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Cognitive skills, such as innovative problem-solving, are hypothesized to aid animals in urban environments. However, the significance of innovation in wild populations, and its expression across individuals and socio-ecological conditions, is poorly understood. To identify how and when innovation arises in urban-dwelling species, we used advanced technologies and new testing and analytical methods to evaluate innovative problem-solving abilities of wild raccoons (Procyon lotor). We deployed multi-compartment puzzle boxes with either one or multiple solution types and identified raccoons using radio frequency identification. Raccoons solved these novel extractive foraging tasks, and their success was influenced by age and exploratory diversity. Successful raccoons always discovered multiple different solution types, highlighting flexible problem-solving. Using a unique, comparative sequence analysis approach, we found that variation in raccoon solving techniques was greater between individuals than within individuals, and this self-similarity intensified during times of competition. Finally, the inclusion of an easier solution in the multi-solution trials enabled previously unsuccessful raccoons to bootstrap their learning and successfully open multiple difficult solutions. Our study suggests that innovative problem-solving is probably influenced by many factors and has provided novel field and analytical methods, as well as new insights on the socio-ecological dynamics of urban populations.

Adolescence is characterized by dynamic neurodevelopment, which poses opportunities for risk and resilience. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) confer additional risk to the developing brain, where ACEs have been associated with alterations in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) BOLD signaling in brain regions underlying inhibitory control. Socioenvironmental factors like the family environment may amplify or buffer against the neurodevelopmental risks associated with ACEs. Using baseline to Year 2 follow-up data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the current study examined how ACEs relate to fMRI BOLD signaling during successful inhibition on the Stop Signal Task in regions associated with inhibitory control and examined whether family conflict levels moderated that relationship. Results showed that greater ACEs were associated with reduced BOLD response in the right opercular region of the inferior frontal gyrus and bilaterally in the pre-supplementary motor area, which are key regions underlying inhibitory control. Further, greater BOLD response was correlated with less impulsivity behaviorally, suggesting reduced activation may not be behaviorally adaptive at this age. No significant two or three-way interactions with family conflict levels or time were found. Findings highlight the continued utility of examining the relationship between ACEs and neurodevelopmental outcomes and the importance of intervention/prevention of ACES.

Alterations in attention to cues signaling the need for inhibitory control play a significant role in a wide range of psychopathology. However, the degree to which motivational and attentional factors shape the neurocomputations of proactive inhibitory control remains poorly understood. The present study investigated how variation in monetary incentive valence and stake modulate the neurocomputational signatures of proactive inhibitory control. Adults (N = 46) completed a Stop-Signal Task (SST) with concurrent EEG recording under four conditions associated with stop performance feedback: low and high punishment (following unsuccessful stops) and low and high reward (following successful stops). A Bayesian learning model was used to infer individual's probabilistic expectations of the need to stop on each trial: P(stop). Linear mixed effects models were used to examine whether interactions between motivational valence, stake, and P(stop) parameters predicted P1 and N1 attention-related event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to the go-onset stimulus. We found that P1 amplitudes increased at higher levels of P(stop) in punished but not rewarded conditions, although P1 amplitude differences between punished and rewarded blocks were maximal on trials when the need to inhibit was least expected. N1 amplitudes were positively related to P(stop) in the high punishment condition (low N1 amplitude), but negatively related to P(stop) in the high reward condition (high N1 amplitude). Critically, high P(stop)-related N1 amplitude to the go-stimulus predicted behavioral stop success during the high reward block, providing evidence for the role of motivationally relevant context and inhibitory control expectations in modulating the proactive allocation of attentional resources that affect inhibitory control. These findings provide novel insights into the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying proactive inhibitory control under valence-dependent motivational contexts, setting the stage for developing motivation-based interventions that boost inhibitory control.

ABSTRACT Objective Method Results Conclusion Understanding the development of adolescent reward responsiveness and inhibitory control is important as they are implicated in key outcomes, such as depression. However, relatively few studies have examined the self‐reported experience of this development longitudinally, and past findings have been mixed. Here, we examined the longitudinal development of self‐reported reward responsiveness and inhibitory control in youth, as well as clinical and neural measures as predictors of these longitudinal trajectories.We assessed 223 youth aged 9–17 across 36 months. We modeled growth trajectories of several measures of reward responsiveness and inhibitory control using multilevel models. We tested reward‐related functional connectivity, depression symptoms, and parental risk for psychopathology as moderators of longitudinal growth.Self‐reported inhibitory control increased linearly across adolescence. However, contrary to hypotheses and common models of adolescent development, self‐reported reward responsiveness decreased linearly across adolescence. Baseline functional connectivity and clinical risk measures did not significantly moderate trajectories.Results suggest that within‐person changes in the phenomenological experience of reward responsiveness may not match developmental expectations based on cross‐sectional and neuroimaging studies. More attention is needed to the longitudinal study of subjective experience of reward responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with ADHD suffer from impaired attentional, executive, and emotional processing. This study aimed to compare attentional and executive processing using (non)emotional stimuli in children with and without ADHD. Eighty-five children with ADHD and 72 matched typically developing children performed the Stroop, continuous performance, and Go/No-Go tasks using (non)emotional stimuli. Greater performance in selective attention, inhibitory control, and sustained attention was found in emotional stimuli compared to non-emotional stimuli in both groups. Emotional stimuli facilitated attentional and executive functions in children with and without ADHD. Impaired attentional and executive functions in children with ADHD are not valence-sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the external globus pallidus (GPe) has been viewed as a passive way‐station in the indirect pathway of the cortico‐basal ganglia‐thalamic (CBGT) circuit, sandwiched between striatal inputs and basal ganglia outputs. According to this model, one‐way descending striatal signals in the indirect pathway amplify the suppression of downstream thalamic nuclei by inhibiting GPe activity. Here, we revisit this assumption, in light of new and emerging work on the cellular complexity, connectivity and functional role of the GPe in behaviour. We show how, according to this new circuit‐level logic, the GPe is ideally positioned for relaying ascending and descending control signals within the basal ganglia. Focusing on the problem of inhibitory control, we illustrate how this bidirectional flow of information allows for the integration of reactive and proactive control mechanisms during action selection. Taken together, this new evidence points to the GPe as being a central hub in the CBGT circuit, participating in bidirectional information flow and linking multifaceted control signals to regulate behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperamental inhibitory control is a foundational capacity for children's social, emotional, and behavioral development. Even though temperament is suggested to have a biological basis, the physiological indicators of inhibitory control remain unclear amid mixed empirical results. In this study, we leveraged a multicohort longitudinal design to examine resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a physiological correlate of inhibitory control across the early and middle childhood years. Data were collected annually across four time points from cohorts of 4- (n = 150, Mage = 4.53; SD = 0.30; 49.7% female) and 8- (n = 150; Mage = 8.53; SD = 0.29; 49.7% female) year-old children and their caregivers. There were weak, albeit significant, associations between resting RSA and caregiver-reported inhibitory control in middle childhood but not in early childhood. A stronger association was found for older children when latent trait assessments of RSA and inhibitory control were derived from commonalities across the four annual assessments. We conclude that using repeated measures to extract latent trait scores increases power to detect potential physiological indicators of temperament. Public Significance Statement: In the current study we examined resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a biological correlate of temperamental inhibitory control with a multicohort, 4-year longitudinal design across early and middle childhood. The analyses examining associations between resting RSA and inhibitory control across the latent trait models (derived from four repeated measures) showed significant associations between resting RSA and inhibitory control in middle childhood but not in early childhood. Results indicated that the biological correlates of temperamental inhibitory control might become more crystalized in middle childhood and showed that the use of repeated measures to extract latent trait scores would increases power to detect potential physiological indicators of temperamental inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding what others think and feel, an essential ingredient of social functioning, develops early on, allowing children to understand and evaluate other people's actions. To assess whether those actions break or uphold moral rules (moral judgments), children must consider the agent's intentions and whether the action harms or helps others. The present study investigated longitudinally the changes and interrelations between cognitive and affective perspective‐taking and moral evaluations in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old preschoolers (N = 92, 43 girls). We assessed children's first‐order theory of mind and their ability to understand other people's emotions. Next, we presented them with two moral stories which measured how children evaluated the "good" or "bad" nature of the character's intention, and whether the character deserved to be punished. Controlling for inhibitory control—which is thought to help individuals integrate information about intention—and for time across development, our main findings showed that moral judgment was positively associated with theory of mind and that both moral judgment and punishment were positively associated with the ability to understand other people's emotions. There were developmental effects for each of the measured variables, improvements being visible 15 months later, especially in the case of the theory of mind and punishment attributions. We discuss our findings in light of recent models of moral judgment regarding the processes involved in children's moral judgments and put forward future methodological directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The information‐seeking behaviour of adults focuses on optimizing the gathering and utilizing information to minimize search costs. In contrast, children tend to engage in information search during decision‐making with less consideration for costs. This difference in behaviour is believed to be linked to the development of executive functions. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between executive function and cost‐related information‐gathering behaviour. We assessed 56 children aged 4–6 years, involving three tasks: an information‐gathering task, an inhibitory control and a working memory task. In the information‐gathering task, children participated in both non‐cost and cost conditions, where they were given the opportunity to freely gather information or incur a cost to acquire information. The findings revealed that children with higher inhibitory control tended to gather less information when a cost was involved. This highlights the important role of inhibitory control in shaping information‐seeking behaviour in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: White noise stimulation has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing working memory in children with ADHD. However, its impact on other executive functions commonly affected by ADHD, such as inhibitory control, remains largely unexplored. This research aims to explore the effects of two types of white noise stimulation on oculomotor inhibitory control in children with ADHD. Method: Memory guided saccade (MGS) and prolonged fixation (PF) performance was compared between children with ADHD (N = 52) and typically developing controls (TDC, N = 45), during auditory and visual white noise stimulation as well as in a no noise condition. Results: Neither the auditory nor the visual white noise had any beneficial effects on performance for either group. Conclusions: White noise stimulation does not appear to be beneficial for children with ADHD in tasks that target oculomotor inhibitory control. Potential explanations for this lack of noise benefit will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibitory control refers to the ability to suppress cognitive or motor processes. Current neurocognitive models indicate that this function mainly involves the anterior cingulate cortex and the inferior frontal cortex. However, how the communication between these areas influence inhibitory control performance and their functional response remains unknown. We addressed this question by injecting behavioral and electrophysiological markers of inhibitory control recorded during a Go/NoGo task as the 'symptoms' in a connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping approach in a sample of 96 first unilateral stroke patients. This approach enables us to identify the white matter tracts whose disruption by the lesions causally influences brain functional activity during inhibitory control. We found a central role of left frontotemporal and frontobasal intrahemispheric connections, as well as of the connections between the left temporoparietal and right temporal areas in inhibitory control performance. We also found that connections between the left temporal and right superior parietal areas modulate the conflict-related N2 event-related potential component and between the left temporal parietal area and right temporal and occipital areas for the inhibition P3 component. Our study supports the role of a distributed bilateral network in inhibitory control and reveals that combining lesion-symptom mapping approaches with functional indices of cognitive processes could shed new light on post-stroke functional reorganization. It may further help to refine the interpretation of classical electrophysiological markers of executive control in stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control allows animals to resist instant gratification and invest more time and/or energy in better outcomes. However, widespread temporal self-control tasks lack ecological validity for many species, and few studies have explored whether self-control can be measured in the wild. We used a spatial discounting task resembling natural foraging decisions to measure self-control in wild toutouwai (Petroica longipes), a songbird endemic to New Zealand. Birds chose between a near, low-quality food item and a high-quality food item further away. Toutouwai showed striking individual variation in their self-control abilities. Validation tests suggested that our task reliably measured self-control in a spatial foraging context. However, individual-level performance was confounded by food preferences and the satiation and/or learning effects associated with increasing trial number, limiting the applicability of this task as a measure of individual variation in self-control. Nonetheless, we found no correlation between an individual's self-control and their inhibitory control measured using a detour task, suggesting that self-control is a distinct ability from the suppression of impulsive motor actions in toutouwai. This study demonstrates for the first time that a bird is capable of self-control in a spatial context and provides suggestions for how future researchers may robustly quantify individual differences in self-control in the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to understand others' thoughts and emotions, is crucial for social interaction. However, few longitudinal studies have explored ToM development within different social domains, particularly among rural populations. To address this gap, we conducted a study with 113 preschoolers aged 3–5 years from rural China. We assessed ToM development in different social domains using false belief tasks at three different time points with semester intervals, and we evaluated their performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and inhibitory control (IC). Results showed that ToM development trajectories differ across domains, with moral and social‐conventional domains developing earlier than the personal domain. Additionally, while general cognitive skills such as language and IC are associated with ToM development across these domains, they do not significantly predict it. This study enhances our understanding of ToM development by emphasizing the importance of including rural samples in developmental research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescents may have anxiety due to a series of events such as school work and social interaction. Improper handling of anxiety often leads to some negative consequences, such as Internet addiction. Therefore, this study further explored the relationship between anxiety and Internet addiction, as well as the mediating role of inhibitory control between the two, and also considered the moderating role of physical activity between anxiety and inhibitory control. Methods: A total of 1607 adolescents, comprising 664 boys and 943 girls with an average age of 15.86 years (SD = 0.73), from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, and Hunan provinces completed a self-report survey on physical activity, anxiety, inhibitory control, and Internet addiction. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and mediation test were conducted. Results: The results revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety and adolescent internet addiction (r = 0.413, p < 0.001), and a significant negative correlation with inhibitory control (r = -0.423, p < 0.001). Inhibitory control was found to be significantly positively correlated with physical exercise (r = 0.143, p < 0.001) and significantly negatively correlated with internet addiction (r = -0.368, p < 0.001). After controlling for demographic variables, anxiety significantly positively predicted Internet addiction (β = 0.311, p < 0.001) in adolescents, and it also indirectly predicted Internet addiction through inhibitory control (β = -0.231, p < 0.001). Physical activity significantly weakened the predictive effect of anxiety on inhibitory control (β = -0.092, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study further explored the issue of psychological mechanisms between anxiety and Internet addiction in adolescents, and added that physical activity alleviates the negative effects of anxiety on adolescents. Schools and families are encouraged to promote physical exercise among adolescents to alleviate the influence of negative emotions on their psychological and behavioral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although some studies have revealed the association between bullying victimization and internet addiction in adolescents, the mediating and moderating factors between the two need to be further discussed. This study aimed to discuss the chain mediating role of anxiety and inhibitory control between bullying victimization and internet addiction among Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven schools in five provinces of China by convenience sampling from February to March 2024. A total of 1673 participants (695 boys and 978 girls) with an average age of 15.86 ± 0.74 years were included in this study. Subjective data on bullying victimization, internet addiction, anxiety, inhibitory control were collected and analyzed, and a mediation model test was carried out. After controlling for age and gender, bullying victimization was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction (β = 0.098, p < 0.001). However, when anxiety and inhibitory control were added, the predictive effect was no longer significant (β = 0.006, p > 0.05). Bullying victimization can predict internet addiction through anxiety and inhibitory control. It is suggested that guardians should provide adequate support to adolescent bullying victims in order to reduce the negative impact of bullying victimization on adolescents and prevent the occurrence of internet addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a heterogeneous disorder wherein restrictive eating is primarily attributed to non‐shape/weight‐based reasons (e.g., sensory sensitivity) that empirical research continues to explore. Mounting evidence suggests that ARFID often presents alongside neurodevelopmental diagnoses (NDs) or divergent neurodevelopment broadly. Executive functioning (EF) differences often characterize divergent neurodevelopmental trajectories. Additionally, restrictive eating in anorexia nervosa has been conceptualized as related to EF factors (e.g., set shifting). Given the neurodevelopmental phenotype that may be associated with ARFID and the role of EF in anorexia nervosa, this paper proposes EF as a potentially important, yet understudied factor in ARFID pathology. We posit that various observed ARFID behavioral/cognitive tendencies can be conceptualized in relation to EF differences. We contextualize commonly observed ARFID presentations within "core" EF components (i.e., cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibitory control), leading to hypotheses about EF in ARFID. Finally, we offer additional considerations/directions for future research on EF in ARFID. Increased research on EF in ARFID is needed to consider this potential common factor in the etiology and maintenance of this heterogeneous disorder. We aim to promote further consideration of EF in ARFID etiology, maintenance, and treatment‐outcome research. Public Significance: This article proposes that aspects of executive functioning (EF) may play a role in the onset and maintenance of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), although this notion is largely untested by existing research. Further research on the role of EF in ARFID may assist with refining models and treatments for this heterogeneous disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research about the impact of acute stress on inhibitory control remains a contentious topic, with no consensus reached thus far. This study aims to investigate the effects of acute stress on an individual's inhibitory control abilities and to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms by analyzing resting state electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Methods: We recruited 32 male college students through participant recruitment information to undergo within-subject experiments under stress and non-stress conditions. Physiological indicators (cortisol and heart rate), self-report questionnaires, and behavioral data from the Stroop task were collected before, during, and after the experiment. Additionally, a five-minute eyes closed resting state EEG data collection was conducted during the Stroop task before. Results: (1) Acute stress led to a reduction in the conflict effect during the participants' Stroop task in individuals. (2) Stress resulted in an increase in the power of the beta in the resting state EEG. (3) Acute stress caused an increase in the duration of class D and an increase in the transition probabilities from classes C and B to class D in the microstates of the resting state EEG. (4) Acute stress leads to an increase in beta power values in individuals' resting state EEGs, which is significantly negatively correlated with the reduction of the conflict effect in the Stroop task under stress. Conclusions: Acute stress can enhance individuals' attentional level, thereby promoting inhibitory control performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathic disorder that significantly impacts the activities of daily life (ADLs) of individuals. Emerging studies indicate degenerative changes in cortical and subcortical regions in individuals with glaucoma, which are associated with cognitive processes and oculomotor control. Cognitive processes involving top-down processes such as attention, planning, task management and execution, are crucial for meeting the demands of everyday tasks, and are affected in glaucoma. This study investigated the executive functions, specifically inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM), in individuals with glaucoma compared to age-matched controls, using eye movements. This was achieved through four tasks sensitive to executive functions, including antisaccade, memory-guided prosaccade and antisaccade, and the Go-NoGo tasks. Saccadic eye-movement parameters were also assessed in a prosaccade task, considered as a control condition with minimal IC and WM load. The results indicated that glaucoma is associated with changes in both IC and WM. Increased anticipatory saccadic errors might be linked to inhibitory deficiencies during the preparatory stage of the saccadic suppression mechanism. The increased omission errors in the antisaccade task might be due to the lack of regulation of the WM component. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for the involvement of cognitive deficits in individuals with glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irritability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms frequently co-occur in youth. Although ADHD has been associated with inhibitory control deficits, the literature on irritability and inhibitory control is mixed. Examining how irritability, ADHD symptoms, and inhibitory control interrelate both cross-sectionally and longitudinally across development could shed light on common and distinct mechanisms of youth psychopathology. We utilized a cross-lagged panel model with data from 2 time points (at ages 10 and 12 years) of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 7,444, or ∼63% of the baseline sample with full data at each time point) to test cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among parent-reported irritability and ADHD symptoms and behaviorally assessed inhibitory control. This was performed separately across discovery and replication subsamples, each n = 3,722. As expected, irritability and ADHD symptoms exhibited strong cross-sectional and reciprocal cross-lagged associations. Higher ADHD symptoms at age 10 years were associated concurrently with poorer inhibitory control and predicted poorer inhibitory control at age 12. Contrary to predictions, inhibitory control was not significantly associated with irritability cross-sectionally, nor was it predictive of later irritability or ADHD symptoms. These findings highlight strong links between irritability and ADHD. Although inhibitory control deficits were linked to ADHD and predictive of its symptom course, inhibitory control had no significant associations with irritability. Future research should investigate other candidate mechanisms of the co-occurrence of irritability and ADHD symptoms and predictors of their developmental trajectories. This study investigated how irritability, ADHD symptoms, and inhibitory control interrelate both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a sample of youth from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 7,444). Results indicate that irritability and ADHD symptoms exhibit strong reciprocal predictive relationships; however, inhibitory control does not predict later irritability or ADHD, though ADHD symptoms predicted later inhibitory control deficits. These findings corroborate the predictive relations between irritability and ADHD over development and highlight the need for continued exploration of mechanisms underlying their co-occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Motivation and inhibitory control are dominantly regulated by the dopaminergic (DA) and noradrenergic (NA) systems, respectively. Hypothalamic hypocretin (orexin) neurons provide afferent inputs to DA and NA nuclei and hypocretin-1 receptors (HcrtR1) are implicated in reward and addiction. However, the role of the HcrtR1 in inhibitory control is not well understood. Objectives: To determine the effects of HcrtR1 antagonism and motivational state in inhibitory control using the go/no-go task in mice. Methods: n = 23 male C57Bl/6JArc mice were trained in a go/no-go task. Decision tree dendrogram analysis of training data identified more and less impulsive clusters of animals. A HcrtR1 antagonist (BI001, 12.5 mg/kg, per os) or vehicle were then administered 30 min before go/no-go testing, once daily for 5 days, under high (food-restricted) and low (free-feeding) motivational states in a latin-square crossover design. Compound exposure levels were assessed in a satellite group of animals. Results: HcrtR1 antagonism increased go accuracy and decreased no-go accuracy in free-feeding animals overall, whereas it decreased go accuracy and increased no-go accuracy only in more impulsive, food restricted mice. HcrtR1 antagonism also showed differential effects in premature responding, which was increased in response to the antagonist in free-feeding, less impulsive animals, and decreased in food restricted, more impulsive animals. HcrtR1 receptor occupancy by BI001 was estimated at ~ 66% during the task. Conclusions: These data indicate that hypocretin signalling plays roles in goal-directed behaviour and inhibitory control in a motivational state-dependant manner. While likely not useful in all settings, HcrtR1 antagonism may be beneficial in improving inhibitory control in impulsive subpopulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of anxiety and inhibitory control in the relationship between physical activity and Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents. A total of 951 adolescents from western China completed a self-report survey assessing physical activity, anxiety, inhibitory control, and IA. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis were conducted using SPSS software and the Process plug-in. Controlling for age, gender, and only child status, the findings revealed a negative association between physical activity and anxiety, inhibitory control, and IA. Moreover, anxiety were positively correlated with inhibitory control and IA. Additionally, anxiety exhibited a positive association with inhibitory control. Notably, physical activity directly and negatively predicted IA in adolescents, while also indirectly predicting it through anxiety and inhibitory control. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the complex effects of physical activity on IA among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive impairments affect functional capacity in individuals with schizophrenia (SZH), but their neural basis remains unclear. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Stroop Task (SCWT), are paradigmatic tests which have been used extensively for examining executive function in SZH. However, few studies have explored how deficits on these tasks link to brain volume differences commonly seen in SZH. Here, for the first time, we tested associations between FreeSurfer-derived frontal brain volumes and performance on both WCST and SCWT, in a well-matched sample of 57 SZH and 32 control subjects. We also explored whether these associations were dissociable from links to symptom severity in SZH. Results revealed correlations between volumes and task performance which were unique to SZH. In SZH only, volumes of right middle frontal regions correlated with both WCST and Stroop performance: correlation coefficients were significantly different to those present in the control group, highlighting their specificity to the patient group. In the Stroop task, superior frontal regions also showed associations with Stroop interference scores which were unique to SZH. These findings provide important detail around how deficits on these two paradigmatic executive function tasks link to brain structural differences in SZH. Results align with converging evidence suggesting that neuropathology within right middle frontal regions (BA9 and BA46) might be of particular import in SZH. No volumetric associations with symptom severity were found, supporting the notion that the structural abnormalities underpinning cognitive deficits in SZH differ from those associated with symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression and obesity are associated with impaired inhibitory control. Behavioral evidence indicates an exacerbating additive effect when both conditions co-occur. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Moreover, systemic inflammation affects neurocognitive performance in both individuals with depression and obesity. Here, we investigate additive effects of depression and obesity on neural correlates of inhibitory control, and examine inflammation as a connecting pathway. We assessed inhibitory control processing in 64 individuals with obesity and varying degrees of depressed mood by probing neural activation and connectivity during an fMRI Stroop task. Additionally, we explored associations of altered neural responses with individual differences in systemic inflammation. Data were collected as part of the BARICO (Bariatric surgery Rijnstate and Radboudumc neuroimaging and Cognition in Obesity) study. Concurrent depression and obesity were linked to increased functional connectivity between the supplementary motor area and precuneus and between the inferior occipital and inferior parietal gyrus. Exploratory analysis revealed that circulating inflammation markers, including plasma leptin, IL-6, IL-8, and CCL-3 correlated with the additive effect of depression and obesity on altered functional connectivity. The observational design limits causal inferences. Future research employing longitudinal or intervention designs is required to validate these findings and elucidate causal pathways. These findings suggest increased neural crosstalk underlying impaired inhibitory control in individuals with concurrent obesity and depressed mood. Our results support a model of an additive detrimental effect of concurrent depression and obesity on neurocognitive functioning, with a possible role of inflammation. • Depression and obesity are both associated with impaired inhibitory control. • We studied the neurocognitive effects of co-occurring obesity and depression. • Co-occurrence of both conditions was related to increased fMRI neural crosstalk. • Inflammation markers correlated with connectivity changes in depression and obesity. • Findings support a model of additive detrimental effects on inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rumination is a vulnerability for depression and potentially linked to inhibitory control weaknesses. We aimed to replicate the association observed in adults between inhibitory control and rumination in adolescents, and to examine putative moderating roles of childhood maltreatment and perceived family cohesion in an adolescent sample at risk for depression due to familial/personal history. Ninety adolescents aged 11–17 (M = 14.6, SD = 1.8) completed self-report scales of rumination, maltreatment, and family cohesion, and performed a task assessing inhibitory control. Hierarchical regression models showed no significant relation between inhibitory control and moderator variables on rumination. However, adolescents who reported higher levels of maltreatment and who perceived lower family cohesion tended to indicate higher levels of rumination (BChilhood Maltreatment = 27.52, 95% CIs [5.63, 49.41], BFamily Cohesion = -0.40, 95% CIs [-0.65, -0.15]). These findings demonstrate an alternative understanding of factors that increase depression onset risk and recurrence in adolescents. Summary Statement: This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health grants R61MH116080 and F31MH117856. S.A.L. reports financial disclosures from EPI-Q, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Development and Commercialization, Inc, and Secondary Triad, Inc, all of which are unrelated to the present work. S.A.L. is supported by National Institute of Mental Health grants (Grant Nos. MH116080, MH112705, MH120660, and MH120168). K.L.B. is supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health grant F31MH117856. All other authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Inhibitory control function and proinflammatory cytokines play a role in the pathomechanisms underlying major affective disorders and suicidal behavior. However, the distinct or interactive effects of major affective disorders and suicidal symptom severity on inhibitory control function and proinflammatory cytokines remain unclear. Methods This study included 287 patients with bipolar disorder, 344 with major depressive disorder, and 169 healthy controls. We categorized the participants into 3 groups based on Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) item 10 (suicidal symptoms) score: 0, 2 or 3, and ≥4. The participants completed the go/no-go task and the measurements for C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Results Errors in the go/no-go task were associated with suicidality (P  = .040), regardless of the severity of suicidal symptoms and diagnosis. An elevated CRP level was especially associated with a Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale item 10 score ≥4 (P  = .001). An increased TNF-α level could distinguish bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder (P  < .001). Discussion Our study indicated the distinct effects of major affective disorder diagnosis and suicide symptom severity on inhibitory control function and CRP and TNF-α levels. Importantly, individuals with the poorest inhibitory control function and highest CRP levels had more severe suicidal symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive function is important to the success of an individual. Children who have a history of being abused mentally and physically before entering a residential care home may have executive function deficits. They often face fear, stress, and a lack of interpersonal interaction, which affects their executive function. This quasi-experimental study aimed to increase children's executive function through the I AM TAP Program. This program integrates sensory and physical activities, including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Two residential care homes of young children aged 3-5 years in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Then, 36 children from each setting and 11 caregivers were selected according to the inclusion criteria. The experimental group received I AM TAP Program training twice weekly for 9 weeks, 20-30 minutes each session. The control group attended the routine activities provided in a residential care home. Executive function was assessed with the Mahidol University Executive Function-101 instrument. The data were analyzed using independent t-tests, paired t-tests, and covariance analysis. The results of this study, a testament to the effectiveness of the I AM TAP Program, revealed a significant increase in the mean scores of executive functions on 3 subscales in the experimental group. These scores not only improved from the pre-program levels but also surpassed those of the control group, as measured one week after program completion. This promising outcome suggests that the I AM TAP Program has the potential to enhance executive function in young children. Nurses can potentially apply this program to promote executive function, and caregivers can be equipped with information on how to support the children in the residential care home. However, it is crucial to conduct further testing with various groups of children in different settings before considering widespread implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased metalinguistic awareness (MLA) has been associated with improved performance in tasks of theory of mind; researchers have proposed that individuals with increased MLA, such as bilinguals, rely on metalinguistic skills when completing tasks that require taking other people’s perspective into account compared to other individuals who mostly rely on general executive control to complete the same tasks. MLA would, therefore, act as a less effortful path to understanding other perspectives, especially when they differ from one’s own. However, the evidence underlying this claim is scant and largely limited to children’s theoretical frameworks. In this study, we investigated whether individual differences in MLA predict perspective-taking Theory of Mind above and beyond inhibitory control in a sample of diverse adults across a wide range of linguistic, socioeconomic, and cognitive factors. Bootstrapped mediation analyses revealed that inhibitory control partially, but not fully, mediated the relationship between MLA and perspective-taking. In addition, when differences in language, education and culture were controlled for, the effects of both MLA and inhibitory control were reduced. Overall, the findings emphasize the need to consider multivariate approaches towards understanding the mechanisms underlying theory of mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The P300 event‐related potential (ERP) is widely investigated in cognitive neuroscience, including related to aging, with smaller amplitudes and delayed latency consistently reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given that AD‐related neurological changes begin years before symptom onset, ERPs in asymptomatic elders with AD risk may characterize early changes. ERPs are seldom studied in this population. Yet, healthy carriers of apolipoprotein‐E (APOE) ε4 have evidenced delayed P300 latencies, while P300 amplitude differences are seldom found. However, despite its frequent study, the specific cognitive processes reflected by P300 remain unclear. We propose that these challenges are due to the relatively long P300 window, which likely encompasses multiple underlying subprocesses that overlap in time. Temporal–spatial principal component analysis (tsPCA) maintains the high temporal resolution of EEG and is better suited to isolate processes that overlap in time. Thus, we interrogated APOE ε4 differences in P300 activity during successful stop‐signal inhibitory control in healthy, cognitively intact older adults (25 ε4−, 20 ε4+), using both conventional ERP metrics (i.e., mean and peak amplitude) and P300 tsPCA factors. P300 amplitudes did not differ by ε4 using conventional metrics. tsPCA revealed two P300 factors in each ε4 group: first, a Posterior P300 (attention allocation) factor, and second, a relatively Anterior P300 (performance monitoring, evaluating, and updating) factor. tsPCA uniquely revealed greater activity in ε4+ vs. ε4− in Anterior P300. ε4 groups had comparable task performance, suggesting that greater P300 activity in ε4+ likely reflects neural compensation for ε4‐related deficits, thereby enabling the maintenance of good task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Inhibitory control and drug craving are the core elements of evaluating drug withdrawal in methamphetamine addicts, which has attracted much attention in academic circles. As we all know, in order to achieve complete abstinence from drug addiction, the key is to restore the damaged inhibition and control function of drug addicts and effectively reduce the craving for drugs. OBJECTIVE: To systematically analyze the relationship between exercise and methamphetamine abstinence inhibitory control and drug craving, to find out an effective exercise intervention scheme that can promote methamphetamine abstinence, and to further explore the internal mechanism of exercise, in order to provide theoretical support and applied reference for the future use of exercise in drug withdrawal. METHODS: CNKI, WanFang, VIP, Web of Science, and PubMed databases were searched for relevant literature using the keywords of “exercise, physical activity, methamphetamine, inhibitory function, craving, addiction” in Chinese and “sport*, exercise, methamphetamine, drug craving, executive function, addiction” in English. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 86 documents were finally included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In terms of inhibitory control in methamphetamine abstinent individuals, either acute and long-term moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or acute high-intensity interval training can significantly improve the inhibitory control capacity of methamphetamine abstinent individuals. For long-term aerobic exercise, aerobic group exercise or full-body comprehensive exercise is more effective. If the exercise format is power cycling, it is recommended to increase the frequency of exercise intervention. In terms of the drug craving intensity in methamphetamine abstinent individuals, acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and resistance training, as well as long-term moderate-intensity, high-intensity, or progressive load aerobic and resistance training, can effectively reduce the drug craving in methamphetamine abstinent individuals. Exercise exerts intrinsic regulatory effects on methamphetamine-mediated addiction. Exercise can influence the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase in the brain’s ventral tegmental area, thereby stimulating the expression of dopamine receptor coupling proteins and promoting dopamine synthesis in the brain’s reward regions, thereby compensating for dopamine depletion caused by methamphetamine addiction. Furthermore, exercise can also regulate protein kinase A inhibitors, affecting the protein kinase A signaling pathway mediated by dopamine D1 receptors, by inhibiting protein kinase A, thus affecting cAMP response element-binding protein and regulating methamphetamine addiction. Additionally, exercise can also, at the genetic level, affect the expression of the c-fos gene in the brain’s nucleus accumbens region, activate a subset of glutamatergic neurons in this area, generate a rewarding effect, and thus improve methamphetamine addiction. Although current research has confirmed the relationship between exercise and methamphetamine addiction and has clarified the brain mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise, whether there are other brain regulatory pathways for the effects of exercise remains to be explored through more scientifically rigorous animal or human experiments, starting from the cellular or molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous research has identified executive functions as predictors of academic performance in school children, similar studies conducted among adults show mixed results. One of the reasons given for executive functions having a limited effect on academic achievements in adulthood is that they are usually fully developed by that time. Since these executive functions are at their peak at that age, the individual differences in these as well as their influence on academic performance in adults are harder to trace. The paper describes a study conducted among 107 university students the goal of which was to find out whether there is any relationship between the adult students' inhibitory control values measured with the Stroop Test and their academic achievements. Although the results indicate a weak correlation between the Stroop Effect and the students' academic performance of low statistical significance, which seems to confirm the outcomes of the previous studies focusing on adults, the study reveals an unexpected statistically significant correlation between the students' grade averages and the number of their incorrect color identifications. This phenomenon appears to be worth pursuing in future research since it suggests the existence of another, relatively quickly measurable, variable possibly reflecting other predictors of academic performance in adults such as a degree of their manifested conscientiousness, their ability to concentrate on an assigned, relatively short, one-off task and their attitude to fulfilling this task. The Stroop Test, despite not being originally designed for this purpose, might thus be used as a simple tool suitable for providing information about these variables via the subject's number of color identification errors. Such information can subsequently inform the activities that educators may include in their curricula to foster conscientiousness and concentration in the students lacking these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inbreeding impairs the cognitive abilities of humans, but its impact on cognition in other animals is poorly studied. For example, environmental stress (e.g. food limitation and extreme temperatures) often amplifies inbreeding depression in morphological traits, but whether cognition is similarly affected is unclear. We, therefore, tested if a higher temperature (30°C versus 26°C) during development exacerbates any difference in inhibitory control between inbred (f = 0.25) and outbred guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Inhibitory control is an aspect of cognition that is often measured in vertebrates using a detour test, in which animals have to navigate around a transparent barrier to reach a reward. We also tested if inbreeding and temperature affect 'boldness', which is a putative personality trait in guppies. Inbreeding lowered inhibitory control of guppies raised at the higher temperature but not those raised at the control temperature. Inbred fish were significantly less bold than outbred fish. In addition, males, but not females, raised at the higher temperature had significantly lower inhibitory control. There was no effect of temperature on the boldness of either sex. Our study is among the first to test if experimentally induced inbreeding impairs cognition in a non-domesticated vertebrate. We show that both inbreeding and higher temperatures during development can affect the behaviour and cognitive abilities of fish. These findings are noteworthy given the twin threats of rising global temperatures and more frequent inbreeding as habitat fragmentation reduces population sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The act of recalling memories can paradoxically lead to the forgetting of other associatedmemories, a phenomenon known as retrievalinduced forgetting (RIF). Inhibitory control mechanisms, primarily mediated by the prefrontal cortex, are thought to contribute to RIF. In this study, we examined whether stimulating the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) with transcranial direct current stimulation modulates RIF and investigated the associated electrophysiological correlates. In a randomized study, 50 participants (27 males and 23 females) received either real or sham stimulation before performing retrieval practice on target memories. After retrieval practice, a finalmemory test to assess RIF was administered. We found that stimulation selectively increased the retrieval accuracy of competing memories, thereby decreasing RIF, while the retrieval accuracy of target memories remained unchanged. The reduction in RIF was associated with a more pronounced beta desynchronization within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (left-DLPFC), in an early time window (<500 ms) after cue onset during retrieval practice. This led to a stronger beta desynchronization within the parietal cortex in a later time window, an established marker for successfulmemory retrieval. Together, our results establish the causal involvement of the mPFC in actively suppressing competing memories and demonstrate that while forgetting arises as a consequence of retrieving specific memories, these two processes are functionally independent. Our findings suggest that stimulation potentially disrupted inhibitory control processes, as evidenced by reduced RIF and stronger beta desynchronization in fronto-parietal brain regions during memory retrieval, although further research is needed to elucidate the specific mechanisms underlying this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In real-life scenarios, individuals frequently engage in tasks that involve searching for one of the distinct items stored in memory. This combined process of visual search and memory search is known as hybrid search. To date, most hybrid search studies have been restricted to average observers looking for previously well-memorized targets in blank backgrounds. Methods: We investigated the effects of context and the role of memory in hybrid search by modifying the task's memorization phase to occur in all-new single trials. In addition, we aimed to assess how individual differences in visual working memory capacity and inhibitory control influence performance during hybrid search. In an online experiment, 110 participants searched for potential targets in images with and without context. A change detection and go/no-go task were also performed to measure working memory capacity and inhibitory control, respectively. Results: We show that, in target present trials, the main hallmarks of hybrid search remain present, with a linear relationship between reaction time and visual set size and a logarithmic relationship between reaction time and memory set size. These behavioral results can be reproduced by using a simple driftdiffusion model. Finally, working memory capacity did not predict most search performance measures. Inhibitory control, when relationships were significant, could account for only a small portion of the variability in the data. Discussion: This study provides insights into the effects of context and individual differences on search efficiency and termination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurodevelopmental performance tasks are often separately analyzed, even when they tap into a similar construct. This may yield mixed findings for associations of an exposure-neurobehavioral outcome. We develop an item response theory (IRT) approach to integrate multiple task variables together to improve measurement precision of the underlying construct. We apply this approach to create an integrative measure of childhood inhibitory control, and study impacts of pre/post-natal lead exposure. Methods: Using data from a prospective cohort based in Mexico (N = 533), we created an inhibitory control scale that integrates accuracy and reaction time information from four inhibitory control tasks (Go/NoGo Letter, Go/NoGo Neutral, Go/NoGo Happy, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Color-Word Interference Test, Condition 3). Using a generalized partial credit item response theory model, we estimated an inhibitory control index for each participant. We then assessed adjusted associations between umbilical cord blood and 4-year lead and childhood inhibitory control. We developed a resampling approach to incorporate error estimates from the inhibitory control variable to confirm the consistency of the lead-inhibitory control associations. We modeled time-varying associations of lead with each inhibitory control measure separately. Results: Participants had a median age of 9 years; 51.4% were males. Umbilical cord blood [-0.06 (95% CI: -0.11, -0.01)] and 4-year lead [-0.07 (95% CI: -0.12, -0.02)] were associated with inhibitory control index at 8–10 years. A resampling approach confirmed that 4-year lead was consistently associated with childhood inhibitory control index. Umbilical cord blood and 4-year lead were each associated with 3 out of 8 measures in separate models. Conclusion: This is the first application of IRT in environmental epidemiology to create a latent variable for inhibitory control that integrates accuracy and reaction time information from multiple, related tasks. This framework can be applied to other correlated neurobehavioral assessments or other phenotype data. Key messages: We are among the first to use item response theory to create an integrative measure of childhood inhibitory control, using multiple performance-tasks to improve measurement precision and construct validity. We combined information about speed and accuracy on each inhibitory control performance-task using theory driven considerations. We developed a resampling approach using plausible value imputation to account for measurement error of inhibitory control factor scores in estimating associations between lead exposures and inhibitory control. Higher lead exposure at birth, and during preschool age, were both associated with worse childhood inhibitory control. In boys, lead exposure at birth was associated with worse childhood inhibitory control, while in girls, lead exposure during preschool age was associated with worse childhood inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe present study aims to develop and present a proof-of-concept for a stop signal task with effector-specificity and higher complexity. Sixteen participants performed a stop signal task developed for lower extremities using Fitlight System™. The effect of four different delays and two sessions on response time, stop signal reaction time and accuracy was assessed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. The reliability of outcomes was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. There was a significant main effect of delay on all outcomes and an interaction of delay and session on accuracy. The reliability of outcomes was substantial with dependency on delays. Our preliminary findings suggest the feasibility of stop signal principles within more complex movements and provide an example for the development of further tests in sports context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation parenting (AP) is a parenting construct derived from research and theory on paternal caregiving that includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit‐setting. Although components of AP have been linked to different domains of children's self‐regulation skills, comprehensive measures of AP and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. These limitations greatly constrain our understanding of the potential benefits of paternal AP for children's self‐regulation development, including the maturation of inhibitory control (IC) in early childhood. Thus, the present study tested associations between paternal AP at age 3 and growth in parent‐reported IC across ages 3–5 in a sample of low‐income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% White, 8% Latinx, 61% not Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. AP during a clean‐up task at child age 3 years, but not a teaching task, was associated with greater growth in IC across ages 3–5 years. Implications of the current findings are presented for understanding associations between paternal AP and children's IC and broader self‐regulation skills with diverse samples of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) of the basal ganglia is key to the inhibitory control of movement. Consequently, it is a primary target for the neurosurgical treatment of movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, where modulating the STN via deep brain stimulation (DBS) can release excess inhibition of thalamocortical motor circuits. However, the STN is also anatomically connected to other thalamocortical circuits, including those underlying cognitive processes like attention. Notably, STN-DBS can also affect these processes. This suggests that the STN may also contribute to the inhibition of non-motor activity and that STN-DBS may cause changes to this inhibition. Here we tested this hypothesis in humans. We used a novel, wireless outpatient method to record intracranial local field potentials (LFP) from STN DBS implants during a visual attention task (Experiment 1, n = 12). These outpatient measurements allowed the simultaneous recording of high-density EEG, which we used to derive the steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), a well established neural index of visual attentional engagement. By relating STN activity to this neural marker of attention (instead of overt behaviour), we avoided possible confounds resulting from STN's motor role. We aimed to test whether the STN contributes to the momentary inhibition of the SSVEP caused by unexpected, distracting sounds. Furthermore, we causally tested this association in a second experiment, where we modulated STN via DBS across two sessions of the task, spaced at least 1 week apart (n = 21, no sample overlap with Experiment 1). The LFP recordings in Experiment 1 showed that reductions of the SSVEP after distracting sounds were preceded by sound-related γ-frequency (>60 Hz) activity in the STN. Trial-to-trial modelling further showed that this STN activity statistically mediated the sounds' suppressive effect on the SSVEP. In Experiment 2, modulating STN activity via DBS significantly reduced these sound-related SSVEP reductions. This provides causal evidence for the role of the STN in the surprise-related inhibition of attention. These findings suggest that the human STN contributes to the inhibition of attention, a non-motor process. This supports a domain-general view of the inhibitory role of the STN. Furthermore, these findings also suggest a potential mechanism underlying some of the known cognitive side effects of STN-DBS treatment, especially on attentional processes. Finally, our newly established outpatient LFP recording technique facilitates the testing of the role of subcortical nuclei in complex cognitive tasks, alongside recordings from the rest of the brain, and in much shorter time than peri-surgical recordings. [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]

Cultural comparisons suggest that an understanding of other minds may develop sooner in independent versus interdependent settings, and vice versa for inhibitory control. From a western lens, this pattern might be considered paradoxical, since there is a robust positive relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and inhibitory control in western samples. In independent cultures, an emphasis on one's own mind offers a clear route to 'simulate' other minds, and inhibitory control may be required to set aside one's own perspective to represent the perspective of others. However, in interdependent cultures, social norms are considered the key catalyst for behaviour, and metacognitive reflection and/or suppression of one's own perspective may not be necessary. The cross‐cultural generalizability of the western developmental route to ToM is therefore questionable. The current study used an age‐matched cross‐sectional sample to contrast 56 Japanese and 56 Scottish 3–6‐year‐old's metacognition, ToM and inhibitory control skills. We replicated the expected cultural patterns for ToM (Scotland > Japan) and inhibitory control (Japan > Scotland). Supporting western developmental enrichment theories, we find that inhibitory control and metacognition predict theory of mind competence in Scotland. However, these variables cannot be used to predict Japanese ToM. This confirms that individualistic mechanisms do not capture the developmental mechanism underlying ToM in Japan, highlighting a bias in our understanding of ToM development. Research Highlights: We replicate an independent cultural advantage for theory of mind (Scotland > Japan) and interdependent advantage for inhibitory control (Japan > Scotland). From a western lens, this pattern might be considered paradoxical, since there is a robust positive relationship between theory of mind and inhibitory control. Supporting western developmental enrichment theories, we find that the development of inhibitory control mediates the link between metacognition and theory of mind in Scotland. However, this model does not predict Japanese theory of mind, highlighting an individualistic bias in our mechanistic understanding of theory of mind development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Although the relationships among acute stress, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and cognitive function have been examined, whether CRF is related to behavioral and neuroelectric indices of inhibitory control following acute stress remains unknown. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the combined influence of acute stress and CRF on inhibitory control. Participants, aged 20–30 years, were stratified into the Higher‐Fit (n = 31) and the Lower‐Fit (n = 32) groups, and completed a Stroop task following the modified Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) in the stress condition and the sham‐MAST in the non‐stress condition, during which electroencephalography was recorded. Behavioral (i.e., response time and accuracy) and neuroelectric (N2 and P3b components of the event‐related potential) outcomes of inhibitory control were obtained. While the Higher‐Fit group demonstrated shorter response times and higher accuracy than the Lower‐Fit group following both the MAST and the sham‐MAST, they also exhibited selective benefits of acute stress on inhibitory control performance (i.e., decreased response times and diminished interference scores). CRF‐dependent alterations in neuroelectric indices were also observed, with the Higher‐Fit group displaying smaller N2 and greater P3b amplitudes than the Lower‐Fit group following the sham‐MAST, and increased N2 and attenuated P3b amplitudes following the MAST. Collectively, these findings not only confirm the positive relationship between CRF and inhibitory control but also provide novel insights into the potential influence of CRF on inhibitory control and associated neuroelectric activity following acute stress. Distinct from previous research that analyzed the effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and acute stress on inhibitory control in isolation, our research innovatively examined the relationship between CRF and inhibitory control after acute stress. Our findings revealed that individuals with higher CRF not only inherently possess superior inhibitory control than those with lower CRF under non‐stress conditions but also demonstrate markedly enhanced performance after acute stress. This advancement in understanding the multifaceted relationship between CRF and inhibitory control under varying stress conditions paves the way for the development of targeted strategies to leverage CRF to optimize inhibitory control in stress‐prone environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flanker task (Eriksen & Eriksen, Perception & Psychophysics, 16(1), 143-149, 1974) has been highly influential and widely used in studies of visual attention. Its simplicity has made it popular to include it in experimental software packages and online platforms. The spacing flanker task (SFT), in which the distance between the target and flankers varies, is useful for studying the distribution of attention across space as well as inhibitory control. Use of the SFT requires that the viewing environment (e.g., stimulus size and viewing distance) be controlled, which is a challenge for online delivery. We implement and evaluate an online version of the SFT that includes two calibration pretests to provide the necessary control. Test–retest and split-half reliability of the online version was compared with a laboratory version on measures of inhibitory control and measures of the distribution of attention across space. Analyses show that the online SFT is comparable to laboratory testing on all measures. Results also identify two measures with good test–retest reliability that hold promise for studying performance in the SFT: the mean flanker effect (ICC = 0.745) and RTs on incongruent trials across distances (ICC = 0.65–0.71). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies explore the effect of cognitive stimulation programs on reading skills in children, with mixed results. However, few studies question the impact of these interventions at the beginning of primary school, during the crucial period when formal reading acquisition is being consolidated. This research is the only study in the last ten years addressing the far transfer effects on letter recognition and word and pseudoword reading, from a gamified cognitive stimulation program. The main objective of this pilot study is to investigate the impact of gamified executive functions training on letter identification, and on word and pseudoword reading, in typically developing 6-year-old children. Cognitive training was conducted using the CogniFit platform in 12 children, comparing their performance with a comparison group of 28 children of the same age and similar socioeconomic status. This training protocol lasted for 8 weeks, averaging 19 minutes of training per week. Results indicated that the experimental group showed higher reading speed in letter recognition than the comparison group. However, no significant effect was found in the rest of the reading skills. These promising findings suggest that additional research is needed to clarify the mixed results reported in the current scientific literature regarding the modulation of executive functions and their impact on untrained skills such as reading abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Adolescents may have anxiety due to a series of events such as school work and social interaction. Improper handling of anxiety often leads to some negative consequences, such as Internet addiction. Therefore, this study further explored the relationship between anxiety and Internet addiction, as well as the mediating role of inhibitory control between the two, and also considered the moderating role of physical activity between anxiety and inhibitory control. Methods A total of 1607 adolescents, comprising 664 boys and 943 girls with an average age of 15.86 years (SD = 0.73), from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, and Hunan provinces completed a self-report survey on physical activity, anxiety, inhibitory control, and Internet addiction. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and mediation test were conducted. Results The results revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety and adolescent internet addiction (r = 0.413, p

Abstract Although some studies have revealed the association between bullying victimization and internet addiction in adolescents, the mediating and moderating factors between the two need to be further discussed. This study aimed to discuss the chain mediating role of anxiety and inhibitory control between bullying victimization and internet addiction among Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven schools in five provinces of China by convenience sampling from February to March 2024. A total of 1673 participants (695 boys and 978 girls) with an average age of 15.86 ± 0.74 years were included in this study. Subjective data on bullying victimization, internet addiction, anxiety, inhibitory control were collected and analyzed, and a mediation model test was carried out. After controlling for age and gender, bullying victimization was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction (β = 0.098, p 0.05). Bullying victimization can predict internet addiction through anxiety and inhibitory control. It is suggested that guardians should provide adequate support to adolescent bullying victims in order to reduce the negative impact of bullying victimization on adolescents and prevent the occurrence of internet addiction.

Abstract While previous research has identified executive functions as predictors of academic performance in school children, similar studies conducted among adults show mixed results. One of the reasons given for executive functions having a limited effect on academic achievements in adulthood is that they are usually fully developed by that time. Since these executive functions are at their peak at that age, the individual differences in these as well as their influence on academic performance in adults are harder to trace. The paper describes a study conducted among 107 university students the goal of which was to find out whether there is any relationship between the adult students’ inhibitory control values measured with the Stroop Test and their academic achievements. Although the results indicate a weak correlation between the Stroop Effect and the students’ academic performance of low statistical significance, which seems to confirm the outcomes of the previous studies focusing on adults, the study reveals an unexpected statistically significant correlation between the students’ grade averages and the number of their incorrect color identifications. This phenomenon appears to be worth pursuing in future research since it suggests the existence of another, relatively quickly measurable, variable possibly reflecting other predictors of academic performance in adults such as a degree of their manifested conscientiousness, their ability to concentrate on an assigned, relatively short, one-off task and their attitude to fulfilling this task. The Stroop Test, despite not being originally designed for this purpose, might thus be used as a simple tool suitable for providing information about these variables via the subject’s number of color identification errors. Such information can subsequently inform the activities that educators may include in their curricula to foster conscientiousness and concentration in the students lacking these.

Abstract Background Neurodevelopmental performance tasks are often separately analyzed, even when they tap into a similar construct. This may yield mixed findings for associations of an exposure-neurobehavioral outcome. We develop an item response theory (IRT) approach to integrate multiple task variables together to improve measurement precision of the underlying construct. We apply this approach to create an integrative measure of childhood inhibitory control, and study impacts of pre/post-natal lead exposure. Methods Using data from a prospective cohort based in Mexico (N = 533), we created an inhibitory control scale that integrates accuracy and reaction time information from four inhibitory control tasks (Go/NoGo Letter, Go/NoGo Neutral, Go/NoGo Happy, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Color-Word Interference Test, Condition 3). Using a generalized partial credit item response theory model, we estimated an inhibitory control index for each participant. We then assessed adjusted associations between umbilical cord blood and 4-year lead and childhood inhibitory control. We developed a resampling approach to incorporate error estimates from the inhibitory control variable to confirm the consistency of the lead-inhibitory control associations. We modeled time-varying associations of lead with each inhibitory control measure separately. Results Participants had a median age of 9 years; 51.4% were males. Umbilical cord blood [-0.06 (95% CI: -0.11, -0.01)] and 4-year lead [-0.07 (95% CI: -0.12, -0.02)] were associated with inhibitory control index at 8–10 years. A resampling approach confirmed that 4-year lead was consistently associated with childhood inhibitory control index. Umbilical cord blood and 4-year lead were each associated with 3 out of 8 measures in separate models. Conclusion This is the first application of IRT in environmental epidemiology to create a latent variable for inhibitory control that integrates accuracy and reaction time information from multiple, related tasks. This framework can be applied to other correlated neurobehavioral assessments or other phenotype data.

The current study examines the relationships between hitters' neural activity and their in-game hitting performance. Collegiate baseball players completed a computerized video task assessing whether thrown pitches were balls or strikes while their neural activity was recorded. In addition, each player's hitting statistics were collected for the following baseball season. Results showed that neural activity during the computerized task was associated with in-game hitting performance, even after accounting for other individual difference variables. These findings indicate that players' neural activity measured in a laboratory environment shows a translational relationship with in-game hitting performance over time. Neural activity provides a more objective analysis of players' ongoing self-regulatory processes during hitting and a better understanding of the cognitive processes associated with hitting performance. Self-regulatory cognitive control is adaptable and trainable, and this research advances the measurement of cognitive variables related with in-game hitting performance in baseball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship among baseline pupil size, fixation stability, and inhibitory control were examined in this study. Participants performed a baseline eye measure in which they were instructed to stare at a fixation dot on screen for 2 min. Following the baseline eye measure, participants completed an antisaccade task to measure inhibitory control ability. We found a correlation between baseline pupil size variability and inhibitory control, as well as between fixation stability and inhibitory control. We showed that participants with better inhibitory control exhibited larger variability in pupil size, and those with better fixation stability showed superior inhibitory control ability. Overall, our results indicate that there are significant correlations between inhibitory control and baseline pupil size, as well as between inhibitory control and fixation stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice hockey is considered one of the most competitive sports, and it requires physical and mental preparation to perform appropriately under the pressure of a competitive environment. The present study aims to investigate the impact of competitive sports on executive functions such as emotion regulation, inhibitory control, working memory, and competitive attitudes among near-elite ice hockey players. Near-elite athletes have been gathered (N = 67) from the four Hungarian Ice-Hockey Academies. Our results indicated a small positive association between Canadian points and maladaptive emotion regulation and a slight positive correlation between maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation and false alarms of the N-back task. The result revealed a significant difference between National and Non-National Team members in maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation regarding hypercompetitive attitude. The result of linear regression revealed that maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation significantly predicts false alarms, indicating that the maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation explains 10% of the variance. In conclusion, we highlight the role of the environment, which affects executive functions and competitive attitudes alongside sports performance. Although the findings were mainly correlational, we can conclude that the nature of competitive ice hockey expects certain behavior for the players indifferent of the situation that could lead to emotion suppression, rumi-nation and other maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. We can also conclude that inadequate emotion regulation might be related to the overstimulation of players, characterized by a hypersensitive state to stimuli. We suggest that practitioners ensure the development of adequate competitive attitudes of players to enable long-term physical and psychological benefits.