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26 mei 2023, Item does not contain fulltext, Sensorimotor integration processes play a central role in daily life and require that different sources of sensory information become integrated: i.e. the information related to the object being under control of the agent (i.e. indicator) and the information about the goal of acting. Yet, how this is accomplished on a neurophysiological level is contentious. We focus on the role of theta- and beta-band activities and examine which neuroanatomical structures are involved. Healthy participants (n = 41) performed 3 consecutive pursuit-tracking EEG experiments in which the source of visual information available for tracking was varied (i.e. that of the indicator and the goal of acting). The initial specification of indicator dynamics is determined through beta-band activity in parietal cortices. When information about the goal was not accessible, but operating the indicator was required nevertheless, this incurred increased theta-band activity in the superior frontal cortex, signaling a higher need for control. Later, theta- and beta-band activities encode distinct information within the ventral processing stream: Theta-band activity is affected by the indicator information, while beta-band activity is affected by the information about the action goal. Complex sensorimotor integration is realized through a cascade of theta- and beta-band activities in a ventral-stream-parieto-frontal network.

25 januari 2023, Item does not contain fulltext, In daily life, sensorimotor integration processes are fundamental for many cognitive operations. The pursuit-tracking paradigm is an ecological and valid paradigm to examine sensorimotor integration processes in a more complex environment than many established tasks that assess simple motor responses. However, the analysis of pursuit-tracking performance is complicated, and parameters quantified to examine performance are sometimes ambiguous regarding their interpretation. We introduce an open-source algorithm (TRACK) to calculate a new tracking error metric, the spatial error, based on the identification of the intended target position for the respective cursor position. The identification is based on assigning cursor and target direction changes to each other as key events, based on the assumptions of similarity and proximity. By applying our algorithm to pursuit-tracking data, beyond replication of known effects such as learning or practice effects, we show a higher precision of the spatial tracking error, i.e., it fits our behavioral data better than the temporal tracking error and thus provides new insights and parameters for the investigation of pursuit-tracking behavior. Our work provides an important step towards fully utilizing the potential of pursuit-tracking tasks for research on sensorimotor integration processes.

Item does not contain fulltext, Monitoring actions is essential for goal-directed behavior. However, as opposed to short-lasting, and regularly reinstating monitoring functions, the neural processes underlying continuous action monitoring are poorly understood. We investigate this using a pursuit-tracking paradigm. We show that beta band activity likely maintains the sensorimotor program, while theta and alpha bands probably support attentional sampling and information gating, respectively. Alpha and beta band activity are most relevant during the initial tracking period, when sensorimotor calibrations are most intense. Theta band shifts from parietal to frontal cortices throughout tracking, likely reflecting a shift in the functional relevance from attentional sampling to action monitoring. This study shows that resource allocation mechanisms in prefrontal areas and stimulus-response mapping processes in the parietal cortex are crucial for adapting sensorimotor processes. It fills a knowledge gap in understanding the neural processes underlying action monitoring and suggests new directions for examining sensorimotor integration in more naturalistic experiments.

Item does not contain fulltext, Even simple actions like opening a door require integration/binding and flexible reactivation of different motor elements. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of such "embedded response plans" are largely elusive, despite theoretical frameworks, such as the theory of event coding, describing the involved cognitive processes. In a sample of n = 40 healthy participants, we combine time-frequency decomposition and various beamforming methods to examine the neurophysiological dynamics of such action plans, with special emphasis on the interplay of theta and beta frequency activity during the processing of these plans. We show that the integration and rule-guided reactivation of embedded response plans is modulated by a complex interplay of theta and beta activity. Pretrial beta-band activity (BBA) is related to different functional neuroanatomical structures that are activated in a consecutive fashion. Enhanced preparatory activity is positively associated with higher binding-related BBA in the precuneus/parietal areas, indicating that activity in the precuneus/parietal cortex facilitates the execution of an embedded action sequence. Increased preparation subsequently leads to reduced working memory retrieval demands. A cascading pattern of interactions between pretrial and within-trial activity indicates the importance of preparatory brain activity. The study shows that there are multiple roles of beta and theta oscillations associated with different functional neuroanatomical structures during the integration and reactivation of motor elements during actions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Even simple actions like opening a door require integration/binding and flexible reactivation of different motor elements. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of such "embedded response plans" are largely elusive. The study shows that there are multiple roles of beta and theta oscillations associated with different functional neuroanatomical structures during the

There is growing awareness across the neuroscience community that the replicability of findings about the relationship between brain activity and cognitive phenomena can be improved by conducting studies with high statistical power that adhere to well-defined and standardised analysis pipelines. Inspired by recent efforts from the psychological sciences, and with the desire to examine some of the foundational findings using electroencephalography (EEG), we have launched #EEGManyLabs, a large-scale international collaborative replication effort. Since its discovery in the early 20th century, EEG has had a profound influence on our understanding of human cognition, but there is limited evidence on the replicability of some of the most highly cited discoveries. After a systematic search and selection process, we have identified 27 of the most influential and continually cited studies in the field. We plan to directly test the replicability of key findings from 20 of these studies in teams of at least three independent laboratories. The design and protocol of each replication effort will be submitted as a Registered Report and peer-reviewed prior to data collection. Prediction markets, open to all EEG researchers, will be used as a forecasting tool to examine which findings the community expects to replicate. This project will update our confidence in some of the most influential EEG findings and generate a large open access database that can be used to inform future research practices. Finally, through this international effort, we hope to create a cultural shift towards inclusive, high-powered multi-laboratory collaborations. © 2021 The Authors.

Background. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients have been reported to display deficits in action control processes. While it is known that subliminally and consciously induced conflicts interact and conjointly modulate action control in healthy subjects, this has never been investigated for ADHD. Method. We investigated the (potential) interaction of subliminally and consciously triggered response conflicts in children with ADHD and matched healthy controls using neuropsychological methods (event-related potentials; ERPs) to identify the involved cognitive sub-processes. Results. Unlike healthy controls, ADHD patients showed no interaction of subliminally and consciously triggered response conflicts. Instead, they only showed additive effects as their behavioural performance (accuracy) was equally impaired by each conflict and they showed no signs of task-goal shielding even in cases of low conflict load. Of note, this difference between ADHD and controls was not rooted in early bottom-up attentional stimulus processing as reflected by the P1 and N1 ERPs. Instead, ADHD showed either no or reversed modulations of conflict-related processes and response selection as reflected by the N2 and P3 ERPs. Conclusion. There are fundamental differences in the architecture of cognitive control which might be of use for future diagnostic procedures. Unlike healthy controls, ADHD patients do not seem to be endowed with a threshold which allows them to maintain high behavioural performance in the face of low conflict load. ADHD patients seem to lack sufficient top-down attentional resources to maintain correct response selection in the face of conflicts by shielding the response selection process from response tendencies evoked by any kind of distractor.

Background. In everyday life it is often required to integrate multisensory input to successfully conduct response inhibition (RI) and thus major executive control processes. Both RI and multisensory processes have been suggested to be altered in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is, however, unclear which neurophysiological processes relate to changes in RI in ASD and in how far these processes are affected by possible multisensory integration deficits in ASD. Method. Combining high-density EEG recordings with source localization analyses, we examined a group of adolescent ASD patients (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 20) using a novel RI task. Results. Compared to controls, RI processes are generally compromised in adolescent ASD. This aggravation of RI processes is modulated by the content of multisensory information. The neurophysiological data suggest that deficits in ASD emerge in attentional selection and resource allocation processes related to occipito-parietal and middle frontal regions. Most importantly, conflict monitoring subprocesses during RI were specifically modulated by content of multisensory information in the superior frontal gyrus. Conclusions. RI processes are overstrained in adolescent ASD, especially when conflicting multisensory information has to be integrated to perform RI. It seems that the content of multisensory input is important to consider in ASD and its effects on cognitive control processes.

Background. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders in childhood. Besides inattention and hyperactivity, impulsivity is the third core symptom leading to diverse and serious problems. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying impulsivity in ADHD are still not fully understood. This is all the more the case when patients with the ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-C) are considered who are characterized by both symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Method. Combining high-density electroencephalography (EEG) recordings with source localization analyses, we examined what information processing stages are dysfunctional in ADHD-C (n = 20) compared with controls (n = 18). Results. Patients with ADHD-C made more impulsive errors in a Go/No-go task than healthy controls. Neurophysiologically, different subprocesses from perceptual gating to attentional selection, resource allocation and response selection processes are altered in this patient group. Perceptual gating, stimulus-driven attention selection and resource allocation processes were more pronounced in ADHD-C, are related to activation differences in parieto-occipital networks and suggest attentional filtering deficits. However, only response selection processes, associated with medial prefrontal networks, predicted impulsive errors in ADHD-C. Conclusions. Although the clinical picture of ADHD-C is complex and a multitude of processing steps are altered, only a subset of processes seems to directly modulate impulsive behaviour. The present findings improve the understanding of mechanisms underlying impulsivity in patients with ADHD-C and might help to refine treatment algorithms focusing on impulsivity.