Handbook of Biobehavioral Approaches to Self-Regulation, 2014
ABSTRACT One important function of cognitive control is to continuously adapt the cognitive syste... more ABSTRACT One important function of cognitive control is to continuously adapt the cognitive system to changes in situational demands. This chapter discusses how affective and motivational states drive this control function as evidenced by behavior and neural trial-to-trial adaptations in experimental conflict tasks (such as the Stroop task). A theoretical framework is then described that addresses how affective signals might be instrumental in behavioral adjustments to cognitively demanding situations. The basic assumption is that demanding situations trigger a negative, aversive state. The resulting aversive affect may help to subsequently mobilize cognitive effort. Furthermore, affect introduced during demanding tasks may modulate demand-driven effort mobilization in an affect-congruent way. At the neural level, affect might regulate cognitive control via subcortical areas modulating the prefrontal cortex. The need for allocating additional cognitive control may be signaled by medial parts of the prefrontal cortex, in particular the anterior cingulate cortex. After reviewing evidence for the hedonic marking of conflict, recent findings from studies using affect-induction paradigms are discussed. Effects of short-term and sustained affect as well as stress and depression are described. Neuroimaging studies that hint at the role of fronto-striatal interactions in the affective regulation of cognitive control are also discussed. The proposed integrated account emphasizes the functional role of both positive and negative emotions in the behavioral and neural adaptation of cognitive control. This work provides new insights in the biobehavioral basis of a wide range of other phenomena where affect plays a critical role in adaptive behavior and self-regulation.
Goal-directed action presupposes the previous integration of actions and their perceptual consequ... more Goal-directed action presupposes the previous integration of actions and their perceptual consequences (action-effect binding). One function of action-effect bindings is to select actions by anticipating their consequences. Another, not yet well understood function is the prediction of action-contingent feedback. We used a probabilistic learning task and ERP analyses to compare the processing of explicit, performance-related feedback with the processing of task-irrelevant response-contingent stimuli. Replicating earlier findings, we found that negative performance feedback produced a feedback-related negativity (N(FB)), presumably related to response outcome evaluation. Interestingly, low-probability but task-irrelevant action effects elicited a signal similar to the N(FB), even though it had a shorter duration. Response delays on trials following negative feedback and following low-probability action effects were correlated with one another. These observations suggest that automatically acquired action-effect relations are exploited for anticipating upcoming events. Like task-relevant performance feedback, task-irrelevant action effects serve as a basis for action monitoring processes, presumably mediated by medial frontal cortex.
... Significant insights have been provided by the work of Wolfgang Prinz (1990) and his research... more ... Significant insights have been provided by the work of Wolfgang Prinz (1990) and his research group on the “common coding” principle. ... Eenshuistra, Weidema, & Hommel, 2004; Kray, Eenshuistra, Kerstner, Weidema, & Hommel, 2006). ...
Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control qu... more Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control quickly adapts to changing task demands. We investigated in four experiments how this behavioral congruency-sequence effect relates to different levels of perceived task difficulty in a flanker and a Stroop task. In addition, online measures of pupil diameter were used as a physiological index of effort mobilization. Consistent with motivational accounts predicting that increased levels of perceived task difficulty will increase effort mobilization only up to a certain limit, reliable dynamic conflict-driven adjustment in cognitive control was only observed when task difficulty was relatively low. Instead, tasks tentatively associated with high levels of difficulty showed no or reversed conflict adaptation. Although the effects could not be linked consistently to effects in self-reported task difficulty in all experiments, regression analyses showed associations between perceived task diff...
In a recent letter, Plant (2015) reminded us that proper calibration of our laboratory experiment... more In a recent letter, Plant (2015) reminded us that proper calibration of our laboratory experiments is important for the progress of psychological science. Therefore, carefully controlled laboratory studies are argued to be preferred over Web-based experimentation, in which timing is usually more imprecise. Here we argue that there are many situations in which the timing of Web-based experimentation is acceptable and that online experimentation provides a very useful and promising complementary toolbox to available lab-based approaches. We discuss examples in which stimulus calibration or calibration against response criteria is necessary and situations in which this is not critical. We also discuss how online labor markets, such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk, allow researchers to acquire data in more diverse populations and to test theories along more psychological dimensions. Recent methodological advances that have produced more accurate browser-based stimulus presentation are a...
The present study investigated resource allocation, as measured by pupil dilation, in tasks measu... more The present study investigated resource allocation, as measured by pupil dilation, in tasks measuring updating (2-Back task), inhibition (Stroop task) and switching (Number Switch task). Because each cognitive control component has unique characteristics, differences in patterns of resource allocation were expected. Pupil and behavioral data from 35 participants were analyzed. In the 2-Back task (requiring correct matching of current stimulus identity at trial p with the stimulus two trials back, p -2) we found that better performance (low total of errors made in the task) was positively correlated to the mean pupil dilation during correctly responding to targets. In the Stroop task, pupil dilation on incongruent trials was higher than those on congruent trials. Incongruent vs. congruent trial pupil dilation differences were positively related to reaction time differences between incongruent and congruent trials. Furthermore, on congruent Stroop trials, pupil dilation was negatively related to reaction times, presumably because more effort allocation paid off in terms of faster responses. In addition, pupil dilation on correctly-responded-to congruent trials predicted a weaker Stroop interference effect in terms of errors, probably because pupil dilation on congruent trials were diagnostic of task motivation, resulting in better performance. In the Number Switch task we found higher pupil dilation in switch as compared to non-switch trials. On the Number Switch task, pupil dilation was not related to performance. We also explored error-related pupil dilation in all tasks. The results provide new insights in the diversity of the cognitive control components in terms of resource allocation as a function of individual differences, task difficulty and error processing.
Cannabis has been suggested to impair the capacity to recognize discrepancies between expected an... more Cannabis has been suggested to impair the capacity to recognize discrepancies between expected and executed actions. However, there is a lack of conclusive evidence regarding the acute impact of cannabis on the neural correlates of error monitoring. In order to contribute to the available knowledge, we used a randomized, double-blind, between-groups design to investigate the impact of administration of a low (5.5mg THC) or high (22mg THC) dose of vaporized cannabis vs. placebo on the amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) in the context of the Flanker task, in a group of frequent cannabis users (required to use cannabis minimally 4 times a week, for at least 2 years). Subjects in the high dose group (n=18) demonstrated a significantly diminished ERN in comparison to the placebo condition (n=19), whereas a reduced Pe amplitude was observed in both the high and low dose (n=18) conditions, as compared to placebo. The results suggest that a high dose of cannabis may affect the neural correlates of both the conscious (late), as well as the initial automatic processes involved in error monitoring, while a low dose of cannabis might impact only the conscious (late) processing of errors.
Performing online behavioral research is gaining increased popularity. The QRTEngine • Does not r... more Performing online behavioral research is gaining increased popularity. The QRTEngine • Does not require specialized software or browser plugins, making it suitable for use with Amazon Mechanical Turk. • More precise presentation timing than regular JavaScript methods through the use of an HTML5 feature called " requestAnimationFrame " (rAF) to synchronize the onset of stimuli with the refresh rate of the monitor. • Can be used by researchers who are not experienced programmers (Figure 1 & 2). • Published open-source. Timing validation using external chronometry • Stimuli were presented under different CPU and RAM load conditions and durations measured by a photosensitive diode. • Across low-, medium-, and high-load conditions, a timing accuracy of the intended duration within the range of ± 1 frame deviation was present in 97 % of the trials (Table 1).
Patients with long-term remission of Cushing&... more Patients with long-term remission of Cushing's disease (CD) demonstrate residual psychological complaints. At present, it is not known how previous exposure to hypercortisolism affects psychological functioning in the long-term. Earlier magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrated abnormalities of brain structure and resting-state connectivity in patients with long-term remission of CD, but no data are available on functional alterations in the brain during the performance of emotional or cognitive tasks in these patients. We performed a cross-sectional functional MRI study, investigating brain activation during emotion processing in patients with long-term remission of CD. Processing of emotional faces versus a non-emotional control condition was examined in 21 patients and 21 matched healthy controls. Analyses focused on activation and connectivity of two a priori determined regions of interest: the amygdala and the medial prefrontal-orbitofrontal cortex (mPFC-OFC). We also assessed psychological functioning, cognitive failure, and clinical disease severity. Patients showed less mPFC activation during processing of emotional faces compared to controls, whereas no differences were found in amygdala activation. An exploratory psychophysiological interaction analysis demonstrated decreased functional coupling between the ventromedial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex (a region structurally connected to the PFC) in CD-patients. The present study is the first to show alterations in brain function and task-related functional coupling in patients with long-term remission of CD relative to matched healthy controls. These alterations may, together with abnormalities in brain structure, be related to the persisting psychological morbidity in patients with CD after long-term remission.
The role of mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), also referred to as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, in ... more The role of mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), also referred to as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, in regulating cognitive control is a topic of primary importance in cognitive neuroscience. Although many studies have shown that MCC responds to cognitive demands, lesion studies in humans are inconclusive concerning the causal role of the MCC in the adaptation to these demands. By elegantly combining single-cell recordings with behavioural methods, Sheth et al. [Sheth, S. et al. Human dorsal anterior cingulate cortex neurons mediate ongoing behavioural adaptation. Nature 488, 218-22 (2012).] recently were able to show that neurons in MCC encode cognitive demand. Importantly, this study also claimed that focal lesions of the MCC abolished behavioural adaptation to cognitive demands. Here we show that the absence of post-cingulotomy behavioural adaptation reported in this study may have been due to practice effects. We run a control condition where we tested subjects before and after a dumm...
To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively reg... more To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively regulates resource allocation. Earlier findings showed that an avoidance orientation (induced by arm extension), relative to an approach orientation (induced by arm flexion), enhanced sustained cognitive control. In avoidance conditions, performance on a cognitive control task was enhanced, as indicated by a reduced congruency effect, relative to approach conditions. Extending these findings, in the present behavioral studies we investigated dynamic adaptations in cognitive control-that is, conflict adaptation. We proposed that an avoidance state recruits more resources in response to conflicting signals, and thereby increases conflict adaptation. Conversely, in an approach state, conflict processing diminishes, which consequently weakens conflict adaptation. As predicted, approach versus avoidance arm movements affected both behavioral congruency effects and conflict adaptation: As compare...
Cognitive demands in response conflict paradigms trigger negative affect and avoidance behavior. ... more Cognitive demands in response conflict paradigms trigger negative affect and avoidance behavior. However, not all response conflict studies show increases in physiological indices of emotional arousal, such as pupil diameter. In contrast to earlier null-results, this study shows for the first time that small (about 0.02 mm) conflict-related pupil dilation can be observed in a Simon task when stimuli do not introduce a light reflex. Results show that response-conflict in Simon trials induces both pupil dilation and reaction-time costs. Moreover, sequential analyses reveal that pupil dilation mirrors the conflict-adaptation pattern observed in reaction time (RT). Although single-trial regression analyses indicated that pupil dilation is likely to reflect more than one process at the same time, in general our findings imply that pupil dilation can be used as an indirect marker of conflict processing.
Handbook of Biobehavioral Approaches to Self-Regulation, 2014
ABSTRACT One important function of cognitive control is to continuously adapt the cognitive syste... more ABSTRACT One important function of cognitive control is to continuously adapt the cognitive system to changes in situational demands. This chapter discusses how affective and motivational states drive this control function as evidenced by behavior and neural trial-to-trial adaptations in experimental conflict tasks (such as the Stroop task). A theoretical framework is then described that addresses how affective signals might be instrumental in behavioral adjustments to cognitively demanding situations. The basic assumption is that demanding situations trigger a negative, aversive state. The resulting aversive affect may help to subsequently mobilize cognitive effort. Furthermore, affect introduced during demanding tasks may modulate demand-driven effort mobilization in an affect-congruent way. At the neural level, affect might regulate cognitive control via subcortical areas modulating the prefrontal cortex. The need for allocating additional cognitive control may be signaled by medial parts of the prefrontal cortex, in particular the anterior cingulate cortex. After reviewing evidence for the hedonic marking of conflict, recent findings from studies using affect-induction paradigms are discussed. Effects of short-term and sustained affect as well as stress and depression are described. Neuroimaging studies that hint at the role of fronto-striatal interactions in the affective regulation of cognitive control are also discussed. The proposed integrated account emphasizes the functional role of both positive and negative emotions in the behavioral and neural adaptation of cognitive control. This work provides new insights in the biobehavioral basis of a wide range of other phenomena where affect plays a critical role in adaptive behavior and self-regulation.
Goal-directed action presupposes the previous integration of actions and their perceptual consequ... more Goal-directed action presupposes the previous integration of actions and their perceptual consequences (action-effect binding). One function of action-effect bindings is to select actions by anticipating their consequences. Another, not yet well understood function is the prediction of action-contingent feedback. We used a probabilistic learning task and ERP analyses to compare the processing of explicit, performance-related feedback with the processing of task-irrelevant response-contingent stimuli. Replicating earlier findings, we found that negative performance feedback produced a feedback-related negativity (N(FB)), presumably related to response outcome evaluation. Interestingly, low-probability but task-irrelevant action effects elicited a signal similar to the N(FB), even though it had a shorter duration. Response delays on trials following negative feedback and following low-probability action effects were correlated with one another. These observations suggest that automatically acquired action-effect relations are exploited for anticipating upcoming events. Like task-relevant performance feedback, task-irrelevant action effects serve as a basis for action monitoring processes, presumably mediated by medial frontal cortex.
... Significant insights have been provided by the work of Wolfgang Prinz (1990) and his research... more ... Significant insights have been provided by the work of Wolfgang Prinz (1990) and his research group on the “common coding” principle. ... Eenshuistra, Weidema, & Hommel, 2004; Kray, Eenshuistra, Kerstner, Weidema, & Hommel, 2006). ...
Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control qu... more Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control quickly adapts to changing task demands. We investigated in four experiments how this behavioral congruency-sequence effect relates to different levels of perceived task difficulty in a flanker and a Stroop task. In addition, online measures of pupil diameter were used as a physiological index of effort mobilization. Consistent with motivational accounts predicting that increased levels of perceived task difficulty will increase effort mobilization only up to a certain limit, reliable dynamic conflict-driven adjustment in cognitive control was only observed when task difficulty was relatively low. Instead, tasks tentatively associated with high levels of difficulty showed no or reversed conflict adaptation. Although the effects could not be linked consistently to effects in self-reported task difficulty in all experiments, regression analyses showed associations between perceived task diff...
In a recent letter, Plant (2015) reminded us that proper calibration of our laboratory experiment... more In a recent letter, Plant (2015) reminded us that proper calibration of our laboratory experiments is important for the progress of psychological science. Therefore, carefully controlled laboratory studies are argued to be preferred over Web-based experimentation, in which timing is usually more imprecise. Here we argue that there are many situations in which the timing of Web-based experimentation is acceptable and that online experimentation provides a very useful and promising complementary toolbox to available lab-based approaches. We discuss examples in which stimulus calibration or calibration against response criteria is necessary and situations in which this is not critical. We also discuss how online labor markets, such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk, allow researchers to acquire data in more diverse populations and to test theories along more psychological dimensions. Recent methodological advances that have produced more accurate browser-based stimulus presentation are a...
The present study investigated resource allocation, as measured by pupil dilation, in tasks measu... more The present study investigated resource allocation, as measured by pupil dilation, in tasks measuring updating (2-Back task), inhibition (Stroop task) and switching (Number Switch task). Because each cognitive control component has unique characteristics, differences in patterns of resource allocation were expected. Pupil and behavioral data from 35 participants were analyzed. In the 2-Back task (requiring correct matching of current stimulus identity at trial p with the stimulus two trials back, p -2) we found that better performance (low total of errors made in the task) was positively correlated to the mean pupil dilation during correctly responding to targets. In the Stroop task, pupil dilation on incongruent trials was higher than those on congruent trials. Incongruent vs. congruent trial pupil dilation differences were positively related to reaction time differences between incongruent and congruent trials. Furthermore, on congruent Stroop trials, pupil dilation was negatively related to reaction times, presumably because more effort allocation paid off in terms of faster responses. In addition, pupil dilation on correctly-responded-to congruent trials predicted a weaker Stroop interference effect in terms of errors, probably because pupil dilation on congruent trials were diagnostic of task motivation, resulting in better performance. In the Number Switch task we found higher pupil dilation in switch as compared to non-switch trials. On the Number Switch task, pupil dilation was not related to performance. We also explored error-related pupil dilation in all tasks. The results provide new insights in the diversity of the cognitive control components in terms of resource allocation as a function of individual differences, task difficulty and error processing.
Cannabis has been suggested to impair the capacity to recognize discrepancies between expected an... more Cannabis has been suggested to impair the capacity to recognize discrepancies between expected and executed actions. However, there is a lack of conclusive evidence regarding the acute impact of cannabis on the neural correlates of error monitoring. In order to contribute to the available knowledge, we used a randomized, double-blind, between-groups design to investigate the impact of administration of a low (5.5mg THC) or high (22mg THC) dose of vaporized cannabis vs. placebo on the amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) in the context of the Flanker task, in a group of frequent cannabis users (required to use cannabis minimally 4 times a week, for at least 2 years). Subjects in the high dose group (n=18) demonstrated a significantly diminished ERN in comparison to the placebo condition (n=19), whereas a reduced Pe amplitude was observed in both the high and low dose (n=18) conditions, as compared to placebo. The results suggest that a high dose of cannabis may affect the neural correlates of both the conscious (late), as well as the initial automatic processes involved in error monitoring, while a low dose of cannabis might impact only the conscious (late) processing of errors.
Performing online behavioral research is gaining increased popularity. The QRTEngine • Does not r... more Performing online behavioral research is gaining increased popularity. The QRTEngine • Does not require specialized software or browser plugins, making it suitable for use with Amazon Mechanical Turk. • More precise presentation timing than regular JavaScript methods through the use of an HTML5 feature called " requestAnimationFrame " (rAF) to synchronize the onset of stimuli with the refresh rate of the monitor. • Can be used by researchers who are not experienced programmers (Figure 1 & 2). • Published open-source. Timing validation using external chronometry • Stimuli were presented under different CPU and RAM load conditions and durations measured by a photosensitive diode. • Across low-, medium-, and high-load conditions, a timing accuracy of the intended duration within the range of ± 1 frame deviation was present in 97 % of the trials (Table 1).
Patients with long-term remission of Cushing&... more Patients with long-term remission of Cushing's disease (CD) demonstrate residual psychological complaints. At present, it is not known how previous exposure to hypercortisolism affects psychological functioning in the long-term. Earlier magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrated abnormalities of brain structure and resting-state connectivity in patients with long-term remission of CD, but no data are available on functional alterations in the brain during the performance of emotional or cognitive tasks in these patients. We performed a cross-sectional functional MRI study, investigating brain activation during emotion processing in patients with long-term remission of CD. Processing of emotional faces versus a non-emotional control condition was examined in 21 patients and 21 matched healthy controls. Analyses focused on activation and connectivity of two a priori determined regions of interest: the amygdala and the medial prefrontal-orbitofrontal cortex (mPFC-OFC). We also assessed psychological functioning, cognitive failure, and clinical disease severity. Patients showed less mPFC activation during processing of emotional faces compared to controls, whereas no differences were found in amygdala activation. An exploratory psychophysiological interaction analysis demonstrated decreased functional coupling between the ventromedial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex (a region structurally connected to the PFC) in CD-patients. The present study is the first to show alterations in brain function and task-related functional coupling in patients with long-term remission of CD relative to matched healthy controls. These alterations may, together with abnormalities in brain structure, be related to the persisting psychological morbidity in patients with CD after long-term remission.
The role of mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), also referred to as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, in ... more The role of mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), also referred to as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, in regulating cognitive control is a topic of primary importance in cognitive neuroscience. Although many studies have shown that MCC responds to cognitive demands, lesion studies in humans are inconclusive concerning the causal role of the MCC in the adaptation to these demands. By elegantly combining single-cell recordings with behavioural methods, Sheth et al. [Sheth, S. et al. Human dorsal anterior cingulate cortex neurons mediate ongoing behavioural adaptation. Nature 488, 218-22 (2012).] recently were able to show that neurons in MCC encode cognitive demand. Importantly, this study also claimed that focal lesions of the MCC abolished behavioural adaptation to cognitive demands. Here we show that the absence of post-cingulotomy behavioural adaptation reported in this study may have been due to practice effects. We run a control condition where we tested subjects before and after a dumm...
To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively reg... more To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively regulates resource allocation. Earlier findings showed that an avoidance orientation (induced by arm extension), relative to an approach orientation (induced by arm flexion), enhanced sustained cognitive control. In avoidance conditions, performance on a cognitive control task was enhanced, as indicated by a reduced congruency effect, relative to approach conditions. Extending these findings, in the present behavioral studies we investigated dynamic adaptations in cognitive control-that is, conflict adaptation. We proposed that an avoidance state recruits more resources in response to conflicting signals, and thereby increases conflict adaptation. Conversely, in an approach state, conflict processing diminishes, which consequently weakens conflict adaptation. As predicted, approach versus avoidance arm movements affected both behavioral congruency effects and conflict adaptation: As compare...
Cognitive demands in response conflict paradigms trigger negative affect and avoidance behavior. ... more Cognitive demands in response conflict paradigms trigger negative affect and avoidance behavior. However, not all response conflict studies show increases in physiological indices of emotional arousal, such as pupil diameter. In contrast to earlier null-results, this study shows for the first time that small (about 0.02 mm) conflict-related pupil dilation can be observed in a Simon task when stimuli do not introduce a light reflex. Results show that response-conflict in Simon trials induces both pupil dilation and reaction-time costs. Moreover, sequential analyses reveal that pupil dilation mirrors the conflict-adaptation pattern observed in reaction time (RT). Although single-trial regression analyses indicated that pupil dilation is likely to reflect more than one process at the same time, in general our findings imply that pupil dilation can be used as an indirect marker of conflict processing.
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