Right inferior frontal gyrus damage is associated with impaired initiation of inhibitory control, but not its implementation

Hierarchical Organization of Bilateral Prefrontal-Basal Ganglia Circuits for Response Inhibition Control

Response inhibition control is primarily supported by the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the prefrontal-basal ganglia network, though the mechanisms behind right lateralization and regional interplay remain unclear. In this fMRI study, we explore the neural substrates supporting efficient inhibition control and examine whether the typical right lateralization of IFG activation can be modulated by stimulus properties (semantic features) and inhibitory demand (reaction times, RT). We chose a Go/No-Go lexical decision task, utilizing concrete and abstract words as Go stimuli and pseudo-word as No-Go stimuli. Behavioral results reveal that inhibition is more effective during concrete word sessions compared to abstract word sessions, suggesting a modulation of cognitive inhibition by semantic features. Neuroimaging results further demonstrate that successful inhibition activates bilateral IFG, indicating a flexible right lateralization pattern of IFG activation that varies with stimulus properties. To examine how varying inhibitory demands modulate neural activation patterns, we reclassified concrete and abstract sessions into fast and slow sessions based on RT, followed by within-group comparisons. Our study highlights the crucial role of the bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) in efficient inhibition, with increased activation associated with rapid response inhibition. Furthermore, we report enhanced neural coupling between the right IFG and multiple functionally connected regions, including bilateral insula, putamen, and pallidum, as well as between the right middle frontal gyrus and other prefrontal regions during rapid inhibitory responses, whereas no engagement of the left IFG was observed in efficient inhibition. These findings imply a hierarchical functional organization of the bilateral fronto-basal ganglia circuits, in which the right prefrontal regions play a dominant role in inhibition control, supported by basal ganglia regions, while the left IFG may serve a supplementary function. Stimulus properties can modulate right lateralization, underscoring the dynamic and flexible nature of the prefrontal-basal ganglia network in inhibition control.

Parietal cortex is recruited by frontal and cingulate areas to support action monitoring and updating during stopping

Recent evidence indicates that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) may play a causal role in action stopping, potentially representing a novel neuromodulation target for inhibitory control dysfunctions. Here, we leverage intracranial recordings in human subjects to establish the timing and directionality of information flow between IPS and prefrontal and cingulate regions during action stopping. Prior to successful inhibition, information flows primarily from the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a critical inhibitory control node, to IPS. In contrast, during stopping errors the communication between IPS and IFG is lacking, and IPS is engaged by posterior cingulate cortex, an area outside of the classical inhibition network and typically associated with default mode. Anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex also display performance-dependent connectivity with IPS. Our functional connectivity results provide direct electrophysiological evidence that IPS is recruited by frontal and anterior cingulate areas to support action plan monitoring and updating, and by posterior cingulate during control failures.

Brain mechanisms underlying the inhibitory control of thought

Controlling action and thought requires the capacity to stop mental processes. Over the past two decades, evidence has grown that a domain-general inhibitory control mechanism supported by the right lateral prefrontal cortex achieves these functions. However, current views of the neural mechanisms of inhibitory control derive largely from research into the stopping of action. Whereas action stopping is a convenient empirical model, it does not invoke thought inhibition and cannot be used to identify the unique features of this process. Here, we review research that addresses how organisms stop a key process that drives thoughts: memory retrieval. This work has shown that retrieval stopping shares right dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal mechanisms with action stopping, consistent with a domain-general inhibitory control mechanism, but also recruits a distinct fronto-temporal pathway that determines the success of mental control. As part of this pathway, GABAergic inhibition within the hippocampus influences the efficacy of prefrontal control over thought. These unique elements of mental control suggest that hippocampal disinhibition is a transdiagnostic factor underlying intrusive thinking, linking the fronto-temporal control pathway to preclinical models of psychiatric disorders and fear extinction. We suggest that retrieval-stopping deficits may underlie the intrusive thinking that is common across many psychiatric disorders.

Perinatal Mother-to-Child Chikungunya Virus Infection: Screening of Cognitive and Learning Difficulties in a Follow-Up Study of the Chimere Cohort on Reunion Island

In this cohort study, we evaluated the cognitive and learning difficulties of school-age children perinatally infected with Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) on Reunion Island using the Evaluation of Cognitive Functions and Learning in Children (EDA) battery screening test compared to the healthy children cohort used for EDA development. Of the 19 infected children, 11 (57.9%) exhibited subnormal or abnormal scores, of whom 3 were classified as high risk, and 8 were classified as at risk for cognitive and learning difficulties. Children who had encephalopathy were at higher risk for displaying at least one difficulty than non-encephalopathic children (relative risk 2.13; 95% CI 1.05-4.33). The difficulties observed affected verbal functions, non-verbal functions, and learning abilities, such as phonology, lexical evocation and comprehension, graphism, selective visual attention, planning, visual-spatial reasoning, dictation and mathematics, as well as core executive functions, such as inhibitory control, shifting, and working memory. Neurocognitive dysfunctions could be linked to severe brain damage, as evidenced by severe white matter reduction mainly in the frontal lobes and corpus callosum and potentially in all functional networks involved in difficulties. These results should motivate further investigation of intellectual and adaptive functioning to diagnose intellectual deficiency and severe maladaptive behaviour in children perinatally infected with Chikungunya virus.

rTMS-induced neuroimaging changes measured with structural and functional MRI in autism

Introduction

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Despite increasing prevalence, effective therapeutic interventions remain limited. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive neuromodulation technique; however, its neural mechanisms and clinical efficacy in children with ASD require further investigation.

Methods

This study enrolled 14 children diagnosed with ASD to undergo a structured rTMS intervention. Neuroimaging data-including voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (FC)-as well as behavioral assessments were collected before and after the intervention to evaluate changes in brain structure, function, and symptomatology.

Results

Post-intervention analyses revealed significant increases in gray matter volume (GMV) in the cerebellar Vermis, Caudate nucleus, and Postcentral gyrus. Additionally, enhanced functional connectivity was observed between the Fusiform gyrus, Temporal cortex, Frontal cortex, and Precuneus. Correlation analyses indicated that these neuroimaging changes were significantly associated with improvements in behavioral scores.

Discussion

These findings suggest that rTMS may exert therapeutic effects in children with ASD by modulating cerebellar development and cognitive control networks. The observed structural and functional brain changes support the potential utility of rTMS as a neuromodulatory intervention for ASD. Further studies with larger cohorts are needed to confirm these preliminary results and elucidate the mechanisms underlying rTMS-induced symptom improvement.

Group creativity emerges from triple ideation pathways: neurobehavioral evidence from an fNIRS hyperscanning study

This study explored the origins of creative ideas in groups, validating the triple-pathway model of group creative ideation with behavioral and neuroscientific evidence. A total of 123 college student dyads completed a creative ideation task and a contrast task while their brain activity was simultaneously recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results identified three distinct ideation pathways-flexibility, persistence, and convergence-that collectively drove group creativity, accompanied by three interbrain synchrony states. STATE2, characterized by enhanced prefrontal-temporal interbrain synchrony, positively predicted group creative performance, whereas STATE3, marked by reduced frontal-parietal interbrain synchrony, negatively predicted it. Specifically, STATE2 facilitated group creativity through three mediating pathways: (1) the flexibility pathway alone, (2) combined flexibility-persistence or flexibility-convergence pathways, and (3) a sequential flexibility-persistence-convergence pathway with chain mediation effects. These findings provide neurobehavioral evidence for the triple-pathway model, underscoring the pivotal role of prefrontal-temporal interbrain synchrony in group creativity. They further demonstrate the dynamic, multi-pathway nature of group creative ideation, showing that a single cohort can flexibly employ three interchangeable pathways to generate novel ideas collaboratively.

Common and Unique Neurophysiological Processes That Support the Stopping and Revising of Actions

Inhibitory control is a crucial cognitive-control ability for behavioral flexibility, which has been extensively investigated through action-stopping tasks. Multiple neurophysiological features have been proposed as "signatures" of inhibitory control during action-stopping, though the processes indexed by these signatures are still controversially discussed. The present study aimed to disentangle these processes by comparing simple stopping situations with those in which additional action revisions were needed. Three experiments in female and male humans were performed to characterize the neurophysiological dynamics involved in action-stopping and action-changing, with hypotheses derived from recently developed two-stage "pause-then-cancel" models of inhibitory control. Both stopping and revising an action triggered an early, broad "pause"-process, marked by frontal EEG β-frequency bursting and nonselective suppression of corticospinal excitability. However, EMG showed that motor activity was only partially inhibited by this "pause" and that this activity could be modulated during action revision. In line with two-stage models of inhibitory control, subsequent frontocentral EEG activity after this initial "pause" selectively scaled depending on the required action revisions, with more activity observed for more complex revisions. This demonstrates the presence of a selective, effector-specific "retune" phase as the second process involved in action-stopping and action revision. Together, these findings show that inhibitory control is implemented over an extended period of time and in at least two phases. We are further able to align the most commonly proposed neurophysiological signatures to these phases and show that they are differentially modulated by the complexity of action revision.

Neural circuit mapping of waiting impulsivity and proactive inhibition with convergent evidence from fMRI and TMS

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Waiting and stopping are essential and distinct elements of motor response inhibition. Waiting impulsivity has been traditionally studied in humans with choice serial reaction time tasks. Proactive stopping is one form of stopping relevant to waiting impulsivity and the neural substrates underlying their interaction are not well defined.

METHODS

We conducted two separate, but hierarchical studies. In the first we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a choice reaction time task and a novel proactive stopping task, in N = 41 healthy volunteers to map the overlapping neural circuit involved in waiting impulsivity and proactive stopping. In the second study, we aimed to provide mechanistic and causal evidence that disruption of this circuit with continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS; an inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol) affected waiting impulsivity. We recruited N = 51 healthy, right-handed volunteers in a single-blind, randomized, between-subjects design who were randomly allocated to stimulation (N = 26) and sham (N = 25) groups and subsequently performed a choice reaction time task.

RESULTS

In the first study, we showed; 1. a shared neural network comprising the pre- supplementary motor area and bilateral anterior insula underlying both waiting impulsivity and proactive stopping, and 2. activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus negatively correlated with waiting impulsivity in trials with additional target onset delay. In the second study, we demonstrated that inactivation of the left inferior frontal gyrus using cTBS significantly increased waiting impulsivity in a choice reaction time task.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the relevance of task design in assessing motor response inhibition and the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus integrity and related neural circuitry in waiting impulsivity and proactive stopping. We also leverage the use of convergent evidence from multi-modal investigation tools in addressing the causal neural areas underlying distinct forms of impulsivity.

Shared Patterns of Cognitive Control Behavior and Electrophysiological Markers in Adolescence

Behavioral parameters obtained from cognitive control tasks have been linked to electrophysiological markers. Yet, most previous research has investigated only a few specific behavioral parameters at a time. An integrated approach with simultaneous consideration of multiple aspects of behavior may better elucidate the development and function of cognitive control. Here, we aimed to identify shared patterns between cognitive control behavior and electrophysiological markers using stop-signal task data and EEG recordings from an adolescent sample (n = 193, aged 11-25 years). We extracted behavioral variables covering various aspects of RT, accuracy, inhibition, and decision-making processes, as well as amplitude and latency of the ERPs N1, N2, and P3. To identify shared patterns between the two sets of variables, we employed a principal component analysis and a canonical correlation analysis. First, we replicated previously reported associations between various cognitive control behavioral parameters. Next, results from the canonical correlation analysis showed that overall good task performance was associated with fast and strong neural processing. Furthermore, the canonical correlation was affected by age, indicating that the association varies depending on age. The present study suggests that although distributional and computational methods can be applied to extract specific behavioral parameters, they might not capture specific patterns of cognitive control or electrophysiological brain activity in adolescents.

Right inferior frontal cortex and preSMA in response inhibition: An investigation based on PTC model

Response inhibition is an essential component of cognitive function. A large body of literature has used neuroimaging data to uncover the neural architecture that regulates inhibitory control in general and movement cancelation. The presupplementary motor area (preSMA) and the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) are the key nodes in the inhibitory control network. However, how these two regions contribute to response inhibition remains controversial. Based on the Pause-then-Cancel Model (PTC), this study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the functional specificity of two regions in the stopping process. The Go/No-Go task (GNGT) and the Stop Signal Task (SST) were administered to the same group of participants. We used the GNGT to dissociate the pause process and both the GNGT and the SST to investigate the inhibition mechanism. Imaging data revealed that response inhibition produced by both tasks activated the preSMA and rIFC. Furthermore, an across-participants analysis showed that increased activation in the rIFC was associated with a delay in the go response in the GNGT. In contrast, increased activation in the preSMA was associated with good inhibition efficiency via the striatum in both GNGT and SST. These behavioral and imaging findings support the PTC model of the role of rIFC and preSMA, that the former is involved in a pause process to delay motor responses, whereas the preSMA is involved in the stopping of motor responses.

Does the stop-signal P3 reflect inhibitory control?

The ability to stop already-initiated actions is paramount to adaptive behavior. In psychology and neuroscience alike, action-stopping is a popular model behavior to probe inhibitory control - the underlying cognitive control process that is purportedly vital to regulating thoughts and actions. Starting with seminal work in the 1990s, the frontocentral stop-signal P3 - an event-related potential derived from scalp EEG - has been proposed as a neurophysiological index of inhibitory control during action-stopping. However, this association has been challenged repeatedly over recent years. Here, we perform a critical review of both the evidence in support of the association between this P3 index and inhibitory control, as well as its documented criticisms. We first comprehensively review literature from the past three decades that suggested a link between stop-signal P3 and inhibitory control. Second, we then replicate the key empirical patterns reported in that body of literature in a uniquely large stop-signal task EEG dataset (N = 255). Third, we then examine the criticisms raised against the view of P3 as an index of inhibitory control and evaluate the evidence supporting these arguments. Finally, we present an updated view of the process(es) reflected in the stop-signal P3. Specifically, we propose that the stop-signal P3 indexes a specific, selective inhibitory control process that critically contributes to action-stopping. This view is motivated by recent two-stage models of inhibitory control and emerging empirical data. Together, we hope to clarify the process(es) reflected in the stop-signal P3 and resolve the ongoing debates regarding its utility as an index of inhibitory control during action-stopping.

Exploring the relationship between physical activity and Inhibitory Function in College Students with depressive symptoms through EEG

This study aims to examine the relationship between physical activity and inhibitory function in college students with depressive symptoms and to explore the role of resting EEG as a mediator in this relationship. Specifically, it analyzes how physical activity correlates with inhibitory function and identifies potential routes through which physical activity impacts inhibitory function. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 154 college students with depressive symptoms. Participants completed the Basic Information Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Physical Activity Rating Scale. Five-minute EEG signals were recorded, and participants performed behavioral tasks to assess inhibitory function. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests, χ2 tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. Significant differences were found between the adequate and inadequate physical activity groups in BDI scores and response inhibition (P < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between physical activity and the average accuracy rate on No-go tasks (r = 0.281, P < 0.001) in students with depressive symptoms. Delta and beta1 lateralization in the central, parietal, and temporal regions were significantly positively correlated with both physical activity and response inhibition (r = 0.20, r = 0.38, both P < 0.05). Both direct and mediating effects were significant, with direct effects accounting for 67.80% of the total effect (B = 0.141, 95% CI: 0.013-0.287) and mediating effects accounting for 32.20% of the total effect (B = 0.067, 95% CI: 0.029-0.136). Gender did not significantly moderate the relationship between physical activity and response inhibition (P > 0.05). There is a close relationship between physical activity, specific EEG indicators, and response inhibition. The central, parietal, and temporal regions serve as potential routes linking physical activity and response inhibition. Delta band lateralization (in the central, parietal, and temporal regions) may be the route through which physical activity influences response inhibition.

Multiple insular-prefrontal pathways underlie perception to execution during response inhibition in humans

Inhibiting prepotent responses in the face of external stop signals requires complex information processing, from perceptual to control processing. However, the cerebral circuits underlying these processes remain elusive. In this study, we used neuroimaging and brain stimulation to investigate the interplay between human brain regions during response inhibition at the whole-brain level. Magnetic resonance imaging suggested a sequential four-step processing pathway: initiating from the primary visual cortex (V1), progressing to the dorsal anterior insula (daINS), then involving two essential regions in the inferior frontal cortex (IFC), namely the ventral posterior IFC (vpIFC) and anterior IFC (aIFC), and reaching the basal ganglia (BG)/primary motor cortex (M1). A combination of ultrasound stimulation and time-resolved magnetic stimulation elucidated the causal influence of daINS on vpIFC and the unidirectional dependence of aIFC on vpIFC. These results unveil asymmetric pathways in the insular-prefrontal cortex and outline the macroscopic cerebral circuits for response inhibition: V1→daINS→vpIFC/aIFC→BG/M1.

Mendelian randomization analyses support causal relationships between systemic lupus erythematosus and brain imaging-derived phenotypes

Background

Neuropsychiatric disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) are often accompanied by alterations in brain structure and function. Subtle changes in brain structure also can be observed in non-NPSLE patients. MRI can be used as a non-invasive tool to determine nervous system involvement in SLE. However, the causal relationship between SLE and brain MRI remains unclear.

Methods

We designed two-sample MR analyses to identify brain IDPs associated with SLE. The GWAS summary data of 3,935 IDPs from the UK Biobank were used as outcomes in MR analyses.

Results

There were 25 statistically significant causal relationships between SLE and brain IDPs, in which the several cortical area, anterior corona radiata, and posterior limb of internal capsule were included. These results may suggest the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with SLE.

Conclusion

The findings revealed strong genetic evidence for causal links between SLE and neuroimaging phenotypes. Our results provide a promising method for the daily assessment and monitoring of SLE patients.

Aperiodic neural activity reflects metacontrol in task-switching

"Metacontrol" refers to the ability to find the right balance between more persistent and more flexible cognitive control styles, depending on task demands. Recent research on tasks involving response conflict regulation indicates a consistent link between aperiodic EEG activity and task conditions that demand a more or less persistent control style. In this study, we explored whether this connection between metacontrol and aperiodic activity also applies to cognitive flexibility. We examined EEG and behavioral data from two separate samples engaged in a task-switching paradigm, allowing for an internal replication of our findings. Both studies revealed that aperiodic activity significantly decreased during task switching compared to task repetition. Our results support the predictions of metacontrol theory but contradict those of traditional control theories which would have predicted the opposite pattern of results. We propose that aperiodic activity observed in EEG signals serves as a valid indicator of dynamic neuroplasticity in metacontrol, suggesting that truly adaptive metacontrol does not necessarily bias processing towards persistence in response to every control challenge, but chooses between persistence and flexibility biases depending on the nature of the challenge.

Developmental patterns of inhibition and fronto-basal-ganglia white matter organisation in healthy children and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

There is robust evidence implicating inhibitory deficits as a fundamental behavioural phenotype in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, prior studies have not directly investigated the role in which white matter properties within the fronto-basal-ganglia circuit may play in the development of inhibitory control deficits in this group. Combining recent advancements in brain-behavioural modelling, we mapped the development of stop-signal task (SST) performance and fronto-basal-ganglia maturation in a longitudinal sample of children aged 9-14 with and without ADHD. In a large sample of 135 ADHD and 138 non-ADHD children, we found that the ADHD group had poorer inhibitory control (i.e., longer stop-signal reaction times) across age compared to non-ADHD controls. When applying the novel parametric race model, this group effect was driven by higher within-subject variability (sigma) and higher number of extreme responses (tau) on stop trials. The ADHD group also displayed higher within-subject variability on correct responses to go stimuli. Moreover, we observed the ADHD group committing more task-based failures such as responding on stop trials (trigger failures) and omissions on go trials (go failures) compared to non-ADHD controls, suggesting the contribution of attentional lapses to poorer response inhibition performance. In contrast, longitudinal modelling of fixel-based analysis measures revealed no significant group differences in the maturation of fronto-basal-ganglia fibre cross-section in a subsample (74 ADHD and 73 non-ADHD children). Finally, brain-behavioural models revealed that age-related changes in fronto-basal-ganglia morphology (fibre cross-section) were significantly associated with reductions in the variability of the correct go-trial responses (sigma.true) and skew of the stop-trial distribution (tauS). However, this effect did not differ between ADHD and typically developing children. Overall, our findings support the growing consensus suggesting that attentional deficits subserve ADHD-related inhibitory dysfunction. Furthermore, we show novel evidence suggesting that while children with ADHD are consistently performing worse on the SST than their non-affected peers, they appear to have comparable rates of neurocognitive maturation across this period.

Add, subtract and multiply: Meta-analyses of brain correlates of arithmetic operations in children and adults

Mathematical operations are cognitive actions we take to calculate relations among numbers. Arithmetic operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are elemental in education. Addition is the first one taught in school and is most popular in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Division, typically taught last is least studied with fMRI. fMRI meta-analyses show that arithmetic operations activate brain areas in parietal, cingulate and insular cortices for children and adults. Critically, no meta-analysis examines concordance across brain correlates of separate arithmetic operations in children and adults. We review and examine using quantitative meta-analyses data from fMRI articles that report brain coordinates separately for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in children and adults. Results show that arithmetic operations elicit common areas of concordance in fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks in adults and children. Between operations differences are observed primarily for adults. Interestingly, higher within-group concordance, expressed in activation likelihood estimates, is found in brain areas associated with the cingulo-opercular network rather than the fronto-parietal network in children, areas also common between adults and children. Findings are discussed in relation to constructivist cognitive theory and practical directions for future research.

Common and unique neurophysiological signatures for the stopping and revising of actions reveal the temporal dynamics of inhibitory control

Inhibitory control is a crucial cognitive-control ability for behavioral flexibility that has been extensively investigated through action-stopping tasks. Multiple neurophysiological features have been proposed to represent 'signatures' of inhibitory control during action-stopping, though the processes signified by these signatures are still controversially discussed. The present study aimed to disentangle these processes by comparing simple stopping situations with those in which additional action revisions were needed. Three experiments in female and male humans were performed to characterize the neurophysiological dynamics involved in action-stopping and - changing, with hypotheses derived from recently developed two-stage 'pause-then-cancel' models of inhibitory control. Both stopping and revising an action triggered an early broad 'pause'-process, marked by frontal EEG β-bursts and non-selective suppression of corticospinal excitability. However, partial-EMG responses showed that motor activity was only partially inhibited by this 'pause', and that this activity can be further modulated during action-revision. In line with two-stage models of inhibitory control, subsequent frontocentral EEG activity after this initial 'pause' selectively scaled depending on the required action revisions, with more activity observed for more complex revisions. This demonstrates the presence of a selective, effector-specific 'retune' phase as the second process involved in action-stopping and -revision. Together, these findings show that inhibitory control is implemented over an extended period of time and in at least two phases. We are further able to align the most commonly proposed neurophysiological signatures to these phases and show that they are differentially modulated by the complexity of action-revision.

Neural Mechanisms of Inhibition in Scientific Reasoning: Insights from fNIRS

This study examines the impact of response and semantic inhibition on scientific reasoning using fNIRS data from 30 students (15 male, 15 female). Utilizing Go/Nogo and Stroop-like tasks within a modified speeded-reasoning task, it was found that inhibition significantly influences scientific reasoning. Specifically, slower responses and lower accuracy on incongruent statements were linked to increased activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). The research shows that both DLPFC and pre-SMA are associated with overcoming misconceptions in scientific reasoning. The findings suggest that understanding inhibitory mechanisms can enhance educational strategies to improve critical thinking and scientific literacy.

Attentional spatial cueing of the stop-signal affects the ability to suppress behavioural responses

The ability to adapt to the environment is linked to the possibility of inhibiting inappropriate behaviours, and this ability can be enhanced by attention. Despite this premise, the scientific literature that assesses how attention can influence inhibition is still limited. This study contributes to this topic by evaluating whether spatial and moving attentional cueing can influence inhibitory control. We employed a task in which subjects viewed a vertical bar on the screen that, from a central position, moved either left or right where two circles were positioned. Subjects were asked to respond by pressing a key when the motion of the bar was interrupted close to the circle (go signal). In about 40% of the trials, following the go signal and after a variable delay, a visual target appeared in either one of the circles, requiring response inhibition (stop signal). In most of the trials the stop signal appeared on the same side as the go signal (valid condition), while in the others, it appeared on the opposite side (invalid condition). We found that spatial and moving cueing facilitates inhibitory control in the valid condition. This facilitation was observed especially for stop signals that appeared within 250ms of the presentation of the go signal, thus suggesting an involvement of exogenous attentional orienting. This work demonstrates that spatial and moving cueing can influence inhibitory control, providing a contribution to the investigation of the relationship between spatial attention and inhibitory control.

On the (un)reliability of common behavioral and electrophysiological measures from the stop signal task: Measures of inhibition lack stability over time

Response inhibition, the intentional stopping of planned or initiated actions, is often considered a key facet of control, impulsivity, and self-regulation. The stop signal task is argued to be the purest inhibition task we have, and it is thus central to much work investigating the role of inhibition in areas like development and psychopathology. Most of this work quantifies stopping behavior by calculating the stop signal reaction time as a measure of individual stopping latency. Individual difference studies aiming to investigate why and how stopping latencies differ between people often do this under the assumption that the stop signal reaction time indexes a stable, dispositional trait. However, empirical support for this assumption is lacking, as common measures of inhibition and control tend to show low test-retest reliability and thus appear unstable over time. The reasons for this could be methodological, where low stability is driven by measurement noise, or substantive, where low stability is driven by a larger influence of state-like and situational factors. To investigate this, we characterized the split-half and test-retest reliability of a range of common behavioral and electrophysiological measures derived from the stop signal task. Across three independent studies, different measurement modalities, and a systematic review of the literature, we found a pattern of low temporal stability for inhibition measures and higher stability for measures of manifest behavior and non-inhibitory processing. This pattern could not be explained by measurement noise and low internal consistency. Consequently, response inhibition appears to have mostly state-like and situational determinants, and there is little support for the validity of conceptualizing common inhibition measures as reflecting stable traits.

Mindfulness and inhibitory control: Insights from the stop signal task with neutral and reward-associated stimuli

Mindfulness has been linked to enhanced inhibitory control, yet the dynamics of this relationship, especially in reward situations, are not well understood. Our cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationship between trait mindfulness and a performance measure of inhibitory control as a function of reward context operationalized by stimuli characteristics, and temporal inhibitory demands. Thirty-six individuals aged 19 to 41 filled out the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and performed a stop signal task (SST), that included both neutral (stone images) and reward-related (money images) stimuli. The SST encompassed four conditions: neutral go/neutral stop, neutral go/reward stop, reward go/neutral stop, and reward go/reward stop, requiring participants to suppress reactions either during or after encountering reward-related stimuli. The relevant index of inhibitory control is the stop signal reaction time (SSRT), a performance measure of inhibitory control. Our findings showed no notable variation in the relationship between the MAAS score and SSRT across the different conditions. However, there was an overall significant effect of MAAS score on SSRT, irrespective of condition. Results may reflect the benefit of mindfulness on inhibitory control after generalized reward exposure.

Response inhibition related neural oscillatory patterns show reliable early identification of bipolar from unipolar depression in a Go/No-Go task

BACKGROUND

Response inhibition is a key neurocognitive factor contributing to impulsivity in mood disorders. Here, we explored the common and differential alterations of neural circuits associated with response inhibition in bipolar disorder (BD) and unipolar disorder (UD) and whether the oscillatory signatures can be used as early biomarkers in BD.

METHODS

39 patients with BD, 36 patients with UD, 29 patients initially diagnosed with UD who later underwent diagnostic conversion to BD, and 36 healthy controls performed a Go/No-Go task during MEG scanning. We carried out time-frequency and connectivity analysis on MEG data. Further, we performed machine learning using oscillatory features as input to identify bipolar from unipolar depression at the early clinical stage.

RESULTS

Compared to healthy controls, patients had reduced rIFG-to-pre-SMA connectivity and delayed activity of rIFG. Among patients, lower beta power and higher peak frequency were observed in BD patients than in UD patients. These changes enabled accurate classification between BD and UD with an accuracy of approximately 80 %.

CONCLUSIONS

The inefficiency of the prefrontal control network is a shared mechanism in mood disorders, while the abnormal activity of rIFG is more specific to BD. Neuronal responses during response inhibition could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for BD in early stage.

A touching advantage: cross-modal stop-signals improve reactive response inhibition

The ability to inhibit an already initiated response is crucial for navigating the environment. However, it is unclear which characteristics make stop-signals more likely to be processed efficiently. In three consecutive studies, we demonstrate that stop-signal modality and location are key factors that influence reactive response inhibition. Study 1 shows that tactile stop-signals lead to better performance compared to visual stop-signals in an otherwise visual choice-reaction task. Results of Study 2 reveal that the location of the stop-signal matters. Specifically, if a visual stop-signal is presented at a different location compared to the visual go-signal, then stopping performance is enhanced. Extending these results, study 3 suggests that tactile stop-signals and location-distinct visual stop-signals retain their performance enhancing effect when visual distractors are presented at the location of the go-signal. In sum, these results confirm that stop-signal modality and location influence reactive response inhibition, even in the face of concurrent distractors. Future research may extend and generalize these findings to other cross-modal setups.

Mothers and fathers show different neural synchrony with their children during shared experiences

Parent-child shared experiences has an important influence on social development in children although contributions of mothers and fathers may differ. Neural synchronicity occurs between mothers and fathers and their children during social interactions but it is unclear whether they differ in this respect. We used data from simultaneous fNIRS hyperscanning in mothers (n = 33) and fathers (n = 29) and their children (3-4 years) to determine different patterns and strengths of neural synchronization in the frontal cortex during co-viewing of videos or free-play. Mothers showed greater synchrony with child than fathers during passive viewing of videos and the synchronization was positively associated with video complexity and negatively associated with parental stress. During play interactions, mothers showed more controlling behaviors over their child and greater evidence for joint gaze and joint imitation play with child whereas fathers spent more time gazing at other things. In addition, different aspects of child communication promoted neural synchrony between mothers and fathers and child during active play interactions. Overall, our findings indicate greater neural and behavioral synchrony between mothers than fathers and young children during passive or active shared experiences, although for both it was weakened by parental distress and child difficulty.

The role of ventral tegmental area in chronic stroke rehabilitation: an exploratory study

Introduction

The acknowledged role of external rewards in chronic stroke rehabilitation, offering positive reinforcement and motivation, has significantly contributed to patient engagement and perseverance. However, the exploration of self-reward's importance in this context remains limited. This study aims to investigate the functional connectivity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node in the brain's reward circuitry, during motor task-based rehabilitation and its correlation with the recovery process.

Methods

Twelve right-handed healthy volunteers (4 men, 8 women, aged 57.4 ± 11.3 years) and twelve chronic stroke patients (5 men, 7 women, aged 48.1 ± 11.1 years) with clinically significant right-sided motor impairment (mean FM-UE score of 27.6 ± 8.7) participated. The analysis employed the CONN toolbox to assess the association between motor tasks and VTA connectivity using psychophysiological interaction (PPI).

Results

PPI analysis revealed motor-dependent changes in VTA connectivity, particularly with regions within the motor circuitry, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex. Notably, stronger connectivity between the ipsilesional VTA and cerebellum was observed in healthy controls compared to chronic stroke patients, highlighting the importance of VTA-cerebellum interactions in motor function. Stroke patients' motor performance was associated with VTA modulation in areas related to both motor tasks and reward processing, emphasizing the role of self-reward processes in rehabilitation. Changes in VTA influence on motor circuitry were linked to improvements in motor performance resulting from rehabilitation.

Discussion

Our findings underscore the potential of neuroimaging techniques in quantifying and predicting rehabilitation outcomes by examining self-reward processes. The observed associations between VTA connectivity and motor performance in both healthy and stroke-affected individuals emphasize the role of psychological factors, particularly self-reward, in the rehabilitation process. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate interplay between reward circuits and motor function, highlighting the importance of addressing psychological dimensions in neurorehabilitation strategies.

Neural mechanisms of domain-general inhibitory control

Inhibitory control is a fundamental mechanism underlying flexible behavior and features in theories across many areas of cognitive and psychological science. However, whereas many theories implicitly or explicitly assume that inhibitory control is a domain-general process, the vast majority of neuroscientific work has hitherto focused on individual domains, such as motor, mnemonic, or attentional inhibition. Here, we attempt to close this gap by highlighting recent work that demonstrates shared neuroanatomical and neurophysiological signatures of inhibitory control across domains. We propose that the regulation of thalamocortical drive by a fronto-subthalamic mechanism operating in the β band might be a domain-general mechanism for inhibitory control in the human brain.

Subregional prefrontal cortex recruitment as a function of inhibitory demand: an fMRI metanalysis

Convergent studies corroborated the idea that the right prefrontal cortex is the crucial brain region responsible for inhibiting our actions. However, which sub-regions of the right prefrontal cortex are involved is still a matter of debate. To map the inhibitory function of the sub-regions of the right prefrontal cortex, we performed Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analyses and meta-regressions (ES-SDM) of fMRI studies exploring inhibitory control. Sixty-eight studies (1684 subjects, 912 foci) were identified and divided in three groups depending on the incremental demand. Overall, our results showed that higher was the inhibitory demand based on the individual differences in performances, more the upper portion of the right prefrontal cortex was activated to achieve a successful inhibition. Conversely, a lower demand of the inhibitory function, was associated with the inferior portions of the right prefrontal cortex recruitment. Notably, in the latter case, we also observed activation of areas associated with working memory and responsible for cognitive strategies.

No effects of 1 Hz offline TMS on performance in the stop-signal game

Stopping an already initiated action is crucial for human everyday behavior and empirical evidence points toward the prefrontal cortex playing a key role in response inhibition. Two regions that have been consistently implicated in response inhibition are the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the more superior region of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The present study investigated the effect of offline 1 Hz transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the right IFG and DLPFC on performance in a gamified stop-signal task (SSG). We hypothesized that perturbing each area would decrease performance in the SSG, albeit with a quantitative difference in the performance decrease after stimulation. After offline TMS, functional short-term reorganization is possible, and the domain-general area (i.e., the right DLPFC) might be able to compensate for the perturbation of the domain-specific area (i.e., the right IFG). Results showed that 1 Hz offline TMS over the right DLPFC and the right IFG at 110% intensity of the resting motor threshold had no effect on performance in the SSG. In fact, evidence in favor of the null hypothesis was found. One intriguing interpretation of this result is that within-network compensation was triggered, canceling out the potential TMS effects as has been suggested in recent theorizing on TMS effects, although the presented results do not unambiguously identify such compensatory mechanisms. Future studies may result in further support for this hypothesis, which is especially important when studying reactive response in complex environments.

Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis

Culture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm to compare 30 studies (719 subjects, 373 foci) that used fMRI to investigate the performance in Go-Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks of participants from Western and/or Eastern countries. Our meta-analysis found differences between the networks activated in Eastern and Western culture participants. The right prefrontal cortex showed distinct patterns, with the Inferior Frontal gyrus more active in the Eastern group and the middle and superior frontal gyri more active in the Western group. Our findings suggest that Eastern culture subjects have a higher tendency to activate brain regions involved in proactive inhibitory control, while Western culture subjects rely more on reactive inhibitory brain regions during cognitive control tasks. This implies that proactive inhibition may play a crucial role in promoting the collective and interdependent behavior typical of Eastern cultures, while reactive inhibition may be more important for efficient cognitive control in subjects of Western cultures that prioritize individualism and independence.

β-Bursts over Frontal Cortex Track the Surprise of Unexpected Events in Auditory, Visual, and Tactile Modalities

One of the fundamental ways in which the brain regulates and monitors behavior is by making predictions about the sensory environment and adjusting behavior when those expectations are violated. As such, surprise is one of the fundamental computations performed by the human brain. In recent years, it has been well established that one key aspect by which behavior is adjusted during surprise is inhibitory control of the motor system. Moreover, because surprise automatically triggers inhibitory control without much proactive influence, it can provide unique insights into largely reactive control processes. Recent years have seen tremendous interest in burst-like β frequency events in the human (and nonhuman) local field potential-especially over (p)FC-as a potential signature of inhibitory control. To date, β-bursts have only been studied in paradigms involving a substantial amount of proactive control (such as the stop-signal task). Here, we used two cross-modal oddball tasks to investigate whether surprise processing is accompanied by increases in scalp-recorded β-bursts. Indeed, we found that unexpected events in all tested sensory domains (haptic, auditory, visual) were followed by low-latency increases in β-bursting over frontal cortex. Across experiments, β-burst rates were positively correlated with estimates of surprise derived from Shannon's information theory, a type of surprise that represents the degree to which a given stimulus violates prior expectations. As such, the current work clearly implicates frontal β-bursts as a signature of surprise processing. We discuss these findings in the context of common frameworks of inhibitory and cognitive control after unexpected events.