations. The EEG component order‐switch positivity was modulated by task‐order coordination and by coordination adjustment. This implies that order coordination of dual tasks is adjusted in a gradual way depending on the trial's history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have established a correlation between social anxiety and poor cognitive control. However, little is known about the cognitive control pattern of individuals with high social anxiety (HSAs) and the underlying mechanisms. Based on the Dual Mechanisms of Control framework and the Expected Value of Control theory, this study explored whether HSAs have an impaired cognitive control pattern (Experiment 1) and whether motivational deficiencies underlie the impaired control pattern (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, 21 individuals with low social anxiety (LSAs) and 21 HSAs completed an AX‐Continuous Performance Task. Results showed that HSAs had a smaller P3b amplitude than LSAs, indicating their weakened proactive control in the cue processing stage, but a larger contingent negative variation (CNV) on cue B as compensation for the negative effects of anxiety in the response preparation stage. No group difference was found in N2 and P3a amplitude on probes, suggesting that reactive control in HSAs was not affected compared to LSAs. In Experiment 2, 21 LSAs and 21 HSAs completed a cued‐flanker task, where the likelihood of proactive control engagement was manipulated. The results revealed that HSAs exhibited motivation deficiencies in engaging in proactive control, as evidenced by P3b, CNV amplitude, and response times. These findings shed light on the impaired cognitive control pattern of HSAs and suggest that motivational deficiencies may be the crucial underlying factor. This current study confirmed that individuals with high social anxiety (HSAs) are associated with the impaired cognitive control patterns characterized by weakened proactive control and provide electrophysiological evidence. This is the first study that found HSAs have motivational deficiencies to engage in proactive control, which supports the Expected value of control theory and provides a new intervention direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adapting to the ever‐changing demands of the environment requires a complex interplay between cognitive‐affective, neuronal, and autonomic processes. Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is positively associated with both cognitive‐affective functioning and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. Accordingly, the Neurovisceral Integration Model has posited a shared role of the PFC in the regulation of cognitive‐affective processes and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. While there are numerous correlational findings in this regard, no study so far has investigated whether the manipulation of PFC activity induces changes in vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing in an inter‐dependent manner. In a sample of 64 participants, we examined the effects of continuous (cTBS; n = 21) and intermittent theta‐burst stimulation (iTBS; n = 20) compared to sham stimulation (n = 23) over the left dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) on vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing within an emotional stop‐signal task (ESST). Our results revealed that both resting vmHRV and vmHRV reactivity predicted cognitive‐affective processing. Furthermore, we found a dampening effect of cTBS on resting and on‐task vmHRV, as well as an enhancing effect of iTBS on ESST performance. Our results show no direct association between vmHRV changes and ESST performance alterations following stimulation. We interpret our results in the light of a hierarchical model of neurovisceral integration, suggesting a dynamical situation‐dependent recruitment of higher‐order cortical areas like the dlPFC in the regulation of the ANS. In conclusion, our results highlight the complex interplay between PFC activity, autonomic regulation, and cognitive‐affective processing, emphasizing the need for further research to understand the causal dynamics of the underlying neural mechanisms. Our study represents the first attempt to use repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation (rTMS) to test the relationship between prefrontal activity, vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and cognitive‐affective processing, suggested by the Neurovisceral Integration Model. While we did not find hypothesized links between changes in vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing induced by rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), our results indicate flexible recruitment of higher‐order cortical areas, such as the left dlPFC in autonomic regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While overweight or obesity are thought to affect over 70% of the US population, the effects of adiposity on neurocognitive efficiency and stability remain unclear. Intra‐individual variability or trial‐to‐trial variability (IIV) could provide insights into the influence of adiposity on neurophysiological stability. However, previous work examining the association between adiposity and IIV of cognitive outcomes is limited. Thus, this study examined the association between whole‐body fat (%BF) and central tendency and IIV metrics of behavioral performance and event‐related potentials. Adults (n = 320; 19–64 yrs) completed the Flanker task to assess attentional inhibition with concurrent electroencephalogram recordings to examine the N2 and P3b components. In addition to central tendency outcomes typically reported (i.e., mean accuracy and reaction time [RT]), dispersion outcomes (e.g., standard deviation [SD] of RT, P3b latency, N2 latency, etc.) were also extracted. Upon controlling for age and sex, %BF was inversely associated with (congruent: β = −.18, p = .016; incongruent: β = −.23, p < .001) accuracy. Increasing %BF was related to greater RT SD (congruent: β = .13, p = .032; incongruent: β = .23, p < .001). Furthermore, increased %BF was associated with slower P3b latencies (congruent: β = .21, p = .003; incongruent: β = .18, p = .010), and greater incongruent N2 (β = .16, p = .017) and P3b (β = .16, p = .025) latency SD. These findings suggest adiposity exerts a generalized negative influence on attentional inhibition for both measures of central tendency and dispersion across behavioral and neuroelectric indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some situations, for example, when we expect to gain a reward in case of good performance, goal‐driven top‐down attention is particularly strong. Little is known about the task specificity of such increases of top‐down attention due to environmental factors. To understand to what extent performance‐contingent reward prospects can result in specific and unspecific changes in cognitive processing, we here investigate reward effects under different levels of task specification. Thirty‐two participants performed a visual or an auditory discrimination task cued by two consecutive visual stimuli: First, a reward cue indicated if good performance was rewarded. Second, a task cue announced either which of the two tasks would follow (precise cue) or that both tasks would follow equally likely (imprecise cue). Reward and task cue preciseness both significantly improved performance. Moreover, the response time difference between precisely and imprecisely cued trials was significantly stronger in rewarded than in unrewarded trials. These effects were reflected in event‐related potential (ERP) slow wave amplitudes: Reward and preciseness both significantly enhanced the contingent negative variation (CNV) prior to the task stimulus. In an early CNV time interval, both factors also showed an interaction. A negative slow wave prior to the task cue was also significantly enhanced for rewarded trials. This effect correlated with the reward difference in response times. These results indicate that reward prospects trigger task‐specific changes in preparatory top‐down attention which can flexibly adapt over time and across different task requirements. This highlights that a reward‐induced increase of cognitive control can occur on different specificity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Methods Results Conclusions Level of Evidence The study aimed to evaluate the impact of neurocognitive reliance on jump distance and lower extremity kinematics in individuals who had undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). This was achieved by comparing hop performance under standard and neurocognitive conditions.Thirty‐two patients after ACLR and 32 healthy controls (CTRL) participated. Both groups performed a single‐leg hop for distance (SLHD) and two neurocognitive hop tests, each designed to evaluate distinct aspects of neurocognition. The neurocognitive tests included the reaction SLHD (R‐SLHD), measuring reaction to a central stimulus and working memory SLHD (WM‐SLHD) assessing response to a memorized stimulus amidst distractor stimuli. Distances were assessed for the three‐hop tests. In addition, joint kinematics were collected to calculate lower extremity coordination of the lower extremity. SLHD performance was defined as the mean hop distance per condition per leg for each participant and was analyzed using a mixed ANOVA with condition and leg as the within‐subjects factors and the group (ACLR or CTRL) as the between‐subjects factor. Differences in joint coordination variability were analyzed using two‐sample t‐test statistical parametric mapping (SPM) with linear regression.The WM‐SLHD resulted in a significantly decreased jump distance compared with the standard hop test both for ACLR and CTRL. Furthermore, the leg difference within the ACLR group increased under higher cognitive load as tested with the WM‐SLHD, indicating leg‐specific adaptations in lower extremity coordination.Neurocognitive single‐leg hop tests resulted in reduced jump distance in CTRL and ACLR. The neurocognitive hop test revealed changes in coordination variability for the CTRL and the uninjured leg of ACLR individuals, whereas the injured leg's coordination variability remained unaltered, suggesting persistent cognitive control of movements post‐ACLR.Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of research has linked childhood family socioeconomic status (SES) to neurodevelopment in childhood and adolescence. However, it remains unclear to what extent childhood family SES relates to brain functioning in adulthood. To address this gap, the present study investigated the associations between retrospective accounts of objective and subjective childhood family SES and two well-established electrophysiological indices of brain functioning in adulthood—the MMN and P3b event-related potentials (ERP) components, as neural correlates of automatic change detection and cognitive control respectively. Higher objective childhood family SES, as proxied by parent educational attainment in childhood, was associated with larger (more positive) P3b amplitudes in adulthood. In contrast, there was no association between childhood parent educational attainment and the magnitude of MMN. Adult reports of subjective family SES during childhood were not related to the magnitude of MMN or P3b. These findings suggest that the links between childhood parent educational attainment and brain functioning may extend into adulthood, especially for brain functions supporting cognitive control. These results also imply that, when using retrospective accounts of childhood family SES, objective and subjective reports likely proxy different childhood experiences that have distinct links with specific neurodevelopmental outcomes, and that some of these links may not persist into adulthood. Our findings lay the groundwork for future investigations on how and why childhood family SES relates to brain functioning in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ability to focus attentional resources on a task is a necessary component of healthy cognitive regulation, which is necessary for normal emotional and cognitive processes, while avoiding distractions that aren't related to the task at hand. However, anxiety may impair the inhibitory and transfer functions of attention. Therefore, in order to explore the modulation of social anxiety on the effect of emotion on cognitive control, individuals with high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) completed the emotional Stroop task with the neutral stimuli presented first, followed by the social threat stimuli. The HSA participants exhibited a slower response to threats than neutral words, whereas there was no emotional effect for the LSA participants. Event-Related Potential (ERP) data revealed that N2 was more negative elicited by neutral words than threat ones in the LSA, but not significant in HSA. Time–Frequency Representation (TFR) data showed enhanced theta synchronization elicited by neutral words than threat words in the LSA only. These findings provided new electrophysiological correlates for social anxiety modulating the effect of emotion on cognitive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodResultsConclusionsImpaired self-awareness (SA) after acquired brain injury (ABI) has traditionally been linked to deficits in executive functions. However, conflicting findings about this relationship have been reported in the literature. This inconsistency is probably due to the multicomponent nature of both constructs, as not all aspects of executive functions may be equally relevant to all components of self-awareness. This study explored whether offline SA (i.e. metacognitive knowledge) and online SA (i.e. error detection) relate to a less studied executive component, conflict monitoring/resolution.Twenty-six patients with ABI performed the Three-Conflict Cognitive Control Task (3CCT), an experimental task that allowed to measure the ability to monitor and solve three different types of conflicts (Distractors-filtering, Spatial Stroop and Simon). Measures of SA were collected: offline SA was based on self-informant discrepancy about patient’s everyday functional difficulties, and online SA was based on error detection abilities during a performance-based naturalistic task (The Breakfast Conflict Task).After controlling for global cognition, the conflict monitoring measure of 3CCT demonstarted incremental validity in predicting offline and online SA measured in naturalistic tasks.Conflict monitoring/resolution seems to be an important component of SA. This finding contributes to further understand the relationship between executive functions and SA. In addition, conflict monitoring/resolution is an executive component that should be considered when designing assessment and intervention strategies to deal with ISA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Methods Results Conclusion Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable disorder characterized by emotion dysregulation and recurrent oscillations between mood states. Despite the proven efficacy of early interventions, vulnerability markers in high‐risk individuals are still lacking. BD patients present structural alterations of the hippocampus, a pivotal hub of emotion regulation networks composed of multiple subregions with different projections. However, the hippocampal dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in BD remains unclear. We aim to investigate whether the dFC of hippocampal subdivisions differentiates BD patients, offspring of BD patients (BDoff), and healthy controls (HC); and whether it correlates with symptoms differently between these groups.We studied for the first time the dFC of the hippocampus through a cutting‐edge micro‐co‐activation patterns (μCAPs) analysis of resting‐state functional MRI data of 97 subjects (26 BD, 18 BDoff, 53 HC). μCAPs allow a data‐driven differentiation within the seed region.dFC between the hippocampal body and a somatomotor‐μCAP was lower both in BD patients (p‐valueFDR:0.00015) and in BDoff (p‐valueFDR:0.020) than in HC. Inversely, dFC between the hippocampal head and a limbic‐μCAP was higher in BD patients than in HC (p‐valueFDR: 0.005). Furthermore, the correlations between a frontoparietal‐μCAP and both depression and emotion dysregulation symptoms were significantly higher in BD than HC (p‐valueFDR <0.02).Overall, we observed alterations of large‐scale functional brain networks associated with decreased cognitive control flexibility and disrupted somatomotor, saliency, and emotion processing in BD. Interestingly, BDoff presented an intermediate phenotype between BD and HC, suggesting that dFC of hippocampal subregions might represent a marker of vulnerability to BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although evidence supports the effective use of a cue to forget an encoded stimulus, the mechanisms of this forgetting are not well understood. Evidence from item-method directed forgetting in long-term memory reveals greater prefrontal and parietal activation for information that is cued to be forgotten. Activation in those brain regions is typically associated with increased effort and cognitive control. Method: To test themechanismof directed forgetting in visual workingmemory, we used stimuli that rely on distinct brain regions such as faces and buildings and varied memory stability. Participants completed a directed forgetting task with faces and buildings, and memory stability was manipulated by presenting some stimuli repeatedly throughout the study, and other stimuli were only presented once. Results and discussion: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results fromthe parahippocampal place area suggest that to-be-remembered buildings elicit higher activation than to-be-forgotten buildings. In addition, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation changed throughout the trial period, possibly suggesting that the cue led to information being dropped from visual working memory, or through a shift in attention, as occurs with the retro-cue paradigm. Several explanations for these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we investigated the influence of performance-contingent reward prospects on task performance across three visual conflict tasks with manual responses (Experiments 1 & 2: Simon and Stroop tasks; Experiment 3: Simon and Eriksen flanker task) using block-wise (Experiment 1) and trial-wise (Experiments 2 & 3) manipulations to signal the possibility of reward. Across all experiments, task performance (in reaction time and/or error rates) generally improved in reward compared with no-reward conditions in each conflict task. However, there was, if any, little evidence that the reward manipulation modulated the size of the mean conflict effects, and there was also no evidence for conflict-specific effects of reward when controlling for time-varying fluctuations in conflict processing via distributional analyses (delta plots). Thus, the results provide no evidence for conflict-specific accounts and instead favor performance-general accounts, where reward anticipation leads to overall performance improvements without affecting conflict effects. We discuss possible implications for how proactive control might modulate the interplay between target- and distractor-processing in conflict tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A crucial aim in neuroscience is to understand how the human brain adapts to varying cognitive demands. This study investigates network reconfiguration during controlled semantic retrieval in differing contexts. We analyze brain responses to two semantic tasks of varying difficulty – global association and feature matching judgments – which are contrasted with non-semantic tasks on the cortical surface and within a whole-brain state space. Demanding semantic association tasks elicit activation in anterior prefrontal and temporal regions, while challenging semantic feature matching and non-semantic tasks predominantly activate posterior regions. Task difficulty also modulates activation along different dimensions of functional organization, suggesting different mechanisms of cognitive control. More demanding semantic association judgments engage cognitive control and default mode networks together, while feature matching and non-semantic tasks are skewed towards cognitive control networks. These findings highlight the brain's dynamic ability to tailor its networks to support diverse neurocognitive states, enriching our understanding of controlled cognition. An fMRI study on healthy participants suggests that two distinct brain states support controlled semantic cognition: one state facilitates the controlled retrieval of semantic associations, while the other state supports goal-driven control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An underlying hypothesis for broad transfer from cognitive training is that the regional brain signals engaged during the training task are related to the transfer tasks. However, it is unclear whether the brain activations elicited from a specific cognitive task can generalize to performance of other tasks, esp. in normal aging where cognitive training holds much promise. In this large dual‐site functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we aimed to characterize the neurobehavioral correlates of task‐switching in normal aging and examine whether the task‐switching‐related fMRI‐blood‐oxygen‐level‐dependent (BOLD) signals, engaged during varieties of cognitive control, generalize to other tasks of executive control and general cognition. We therefore used a hybrid blocked and event‐related fMRI task‐switching paradigm to investigate brain regions associated with multiple types of cognitive control on 129 non‐demented older adults (65–85 years). This large dataset provided a unique opportunity for a data‐driven partial least squares–correlation approach to investigate the generalizability of multiple fMRI‐BOLD signals associated with task‐switching costs to other tasks of executive control, general cognition, and demographic characteristics. While some fMRI signals generalized beyond the scanned task, others did not. Results indicate right middle frontal brain activation as detrimental to task‐switching performance, whereas inferior frontal and caudate activations were related to faster processing speed during the fMRI task‐switching, but activations of these regions did not predict performance on other tasks of executive control or general cognition. However, BOLD signals from the right lateral occipital cortex engaged during the fMRI task positively predicted performance on a working memory updating task, and BOLD signals from the left post‐central gyrus that were disengaged during the fMRI task were related to slower processing speed in the task as well as to lower general cognition. Together, these results suggest generalizability of these BOLD signals beyond the scanned task. The findings also provided evidence for the general slowing hypothesis of aging as most variance in the data were explained by low processing speed and global low BOLD signal in older age. As processing speed shared variance with task‐switching and other executive control tasks, it might be a possible basis of generalizability between these tasks. Additional results support the dedifferentiation hypothesis of brain aging, as right middle frontal activations predicted poorer task‐switching performance. Overall, we observed that the BOLD signals related to the fMRI task not only generalize to the performance of other executive control tasks, but unique brain predictors of out‐of‐scanner performance can be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During our everyday life, the constant flow of information is divided into discrete events, a process conceptualized in Event Segmentation Theory (EST). How people perform event segmentation and the resulting granularity of encapsulated segments likely depends on their metacontrol style. Yet, the underlying neural mechanisms remain undetermined. The current study examines how the metacontrol style affects event segmentation through the analysis of EEG data using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) and source localization analysis. We instructed two groups of healthy participants to either segment a movie as fine‐grained as possible (fine‐grain group) or provided no such instruction (free‐segmentation group). The fine‐grain group showed more segments and a higher likelihood to set event boundaries upon scene changes, which supports the notion that cognitive control influences segmentation granularity. On a neural level, representational dynamics were decodable 400 ms prior to the decision to close a segment and open a new one, and especially fronto‐polar regions (BA10) were associated with this representational dynamic. Groups differed in their use of this representational dynamics to guide behavior and there was a higher sensitivity to incoming information in the Fine‐grain group. Moreover, a higher likelihood to set event boundaries was reflected by activity increases in the insular cortex suggesting an increased monitoring of potentially relevant upcoming events. The study connects the EST with the metacontrol framework and relates these to overarching neural concepts of prefrontal cortex function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers in psychology and neuroscience want to know whether conflict and control scale up. Conflict and control mechanisms share many similarities across different levels of analysis. However, empirical evidence does currently not support a unified perspective on action control. We identify two major challenges for theoretical integration: a vertical challenge that requires conflict at different levels of abstraction to be linked, and a horizontal challenge that requires control of conflict at different points in time to be linked. We present a new integrative framework in which we propose that the difference between conflicts can best be understood along the dimension of complexity (i.e., amount of information). We propose that differences in conflict complexity go together with specific costs and benefits and that a normative account of hierarchical conflict control needs to take into account both. People regularly encounter various types of conflict. Here, we ask if, and, if so, how, different types of conflict, from lab-based Stroop conflicts to everyday-life self-control or moral conflicts, are related to one other. We present a framework that assumes that action–goal representations are hierarchically organized, ranging from concrete actions to abstract goals. The framework's key assumption is that conflicts involving more abstract goals (e.g., self-control/moral conflict) are embedded in a more complex action space; thus, to resolve such conflicts, people need to consider more associated goals and actions. We discuss how differences in complexity impact conflict resolution mechanisms and the costs/benefits of resolving conflicts. Altogether, we offer a new way to conceptualize and analyze conflict regulation across different domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies highlight non-relay functions of the thalamus. The mediodorsal thalamus regulates recurrent dynamics in the prefrontal cortex. Coding properties of the thalamus and cortex appear distinct and complementary. Trans-thalamic computations may support executive function via Bayesian principles. Frontal thalamic function across scales is consistent with a regularization perspective. The brain exhibits a remarkable ability to learn and execute context-appropriate behaviors. How it achieves such flexibility, without sacrificing learning efficiency, is an important open question. Neuroscience, psychology, and engineering suggest that reusing and repurposing computations are part of the answer. Here, we review evidence that thalamocortical architectures may have evolved to facilitate these objectives of flexibility and efficiency by coordinating distributed computations. Recent work suggests that distributed prefrontal cortical networks compute with flexible codes, and that the mediodorsal thalamus provides regularization to promote efficient reuse. Thalamocortical interactions resemble hierarchical Bayesian computations, and their network implementation can be related to existing gating, synchronization, and hub theories of thalamic function. By reviewing recent findings and providing a novel synthesis, we highlight key research horizons integrating computation, cognition, and systems neuroscience. The brain exhibits a remarkable ability to learn and execute context-appropriate behaviors. How it achieves such flexibility, without sacrificing learning efficiency, is an important open question. Neuroscience, psychology, and engineering suggest that reusing and repurposing computations are part of the answer. Here, we review evidence that thalamocortical architectures may have evolved to facilitate these objectives of flexibility and efficiency by coordinating distributed computations. Recent work suggests that distributed prefrontal cortical networks compute with flexible codes, whereas thalamus regularizes them to promote efficient reuse. Thalamocortical interactions resemble hierarchical Bayesian computations, and both observations can be related to existing gating, synchronization, and hub theories of thalamic function. Reviewing and synthesizing these points highlights key research horizons integrating computation, cognition, and systems neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binding theories claim that features of an episode are bound to each other and can be retrieved once these features are re-encountered. Binding effects have been shown in task-switching studies with a strong focus on bindings of observable features such as responses. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether task rules, translating stimulus information into motor output can be bound and subsequently retrieved even if they act independently from specific response codes. To address this question, we utilized a task-switching paradigm with varying visual context features. Unlike previous studies, tasks in the present study did not differ in their response options, and sequential response repetitions were eliminated by design. In three experiments, we observed larger task-switch costs on trials repeating the context of the previous trial than on context-change trials. According to binding accounts, this suggests that response-independent task rules adopted in the previous trial became bound to the context feature and were retrieved upon re-encountering the context feature in the current trial. The results of this study generalize previous findings indicating that binding processes can include response-independent control to task-switching situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When two tasks are presented simultaneously or in close succession, such as in the overlapping task paradigm of the psychological refractory period, dual-task performance on those tasks is usually impaired compared with separate single-task performance. Numerous theories explain these emerging dual-task costs in terms of the existence of capacity limitations in the constituent component tasks. The current paper proposes active dual-task coordination processes that work on the scheduling of these capacity-limited processes. Further, there are recent findings that point to a meta-cognitive control level in addition to these active coordination processes. This additional level's responsibility is to adjust the dual-task coordination of capacity-limited stages (i.e., coordination adjustment). I review evidence focusing on the existence of dual-task coordination processes and processes of coordination adjustment. The remainder of the paper elaborates on preliminary findings and points to the separability of these sets of processes, which is a key assumption of the framework of dual-task coordination adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has indicated that individual differences in cognitive performance can be predicted by characteristics of resting state oscillations, such as individual peak alpha frequency (IAF). Although IAF has previously been correlated with cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, or mental speed, its link to cognitive conflict processing remains unexplored. The current work investigated the relationship between IAF and inhibitory cognitive control in two well‐established conflict tasks, Stroop and Navon task, while also controlling for alpha power, theta power, and the 1/f offset of aperiodic broadband activity. In Bayesian analyses on a large sample of 127 healthy participants, we found substantial evidence against the assumption that IAF predicts individual abilities to spontaneously exert cognitive control. Similarly, our findings yielded substantial evidence against links between cognitive control and resting state power in the alpha and theta bands or between cognitive control and aperiodic 1/f offset. In sum, our results challenge frameworks suggesting that an individual's ability to spontaneously engage attentional control networks may be mirrored in resting state EEG characteristics. In the first work investigating the relationship between individual peak alpha frequency (IAF) and two classical conflict tasks (Stroop and Navon task), we demonstrate that individual differences in cognitive control are not related to IAF nor to other oscillatory or aperiodic aspects of the resting state EEG signal. We complement and challenge previous findings suggesting IAF as a neurophysiological indicator of general human performance functions and cognitive control specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) at resting state has been associated to cognitive functions dependent on cognitive control, such as memory. However, little is known about the phasic interaction between cognitive and autonomic control. In a pre‐registered within‐between‐subject designed experiment, the potential of vmHRV biofeedback to simultaneously stimulate vmHRV during memory processing and cognitive control over long‐term memory was tested, along with investigating psychophysiological association. 71 young healthy adults completed (twice) a false memory task in virtual reality. Immediately before memory encoding and retrieval, participants practiced either vmHRV biofeedback or a control breathing exercise. Cognitive control over long‐term memory was assessed as the confidence toward false memories and the capability to discriminate them from true memories. Resting‐state vmHRV before each test and phasic vmHRV during memory encoding and retrieval were measured as the root mean square differences (RMSSD) in the heart period. vmHRV biofeedback had neither an immediate effect on measures of cognitive control over long‐term memory nor on phasic RMSSD. Moreover, neither resting‐state nor phasic vmHRV correlated to the cognitive scores. Consequently, the utility of HRV biofeedback as a psychophysiological stimulation tool and a link between vmHRV and cognitive control over long‐term memory could not be verified. Exploratory analyses revealed that baseline shift in parasympathetic activity confounded the psychophysiological association. Future directions are provided that could shed light on the relationship between cognition and vmHRV. The results add a nuanced view on the psychophysiological relationship between autonomic and cognitive control that contradicts previous research. We provide evidence that HRV state measures assessed at baseline or during memory processing do not associate with cognitive control over long‐term memory assessed as false memory production. Moreover, short HRV biofeedback proved not to be a viable HRV stimulation method to study the heart–brain interaction. We uncovered influencing factors on the psychophysiological relationship and propose a new analysis approach important for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: "Metacontrol" describes the ability to maintain an optimal balance between cognitive control styles that are either more persistent or more flexible. Recent studies have shown a link between metacontrol and aperiodic EEG patterns. The present study aimed to gain more insight into the neurobiological underpinnings of metacontrol by using methylphenidate (MPH), a compound known to increase postsynaptic catecholamine levels and modulate cortical noise. Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study design, we investigated the effect of MPH (0.5 mg/kg) on aperiodic EEG activity during a flanker task in a sample of n = 25 neurotypical adults. To quantify cortical noise, we employed the fitting oscillations and one over f algorithm. Results: Compared with placebo, MPH increased the aperiodic exponent, suggesting that it reduces cortical noise in 2 ways. First, it did so in a state-like fashion, as the main effect of the drug was visible and significant in both pre-trial and within-trial periods. Second, the electrode-specific analyses showed that the drug also affects specific processes by dampening the downregulation of noise in conditions requiring more control. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the aperiodic exponent provides a neural marker of metacontrol states and changes therein. Further, we propose that the effectiveness of medications targeting catecholaminergic signaling can be evaluated by studying changes of cortical noise, fostering the idea of using the quantification of cortical noise as an indicator in pharmacological treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study identifies temporal dynamics of VLPFC and DLPFC during negative emotional processing. • VLPFC was found to work at 400 ms, while DLPFC was found to work at 0 ms and 600 ms during emotional processing. • Results offer insights into the neural mechanisms underlying emotional processing with potential for intervention development. • Online single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) used for investigation is a promising research tool. The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) have been found to play important roles in negative emotion processing. However, the specific time window of their involvement remains unknown. This study addressed this issue in three experiments using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We found that TMS applied over the VLPFC at 400 ms after negative emotional exposure significantly enhanced negative feelings compared to the vertex condition. Furthermore, TMS applied over the DLPFC at both 0 ms and 600 ms after negative emotional exposure also resulted in deteriorated negative feelings. These findings provide potential evidence for the VLPFC-dependent semantic processing (∼400 ms) and the DLPFC-dependent attentional and cognitive control (∼0/600 ms) in negative emotion processing. The asynchronous involvement of these frontal cortices not only deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying negative emotion processing but also provides valuable temporal parameters for neurostimulation therapy targeting patients with mood disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparatory brain activity is a cornerstone of proactive cognitive control, a top-down process optimizing attention, perception, and inhibition, fostering cognitive flexibility and adaptive attention control in the human brain. In this study, we proposed a neuroimaging-informed convolutional neural network model to predict cognitive control performance from the baseline pre-stimulus preparatory electrophysiological activity of core cognitive control regions. Particularly, combined with perturbation-based occlusion sensitivity analysis, we pinpointed regions with the most predictive preparatory activity for proactive cognitive control. We found that preparatory arrhythmic broadband neural dynamics in the right anterior insula, right precentral gyrus, and the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (posterior ventrolateral prefrontal cortex), are highly predictive of prospective cognitive control performance. The pre-stimulus preparatory activity in these regions corresponds to readiness for conflict detection, inhibitory control, and overall elaborate attentional processing. We integrated the convolutional neural network with biologically inspired Jansen-Rit neural mass model to investigate neurostimulation effects on cognitive control. High-frequency stimulation (130 Hz) of the left anterior insula provides significant cognitive enhancement, especially in reducing conflict errors, despite the right anterior insula's higher predictive value for prospective cognitive control performance. Thus, effective neurostimulation targets may differ from regions showing biomarker activity. Finally, we validated our theoretical finding by evaluating intrinsic neuromodulation through neurofeedback-guided volitional control in an independent dataset. We found that left anterior insula was intrinsically modulated in real-time by volitional control of emotional valence, but not arousal. Our findings further highlight central role of anterior insula in orchestrating proactive cognitive control processes, positioning it at the top of hierarchy for cognitive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of cognitive control in healthy adults can be influenced by various factors, including the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) effect and strategy training. To address these issues, our study aims to investigate the impact of SOA on single-mode cognitive control using the Go/No-Go task, as well as the manifestation of proactive control within dual mechanisms of cognitive control through the AX-CPT task. In single-mode cognitive control, extending SOA led to significantly enhanced reaction times (RTs) during Go trials, suggesting improved task performance with increased preparation time. Moreover, the analysis revealed consistently higher accuracy rates in No-Go trials than to Go trials across all SOA levels, indicating robust inhibition processes unaffected by SOA variations. In the dual mechanisms of cognitive control, significant variations in RT and accuracy were observed among different trial types. Notably, participants exhibited superior performance in detecting targets during BY trials and shorter RTs in BX trials, indicative of efficient processing of target stimuli. Conversely, prolonged RTs in AY trials suggest proactive control strategies aimed at maintaining task-relevant information and inhibiting irrelevant responses. Overall, these findings highlight the effect of SOA on single-mode cognitive control and the emergence of proactive control within dual mechanisms of cognitive control in healthy adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) is a psychological disorder characterized by daydreaming, mental fogginess, and slow thinking, while learning burnout (LB) is characterized by a passive and inattentive attitude toward learning. These two disorders are closely related but can be challenging to differentiate from one another. The present study aimed to identify shared and distinct cognitive control deficits between CDS and LB. Methods: We recruited 136 adolescents (aged 14 to 17 years) from an initial screening of CDS and LB (N = 476) and divided them into four groups: CDS, LB, CDS + LB, and typically developing control. After a second screening, 129 adolescents completed two tasks to assess their attentional networks and cognitive control capacity (CCC). Results: Adolescents with high CDS symptoms (both CDS group and CDS+LB group) exhibited impaired disengaging effect of attention and lower CCC, indicating deficits in orienting attention and the upper limit of information processing for cognitive control specifically. Furthermore, support vector machine modeling identified CCC as the most significant parameter differentiating the CDS and LB groups. Discussion: Our findings suggest that while adolescents with high CDS and high LB symptoms have similar outward manifestations in the adolescent's school life, deficits in attention and cognitive control, particularly in the CCC, may distinguish between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Representations in working memory can affect distractor suppression in human visual search, and this process is modulated by a separate top-down cognitive control. An increasing body of research has demonstrated that patients with substance use disorder (SUD) have deficits in cognitive control over filtering interference by perceptual distractors. However, their ability to resist proactive interference from working memory has received comparatively less attention. Methods: Here, we investigate this issue by employing a working memory/visual search dual-task paradigm. An intervening gap-location search task was instructed to be performed while participants memorized a written color word, with congruent auditory information present during the memory encoding phase on half of the trials. Results: Results showed that there was a reliable response time (RT) advantage when the meaning of the memory sample agreed with the color of one of the distractors under the visual alone condition. However, such a result was only found in the control group. More importantly, both groups exhibited comparable facilitation under the audiovisual condition, with the facilitation effect appearing later in the SUD group. Furthermore, the facilitation effect was superior in magnitude and time course under the audiovisual condition to the visual alone condition. Discussion: These findings highlight how patients with SUD resist distractor interference at the memory level and extend our understanding of how working memory, selective attention, and audiovisual enhancement interact to optimize perceptual decisions in patients with SUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-referential information can reduce the congruency effect by acting as a signal to enhance cognitive control. However, it cannot be denied that self-referential information can attract and hold attention. To investigate this issue, the study used a revised Stroop task and recorded behavioral and electrophysiological data from thirty-three participants. We combined event-related potential (ERP) and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to examine the neural correlates of self-referential processing and conflict processing. In the behavioral results, self-referential information reduced the congruency effect. Specifically, self-reference stimuli elicited smaller N2 amplitude than non-self-reference stimuli, indicating that self-referential information was promptly identified and reduced top-down cognitive resource consumption. Self-referential information could be reliably decoded from ERP signals in the early-to-mid stage. Moreover, self-reference conditions exhibited earlier congruency decoding than non-self-reference conditions, facilitating conflict monitoring. In the late stage, under the incongruent condition, self-reference stimuli elicited smaller sustained potential amplitude than non-self-reference stimuli, indicating that cognitive control in the self-reference condition required fewer cognitive resources for conflict resolution. Together, these findings revealed that self-referential information was identified and facilitated conflict monitoring, leading to more effective conflict resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cognitive control and flexibility have been examined in the past, this study examines their relationship in a stressful working environment, focusing on intrinsic job satisfaction using cognitive behavioral theory as a framework. This study examined cognitive factors (cognitive control and cognitive flexibility) and emotional state (intrinsic job satisfaction) while assessing the mediating role of social isolation, an external work environment variable. The study focused on intrinsic job satisfaction with extrinsic job satisfaction as a covariate. A cross-sectional questionnaire method was used. Two hundred and ten nurses from twelve intensive care units participated. Model one examined cognitive control while model two examined cognitive flexibility, accounting for 32% and 38% of the variance in intrinsic job satisfaction, respectively. Model one accounted for 13% of the variance in social isolation through cognitive control and extrinsic job satisfaction while model two accounted for approximately 14.91% of the variance in social isolation through cognitive flexibility and extrinsic job satisfaction. Combining the two models accounted for 17% of the variance in social isolation and 37.4% of the variation in intrinsic job satisfaction. The results emphasize the importance of training nurses in cognitive control and flexibility to increase intrinsic job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated intentional forgetting of emotional information in low vs. high anxiety groups, by using a directed forgetting paradigm. The groups were formed based on their scores on measures of state and trait anxiety. Participants were provided with positive, negative, and neutral photographs with either remember or forget instructions and further provided metacognitive judgments of learning for each photograph, indicating how likely they are to recognize the photograph in a subsequent recognition test. In the recognition test, they identified the photographs that they had seen in the learning session, irrespective of instruction. The results showed that directed forgetting was only observed in the high anxiety group. Furthermore, higher anxiety scores negatively correlated with the recognition of negative to-be-forgotten information, indicating that high anxiety is associated with a better ability to forget negative information. Metacognitive judgments showed awareness of the forget instructions and the valence of the photographs, but they were not affected by anxiety level. The results suggest that the effects of anxiety on cognitive control may be different between participants with higher vs. lower anxiety levels in a non-clinical sample. The results are discussed within several theoretical frameworks which claim that anxiety may lead to the inhibition and avoidance of negatively valenced mental content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brief beta bursts, rather than sustained oscillations, support cognition by providing transient, functional inhibition. Analyzing the timing of beta bursts helps establish neural correlates of cognitive behavior on a single trial level. The intermittent and nonlinear nature of beta bursts provides novel insights into interareal interactions. Diversity of beta burst types may reflect differences in circuit-level origins and may yield insights into the underlying activity motifs and function. We suggest that spatiotemporal patterns of beta bursting implement cognitive control operations underlying goal-directed behavior. Beta oscillations are linked to the control of goal-directed processing of sensory information and the timing of motor output. Recent evidence demonstrates they are not sustained but organized into intermittent high-power bursts mediating timely functional inhibition. This implies there is a considerable moment-to-moment variation in the neural dynamics supporting cognition. Beta bursts thus offer new opportunities for studying how sensory inputs are selectively processed, reshaped by inhibitory cognitive operations and ultimately result in motor actions. Recent method advances reveal diversity in beta bursts that provide deeper insights into their function and the underlying neural circuit activity motifs. We propose that brain-wide, spatiotemporal patterns of beta bursting reflect various cognitive operations and that their dynamics reveal nonlinear aspects of cortical processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given experience in cluttered but stable visual environments, our eye‐movements form stereotyped routines that sample task‐relevant locations, while not mixing‐up routines between similar task‐settings. Both dopamine signaling and mindfulness have been posited as factors that influence the formation of such routines, yet quantification of their impact remains to be tested in healthy humans. Over two sessions, participants searched through grids of doors to find hidden targets, using a gaze‐contingent display. Within each session, door scenes appeared in either one of two colors, with each color signaling a differing set of likely target locations. We derived measures for how well target locations were learned (target‐accuracy), how routine were sets of eye‐movements (stereotypy), and the extent of interference between the two scenes (setting‐accuracy). Participants completed two sessions, where they were administered either levodopa (dopamine precursor) or placebo (vitamin C), under double‐blind counterbalanced conditions. Dopamine and trait mindfulness (assessed by questionnaire) interacted to influence both target‐accuracy and stereotypy. Increasing dopamine improved accuracy and reduced stereotypy for high mindfulness scorers, but induced the opposite pattern for low mindfulness scorers. Dopamine also disrupted setting‐accuracy invariant to mindfulness. Our findings show that mindfulness modulates the impact of dopamine on the target‐accuracy and stereotypy of eye‐movement routines, whereas increasing dopamine promotes interference between task‐settings, regardless of mindfulness. These findings provide a link between non‐human and human models regarding the influence of dopamine on the formation of task‐relevant eye‐movement routines and provide novel insights into behavior‐trait factors that modulate the use of experience when building adaptive repertoires. Using a double‐blind L‐Dopa intervention with healthy participants, we show that dopamine interacts with an individual's level of mindfulness to influence routine formation and cognitive control. These findings are the first empirical test of the theoretical suggestion that mindfulness and dopamine operate on the same underlying mechanisms that support task learning and habit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the discovery of event‐related potentials elicited by errors more than 30 years ago, a new avenue of research on performance monitoring, cognitive control, and decision making emerged. Since then, the field has developed and expanded fulminantly. After a brief overview on the EEG correlates of performance monitoring, this article reviews recent advancements based on single‐trial analyses using independent component analysis, multiple regression, and multivariate pattern classification. Given the close interconnection between performance monitoring and reinforcement learning, computational modeling and model‐based EEG analyses have made a particularly strong impact. The reviewed findings demonstrate that error‐ and feedback‐related EEG dynamics represent variables reflecting how performance‐monitoring signals are weighted and transformed into an adaptation signal that guides future decisions and actions. The model‐based single‐trial analysis approach goes far beyond conventional peak‐and‐trough analyses of event‐related potentials and enables testing mechanistic theories of performance monitoring, cognitive control, and decision making. Performance monitoring and subsequent adaptations are highly dynamic processes. Here, I review recent advances in single‐trial EEG dynamics analyses that enabled the rigorous testing of predictions based on current theories and mathematically formalized computational models of performance monitoring, cognitive control, and decision making. I show that performance monitoring signals reflecting the transformation of outcome variables to adaptation signals are multiplexed in the EEG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we investigated the cognitive processes underlying selective word learning in preschoolers. We measured rhythmic neural activity in the theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha frequency range (7–12 Hz) in 67 four-year-olds. EEG was recorded during anticipation and encoding of novel labeling events performed by a speaker who had previously shown either competence (correct) or incompetence (incorrect) in labeling familiar objects. In both groups, children selected the target object equally often upon recall. However, children observing the incompetent speaker revealed weaker representations of novel words indicated by an increased likelihood for selecting familiar but incorrect items upon recall. Modulations in theta and alpha power suggest differential processing of novel label–object pairs depending on the speakers' competence. In the incompetent, but not the competent, speaker condition, increases in prefrontal theta power during anticipation and encoding were related to increased recall success. Findings suggest that theta power in the present study reflects cognitive control. In both conditions, occipital alpha power—indicating attentional processes—reflected familiarity with novel items, but in opposite directions. In familiar item trials, alpha power was increased observing the incompetent and decreased observing the competent speaker. Thus, both cognitive control and attention processes during word learning are differentially affected by speaker characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental fatigue has been studied extensively in relation to its impact on aerobic-, strength-, and motor-based tasks, but anaerobic power-based tasks have received limited attention. Interdisciplinary research investigating the underlying mechanisms by which mental fatigue influences physical performance has been called for. In two studies, the effects of mental fatigue on maximal power jump and endurance jump performance as well as kinetics and kinematics during jump performance were examined. Samples of collegiate volleyball players (Study 1; N = 14) and recreationally active students (Study 2; N = 27) completed two 30 min experimental manipulations (high vs. low cognitive control exertion) before performing three maximal power squat jumps followed by 15 repeated countermovement jumps, with measurements of kinetics and kinematics. For Study 1, the maximal power performance was significantly lower under a mentally fatigued condition, but no differences were observed for repeated jump performance, which may have been attributable to alterations in jump mechanics. For Study 2, no between-condition differences were observed for the maximal power performance, although repeated jump performance was significantly lower under a mentally fatigued condition. Collectively, these findings suggest that the impacts of mental fatigue on power-based performance tasks may depend on the task demands as well as the training status of the individual. [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]

This longitudinal study explored the impact of the upper limit of cognitive control on the sleep quality of high school students. We collected data in two waves to examine four main variables: capacity of cognitive control (CCC), trait mindfulness, emotional distress and sleep quality. At the first time point (T1), trait mindfulness and emotional distress were measured by rating scales, and the CCC was evaluated by revised backward masking majority function task. Sleep quality was rated 5  months later (T2). The results indicated that: (1) the CCC was negatively correlated with trait mindfulness, and trait mindfulness was negatively correlated with emotional stress; (2) there was no simple mediation of either trait mindfulness or emotional distress in the relationship between CCC and sleep quality; (3) instead, the CCC was associated with poor sleep quality in a sequential mediation through trait mindfulness and then emotional stress. The research highlights the importance of trait mindfulness and emotional distress for addressing sleep problems in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies examining conflict processing within the context of a color-word Stroop task have focused on both stimulus and response conflicts. However, it has been unclear whether conflict can emerge independently of stimulus conflict. In this study, a novel arrow-gaze mental-rotation Stroop task was introduced to explore the interplay between conflict processing and mental rotation. A modelling approach was utilized to provide a process-level account of the findings. The results of our Stroop task indicate that conflict can emerge from mental rotation in the absence of stimulus conflict. The strength of this imagery conflict effect decreases and even reverses as mental rotation angles increase. Additionally, it was observed that participants responded more quickly and with greater accuracy to small rather than large face orientations. A comparison of three conflict diffusion models—the diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC), the dual-stage two-phase model (DSTP), and the shrinking spotlight model (SSP)—yielded consistent support for the DSTP over the DMC and SSP in the majority of instances. The DSTP account of the experimental results revealed an increased nondecision time with increasing mental rotation, a reduction in interference from incompatible stimuli, and an improved drift rate in response selection phase, which suggests enhanced cognitive control. The findings from the model-based analysis provide evidence for a novel interaction between cognitive control and mental rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the manifestation of cognitive control deficit of children with different levels of hyperactivity, an "at risk" dimension for ADHD. Method: A group of children with high hyperactivity (N = 40) and another group of children with low levels of hyperactivity (N = 38) performed a modified stop-signal anticipation task, a revised Go/NoGo task, and the AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT). Results: Children with higher levels of hyperactivity displayed: (1) significantly prolonged stop signal reaction time (SSRT) in the modified stop-signal anticipation task; (2) no notable differences in commission errors in the revised Go/NoGo task; (3) increased reaction time (RT) in stop-signal task and Go/NoGo task with increased probabilities of stop or NoGo signal; and (4) positive proactive behavioral index scores in AX-CPT. Conclusion: The results suggested that children with heightened hyperactivity exhibited impaired reactive control, especially for responses already underway, but preserved proactive control. Further studies concerning these children are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cognitive control impairments in anxiety disorders are thought to be associated with deficiencies in the prefrontal network. However, a precise neural explanation for these impairments is still lacking. This study seeks to compare inhibitory ability between individuals with anxiety and healthy controls, as well as to explore the neural correlates of anxiety‐related inhibitory deficits within a clinical context. Materials and Methods. A total of 118 participants were recruited, including 59 patients with anxiety and 59 matched healthy controls (HCs). Anxiety and inhibitory ability were evaluated using Zung's Self‐rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the color word Stroop task, and verbal fluency task (VFT). Additionally, changes in oxyhemoglobin (Oxy‐Hb) concentrations were measured using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results. Compared to HCs, the anxiety group exhibited reduced cortical activation in prefrontal cortex (PFC) channels, prolonged inhibitory speed and lower inhibitory accuracy during Stroop task, and diminished VFT performance (all p < 0.05). Significant negative correlations were observed between SAS scores and inhibitory ability, as well as with PFC activation. Conversely, PFC activation showed positive correlations with inhibitory ability. Importantly, activation in the dorsolateral PFC during VFT partially mediated the association between anxiety and inhibitory performance. Conclusions. This study reveals neural characteristics associated with inhibitory abilities in anxiety disorders and identifies neural correlations between anxiety and inhibitory performance. These findings illuminate the impact of anxiety on inhibitory abilities and propose intervention targets to enhance these abilities in individuals with anxiety disorders, thereby suggesting more effective therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]