Attentional input gating as a mechanism of pro-active response slowing.
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1
Universiteit Gent, Experimental Psychology, Belgium
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2
Duke University, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, United States
Efficiently disregarding inappropriate actions in a changing environment is central to cognitive control. In the present study electroencephalographic recordings were acquired to investigate the neuronal mechanisms involved in halting and strategically delaying motor responses. Subjects performed two blocks of a Stop-signal task, a standard (relevant) Stop-signal block, and an irrelevant block, prompting the subject to ignore the Stop-signal. Single trial EEG analysis was used to map the relationship between the variability in reaction time and brain activity in Go-trials under these two contexts. As reaction time increased there was a distinct attenuation of the attentional N1 component elicited by the Go-stimulus in stop-relevant blocks, a feature fully absent in stop-irrelevant blocks. This disparity suggests that attentional processing is being actively shifted to control response speed and thus active input gating is a viable mechanism for pro-active control.
Lacking action restraint is a feature in a number of prominent neurological and psychiatric disorders. The current work provides important new clues that action restraint may to some extent rely on attentional input gating, which hence should be investigated in relevant clinical conditions. A better understanding could then also be used when trying to improve these functions.
Keywords:
EEG/ERP,
single trial EEG,
stop signal task,
N1,
pro-active control
Conference:
Belgian Brain Council 2014
MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Basic Neuroscience
Citation:
Langford
ZD,
Krebs
RM,
Talsma
D,
Woldorff
MG and
Boehler
CN
(2014). Attentional input gating as a mechanism of pro-active response slowing..
Conference Abstract:
Belgian Brain Council 2014
MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00046
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Received:
30 Jun 2014;
Published Online:
13 Jul 2014.
*
Correspondence:
Mr. Zachary D Langford, Universiteit Gent, Experimental Psychology, Gent, 9000, Belgium, zachary.langford@ugent.be