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Bouzidi YS, Gendolla GHE. Cognitive conflict does not always mean high effort: Task difficulty's moderating effect on cardiac response. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14580. [PMID: 38615338 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
This article presents an experiment (N = 127 university students) testing whether the previously found impact of conflict primes on effort-related cardiac response is moderated by objective task difficulty. Recently, it has been shown that primed cognitive conflict increases cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) reactivity-an index of effort intensity-during the performance of relatively easy tasks. This effect could be attributed to conflict-related negative affect. Consequently, as it has been shown for other types of negative affect, we expected conflict primes' effect to be task-context dependent and thus to be moderated by objective task difficulty. In a between-persons design, we manipulated conflict via embedded pictures of conflict-related vs. non-conflict-related Stroop items in a memory task. We expected primed conflict to increase effort in a relatively easy version of the task but to lead to disengagement when task difficulty was objectively high. PEP reactivity corroborated our predictions. Rather than always increasing effort, cognitive conflict's effect on resource mobilization was context-dependent and resulted in weak responses in a difficult task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yann S Bouzidi
- FPSE, Section of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Guido H E Gendolla
- FPSE, Section of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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2
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Stuyck H, Demeyer F, Bratanov C, Cleeremans A, Van den Bussche E. Insight and non-insight problem solving: A heart rate variability study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:1462-1484. [PMID: 37688497 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231202519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Occasionally, problems are solved with a sudden Aha! moment (insight), while the mundane approach to solving problems is analytical (non-insight). At first glance, non-insight appears to depend on the availability and taxation of cognitive resources to execute the step-by-step approach, whereas insight does not, or to a lesser extent. However, this remains debated. To investigate the reliance of both solution types on cognitive resources, we assessed the involvement of the prefrontal cortex using vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) as an index. Participants (N = 68) solved 70 compound remote associates word puzzles solvable with insight and non-insight. Before, during, and after solving the word puzzles, we measured the vmHRV. Our results showed that resting-state vmHRV (trait) showed a negative association with behavioural performance for both solution types. This might reflect inter-individual differences in inhibitory control. As the solution search requires one to think of remote associations, inhibitory control might hamper rather than aid this process. Furthermore, we observed, for both solution types, a vmHRV increase from resting-state to solution search (state), lingering on in the post-task recovery period. This could mark the increase of prefrontal resources to promote an open-minded stance, essential for divergent thinking, which arguably is crucial for this task. Our findings suggest that, at a general level, both solution types share common aspects. However, a closer analysis of early and late solutions and puzzle difficulty suggested that metacognitive differentiation between insight and non-insight improved with higher trait vmHRV, and that a unique association between trait vmHRV and puzzle difficulty was present for each solution type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans Stuyck
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussel, Belgium
| | - Febe Demeyer
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Christo Bratanov
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Axel Cleeremans
- Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussel, Belgium
| | - Eva Van den Bussche
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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3
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Plain B, Pielage H, Kramer SE, Richter M, Saunders GH, Versfeld NJ, Zekveld AA, Bhuiyan TA. Combining Cardiovascular and Pupil Features Using k-Nearest Neighbor Classifiers to Assess Task Demand, Social Context, and Sentence Accuracy During Listening. Trends Hear 2024; 28:23312165241232551. [PMID: 38549351 PMCID: PMC10981225 DOI: 10.1177/23312165241232551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
In daily life, both acoustic factors and social context can affect listening effort investment. In laboratory settings, information about listening effort has been deduced from pupil and cardiovascular responses independently. The extent to which these measures can jointly predict listening-related factors is unknown. Here we combined pupil and cardiovascular features to predict acoustic and contextual aspects of speech perception. Data were collected from 29 adults (mean = 64.6 years, SD = 9.2) with hearing loss. Participants performed a speech perception task at two individualized signal-to-noise ratios (corresponding to 50% and 80% of sentences correct) and in two social contexts (the presence and absence of two observers). Seven features were extracted per trial: baseline pupil size, peak pupil dilation, mean pupil dilation, interbeat interval, blood volume pulse amplitude, pre-ejection period and pulse arrival time. These features were used to train k-nearest neighbor classifiers to predict task demand, social context and sentence accuracy. The k-fold cross validation on the group-level data revealed above-chance classification accuracies: task demand, 64.4%; social context, 78.3%; and sentence accuracy, 55.1%. However, classification accuracies diminished when the classifiers were trained and tested on data from different participants. Individually trained classifiers (one per participant) performed better than group-level classifiers: 71.7% (SD = 10.2) for task demand, 88.0% (SD = 7.5) for social context, and 60.0% (SD = 13.1) for sentence accuracy. We demonstrated that classifiers trained on group-level physiological data to predict aspects of speech perception generalized poorly to novel participants. Individually calibrated classifiers hold more promise for future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethany Plain
- Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ear & Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Snekkersten, Denmark
| | - Hidde Pielage
- Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ear & Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Snekkersten, Denmark
| | - Sophia E. Kramer
- Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ear & Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Michael Richter
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Gabrielle H. Saunders
- Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD), University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Niek J. Versfeld
- Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ear & Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Adriana A. Zekveld
- Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ear & Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Richter M, Buhiyan T, Bramsløw L, Innes-Brown H, Fiedler L, Hadley LV, Naylor G, Saunders GH, Wendt D, Whitmer WM, Zekveld AA, Kramer SE. Combining Multiple Psychophysiological Measures of Listening Effort: Challenges and Recommendations. Semin Hear 2023; 44:95-105. [PMID: 37122882 PMCID: PMC10147512 DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1767669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
About one-third of all recently published studies on listening effort have used at least one physiological measure, providing evidence of the popularity of such measures in listening effort research. However, the specific measures employed, as well as the rationales used to justify their inclusion, vary greatly between studies, leading to a literature that is fragmented and difficult to integrate. A unified approach that assesses multiple psychophysiological measures justified by a single rationale would be preferable because it would advance our understanding of listening effort. However, such an approach comes with a number of challenges, including the need to develop a clear definition of listening effort that links to specific physiological measures, customized equipment that enables the simultaneous assessment of multiple measures, awareness of problems caused by the different timescales on which the measures operate, and statistical approaches that minimize the risk of type-I error inflation. This article discusses in detail the various obstacles for combining multiple physiological measures in listening effort research and provides recommendations on how to overcome them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Richter
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lars Bramsløw
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon A/S, Snekkersten, Denmark
| | - Hamish Innes-Brown
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon A/S, Snekkersten, Denmark
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lorenz Fiedler
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon A/S, Snekkersten, Denmark
| | - Lauren V. Hadley
- Hearing Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Graham Naylor
- Hearing Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Gabrielle H. Saunders
- Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Dorothea Wendt
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon A/S, Snekkersten, Denmark
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - William M. Whitmer
- Hearing Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Adriana A. Zekveld
- Section of Ear and Hearing, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sophia E. Kramer
- Section of Ear and Hearing, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Bouzidi YS, Gendolla GHE. Is cognitive conflict really effortful? Conflict priming and shielding effects on cardiac response. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14169. [PMID: 36073767 PMCID: PMC10078432 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Two experiments with N = 221 university students investigated the impact of primed cognitive conflict on effort assessed as cardiac response in tasks that were not conflict-related themselves. Manifest cognitive conflict in cognitive control tasks is confounded with objective response difficulty (e.g., in incongruent Stroop task trials). This makes conclusions about the effortfulness of cognitive conflict itself difficult. We bypassed this problem by administrating pictures of congruent versus incongruent Stroop task stimuli as conflict primes. As predicted, primed cognitive conflict increased cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) responses in an easy attention task in Experiment 1. Accordingly, cognitive conflict itself is indeed effortful. This effect was replicated in an easy short-term memory task in Experiment 2. Moreover, as further predicted, the primed cognitive conflict effect on PEP reactivity disappeared when participants could personally choose task characteristics. This latter effect corresponds to other recent evidence showing that personal action choice shields against incidental affective influences on action execution and especially on effort-related cardiovascular response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yann S Bouzidi
- Geneva Motivation Lab, FPSE, Section of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Guido H E Gendolla
- Geneva Motivation Lab, FPSE, Section of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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6
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Stuyck H, Dalla Costa L, Cleeremans A, Van den Bussche E. Validity of the Empatica E4 wristband to estimate resting-state heart rate variability in a lab-based context. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 182:105-118. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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7
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Sympathetic involvement in time-constrained sequential foraging. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 20:730-745. [PMID: 32462432 PMCID: PMC7651516 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00799-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Appraising sequential offers relative to an unknown future opportunity and a time cost requires an optimization policy that draws on a learned estimate of an environment’s richness. Converging evidence points to a learning asymmetry, whereby estimates of this richness update with a bias toward integrating positive information. We replicate this bias in a sequential foraging (prey selection) task and probe associated activation within the sympathetic branch of the autonomic system, using trial-by-trial measures of simultaneously recorded cardiac autonomic physiology. We reveal a unique adaptive role for the sympathetic branch in learning. It was specifically associated with adaptation to a deteriorating environment: it correlated with both the rate of negative information integration in belief estimates and downward changes in moment-to-moment environmental richness, and was predictive of optimal performance on the task. The findings are consistent with a framework whereby autonomic function supports the learning demands of prey selection.
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8
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Dundon NM, Shapiro AD, Babenko V, Okafor GN, Grafton ST. Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Sympathetic Allostasis During Value-Based Ambivalence. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:615796. [PMID: 33692674 PMCID: PMC7937876 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.615796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety is characterized by low confidence in daily decisions, coupled with high levels of phenomenological stress. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays an integral role in maladaptive anxious behaviors via decreased sensitivity to threatening vs. non-threatening stimuli (fear generalization). vmPFC is also a key node in approach-avoidance decision making requiring two-dimensional integration of rewards and costs. More recently, vmPFC has been implicated as a key cortical input to the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. However, little is known about the role of this brain region in mediating rapid stress responses elicited by changes in confidence during decision making. We used an approach-avoidance task to examine the relationship between sympathetically mediated cardiac stress responses, vmPFC activity and choice behavior over long and short time-scales. To do this, we collected concurrent fMRI, EKG and impedance cardiography recordings of sympathetic drive while participants made approach-avoidance decisions about monetary rewards paired with painful electric shock stimuli. We observe first that increased sympathetic drive (shorter pre-ejection period) in states lasting minutes are associated with choices involving reduced decision ambivalence. Thus, on this slow time scale, sympathetic drive serves as a proxy for "mobilization" whereby participants are more likely to show consistent value-action mapping. In parallel, imaging analyses reveal that on shorter time scales (estimated with a trial-to-trial GLM), increased vmPFC activity, particularly during low-ambivalence decisions, is associated with decreased sympathetic state. Our findings support a role of sympathetic drive in resolving decision ambivalence across long time horizons and suggest a potential role of vmPFC in modulating this response on a moment-to-moment basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil M Dundon
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Allison D Shapiro
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Viktoriya Babenko
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Gold N Okafor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Scott T Grafton
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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9
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Abstract
Conflict-monitoring theory proposes that conflict between incompatible responses is registered by a dedicated monitoring system, and that this conflict signal triggers changes of attentional filters and adapts control processes according to the current task demands. Extending the conflict-monitoring theory, it has been suggested that conflict elicits a negative affective reaction, and that it is this affective signal that is monitored and then triggers control adaptation. This review article summarizes research on a potential signaling function of affect for cognitive control. First, we provide an overview of the conflict-monitoring theory, discuss neurophysiological and behavioral markers of monitoring and control adaptation, and introduce the affective-signaling hypothesis. In a second part, we review relevant studies that address the questions of (i) whether conflict elicits negative affect, (ii) whether negative affect is monitored, and (iii) whether affect modulates control. In sum, the reviewed literature supports the claim that conflict and errors trigger negative affect and provides some support for the claim that affect modulates control. However, studies on the monitoring of negative affect and the influence of phasic affect on control are ambiguous. On the basis of these findings, in a third part, we critically reassess the affective-signaling hypothesis, discuss relevant challenges to this account, and suggest future research strategies.
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10
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Abstract
While we are performing a demanding cognitive task, not only do we have a sense of cognitive effort, we are also subjectively aware that we are initiating, executing and controlling our thoughts and actions (i.e., sense of agency). Previous studies have shown that cognitive effort can be both detrimental and facilitative for the experienced sense of agency. We hypothesized that the reason for these contradictory findings might lie in the use of differential time windows in which cognitive effort operates. The current study therefore examined the effect of cognitive effort exerted on the current trial, on the previous trial or across a block of trials on sense of agency, using implicit (Experiment 1) and explicit (Experiment 2) measures of sense of agency. We showed that the exertion of more cognitive control on current trials led to a higher explicit sense of agency. This surprising result was contrasted to previous studies to establish potential reasons for this surprising finding and to formulate recommendations for future studies.
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11
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Berger A, Mitschke V, Dignath D, Eder A, van Steenbergen H. The face of control: Corrugator supercilii tracks aversive conflict signals in the service of adaptive cognitive control. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13524. [PMID: 31930536 PMCID: PMC7079141 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive control is the ability to monitor, evaluate, and adapt behavior in the service of long‐term goals. Recent theories have proposed that the integral negative emotions elicited by conflict are critical for the adaptive adjustment of cognitive control. However, evidence for the negative valence of conflict in cognitive control tasks mainly comes from behavioral studies that interrupted trial sequences, making it difficult to directly test the link between conflict‐induced affect and subsequent increases in cognitive control. In the present study, we therefore use online measures of valence‐sensitive electromyography (EMG) of the facial corrugator (frowning) and zygomaticus (smiling) muscles while measuring the adaptive cognitive control in a Stroop‐like task. In line with the prediction that conflict is aversive, results showed that conflict relative to non‐conflict trials led to increased activity of the corrugator muscles after correct responses, both in a flanker task (Experiment 1) and in a prime‐probe task (Experiment 2). This conflict‐induced corrugator activity effect correlated marginally with conflict‐driven increases in cognitive control in the next trial in the confound‐minimalized task used in Experiment 2. However, in the absence of performance feedback (Experiment 3), no reliable effect of conflict was observed in the facial muscle activity despite robust behavioral conflict adaptation. Taken together, our results show that facial EMG can be used as an indirect index of the temporal dynamics of conflict‐induced aversive signals and/or effortful processes in particular when performance feedback is presented, providing important new insights into the dynamic affective nature of cognitive control. Cognitive control plays a pivotal role in goal‐directed behavior. Nevertheless, it still remains elusive what mechanisms determine how cognitive control is recruited. Recent theories have proposed that negative emotions elicited by conflict help to adaptively increase the cognitive control. Although there is indeed accumulating evidence for the negative valence of conflict, no study has yet linked this directly to increased adaptive control. Using valence‐sensitive EMG measures, we here show that conflict is associated with increased activation of the corrugator (frowning) muscle and that the size of this effect predicts the size of conflict‐driven control adjustment in the next trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Berger
- Department of Psychology, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Mitschke
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - David Dignath
- Institute for Psychology, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Andreas Eder
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden University Institute of Psychology, Leiden, The Netherlands
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12
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Dignath D, Berger A, Spruit IM, van Steenbergen H. Temporal dynamics of error-related corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major activity: Evidence for implicit emotion regulation following errors. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 146:208-216. [PMID: 31648024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
According to feedback control models, errors are monitored and inform subsequent control adaptations. Despite these cognitive consequences, errors also have affective consequences. It has been suggested that errors elicit negative affect which might be functional for control adaptations. The present research is concerned with the temporal dynamics of error-related affect. Therefore, we ask how affective responses to errors change over time. Two experiments assessed performance in a Stroop-like task in combination with online measures of facial electromyography that index affective responses specific for muscles that are associated with the expression of negative (corrugator supercilii) and positive affect (zygomaticus major). After errors, corrugator activity first increased relative to correct trials but then decreased (below correct trials) for later time bins. Zygomaticus activity showed a concomitant inverse pattern following errors, such that an initial decrease was followed by a later increase relative to correct trials. Together, this biphasic response in both facial muscles suggests that early negative responses to errors turn into increasingly more positive ones over time. Error-triggered electromyography did marginally predict behavioral adjustments following errors at the inter-individual, but not at the intra-individual level, providing only limited evidence for a functional role of error-related affect for immediate changes in behavior. However, the dynamics of error-related electromyography points to the role of implicit emotion regulation during task performance. We propose that this process helps to maintain homeostasis of positive and negative affect which in the long term could facilitate adaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Iris M Spruit
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands.
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13
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van Steenbergen H, Eikemo M, Leknes S. The role of the opioid system in decision making and cognitive control: A review. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 19:435-458. [PMID: 30963411 PMCID: PMC6599188 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00710-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The opioid system regulates affective processing, including pain, pleasure, and reward. Restricting the role of this system to hedonic modulation may be an underestimation, however. Opioid receptors are distributed widely in the human brain, including the more "cognitive" regions in the frontal and parietal lobes. Nonhuman animal research points to opioid modulation of cognitive and decision-making processes. We review emerging evidence on whether acute opioid drug modulation in healthy humans can influence cognitive function, such as how we choose between actions of different values and how we control our behavior in the face of distracting information. Specifically, we review studies employing opioid agonists or antagonists together with experimental paradigms of reward-based decision making, impulsivity, executive functioning, attention, inhibition, and effort. Although this field is still in its infancy, the emerging picture suggests that the mu-opioid system can influence higher-level cognitive function via modulation of valuation, motivation, and control circuits dense in mu-opioid receptors, including orbitofrontal cortex, basal ganglia, amygdalae, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex. The framework that we put forward proposes that opioids influence decision making and cognitive control by increasing the subjective value of reward and reducing aversive arousal. We highlight potential mechanisms that might underlie the effects of mu-opioid signaling on decision making and cognitive control and provide directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henk van Steenbergen
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Marie Eikemo
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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14
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Abstract
Pupillometry research has experienced an enormous revival in the last two decades. Here we briefly review the surge of recent studies on task-evoked pupil dilation in the context of cognitive control tasks with the primary aim being to evaluate the feasibility of using pupil dilation as an index of effort exertion, rather than task demand or difficulty. Our review shows that across the three cognitive control domains of updating, switching, and inhibition, increases in task demands typically leads to increases in pupil dilation. Studies show a diverging pattern with respect to the relationship between pupil dilation and performance and we show how an effort account of pupil dilation can provide an explanation of these findings. We also discuss future directions to further corroborate this account in the context of recent theories on cognitive control and effort and their potential neurobiological substrates.
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15
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Spruit IM, Wilderjans TF, van Steenbergen H. Heart work after errors: Behavioral adjustment following error commission involves cardiac effort. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 18:375-388. [PMID: 29464553 PMCID: PMC5889424 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0576-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Posterror slowing (PES) is the observation that people respond slower on trials subsequent to error commissions than on trials subsequent to correct responses. Different accounts have been proposed to explain PES. On the one hand, it has been suggested that PES arises from an adaptive increase in cognitive control following error commission, thereby making people more cautious after making an error. On the other hand, PES has been attributed to an orienting response, indicating that attention is shifted toward the error. In the present study we tested these accounts by investigating the effects of error commission in both flanker and switch tasks on two task-evoked cardiac measures: the interbeat interval-that is, the interval between two consecutive R peaks-and the RZ interval-that is, the interval between the R peak and the Z point-as measured using electro- and impedance cardiography, respectively. These measures allowed us to measure cardiac deceleration (autonomic orienting) and cardiac effort mobilization, respectively. Our results revealed a shorter RZ interval during posterror trials, indicating increased effort mobilization following errors. In addition, we replicated earlier studies that have shown cardiac slowing during error trials. However, multilevel analyses showed that only the posterror decrease in RZ interval predicted posterror reaction times, whereas there was no positive relationship between error-related cardiac deceleration and posterror reaction times. Our results suggest that PES is related to increased cardiac effort, supporting a cognitive-control account of PES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris M Spruit
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg, 52 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tom F Wilderjans
- Research Group of Methodology and Statistics, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg, 52 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Psychological and neural mechanisms associated with effort-related cardiovascular reactivity and cognitive control: An integrative approach. Int J Psychophysiol 2017; 119:11-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Revised: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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