Shared and selective neural correlates of inhibition, facilitation, and shifting processes during executive control

“Several current conceptions of executive control, broadly defined as the organization and manipulation of information in service of goal-oriented behavior, envision multiple component processes, although the parsing of components and their hierarchical organization in the human brain remains controversial (Banich, 200…”

“Anatomical regions were identified using the WFU PickAtlas tool (Maldjian et al., 2004; Maldjian et al., 2003) with a 3-dimensional dilation of 1 voxel.”

“However, the regions that met the strong criterion did not include the right inferior frontal gyrus, a region implicated in inhibition by many prior studies (Aron et al., 2004b).”

“There may be several possible types of inhibition, each of which may rely on a slightly different set of neural regions (Friedman and Miyake, 2004; Nee et al., 2007).”

“In keeping with this possibility, a homologous region in left VLPFC (BA 44) that has been implicated in selection processes also displayed activation during both inhibitory and facilitative processing (Badre et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 1997).”

“It remains to be seen how these preferential regions fit within proposed schemes of hierarchical control processes (Banich, 2009; Koechlin et al., 2003) and whether these regions show their component-specific processing in isolation or in conjunction with other regions, in other task domains, or in…”

“In other studies of attention using the global-local paradigm, the role of the ACC (BA 32) in conflict monitoring during incongruent trials has been emphasized (Weissman et al., 2003; Weissman et al., 2005; Weissman et al., 2006).”

“The strongest evidence for a shifting preferential region implicated the left IPL (BA 7), a region repeatedly implicated in studies of task-shifting (Badre and Wagner, 2006; Bode and Haynes, 2009; Forstmann et al., 2006; Leber et al., 2008; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Wager et al.,…”

“Several current conceptions of executive control, broadly defined as the organization and manipulation of information in service of goal-oriented behavior, envision multiple component processes, although the parsing of components and their hierarchical organization in the human brain remains controversial (Banich, 200…”

“In keeping with this possibility, a homologous region in left VLPFC (BA 44) that has been implicated in selection processes also displayed activation during both inhibitory and facilitative processing (Badre et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 1997).”

“Anatomical regions were identified using the WFU PickAtlas tool (Maldjian et al., 2004; Maldjian et al., 2003) with a 3-dimensional dilation of 1 voxel.”

“Several imaging studies have examined both inhibition and shifting, but have used separate task domains to measure different processes or manipulated task demands such that they become fundamentally different across processes (Barber and Carter, 2005; Brass and von Cramon, 2004; Collette et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al.,…”

“For example, a study investigating inhibition of prepotent responses (Go/No-Go task), inhibition of competing perceptual properties (Flanker task), and inhibition of stimulus-response mappings (stimulus-response compatibility task), found that although all tasks produced activation in several regions (including ACC, c…”

“That is, if neural activation mirrors behavior, as in studies of repetition priming (Henson, 2003 ), a region thought to be selectively involved in inhibitory processing should not display increased activation during facilitation conditions, as facilitation may be viewed behaviorally as an inverse…”

“, 2006), and others suggesting a unitary prefrontal-parietal network that undergirds inhibition, shifting, and other control functions (Collette and Van der Linden, 2002; Miller and Cohen, 2001; Nee et al., 2007; Wager et al., 2004).”

“…to know if brain differences reflected differences in control processes per se or instead differences in task difficulty (Barber and Carter, 2005; Brass and von Cramon, 2004; Collette et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2004; Konishi et al., 1999; Sylvester et al., 2003).”

“Neural correlates of facilitation have been rarely studied, but activation during facilitation could impose firm constraints on theoretical accounts of control processes thought to be subserved by specific brain regions (Badre et al., 2005; Carter et al., 1995; Cohen Kadosh et al., 2008; Weissman et al., 2005).”

“Inhibition may be a lower-level component process that is required to carry out the deactivation of the no-longer-relevant rule set during the higher-level process of shifting (Dreher and Berman, 2002; Robbins, 2007).”

“…to know if brain differences reflected differences in control processes per se or instead differences in task difficulty (Barber and Carter, 2005; Brass and von Cramon, 2004; Collette et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2004; Konishi et al., 1999; Sylvester et al., 2003).”

“However, the regions that met the strong criterion did not include the right inferior frontal gyrus, a region implicated in inhibition by many prior studies (Aron et al., 2004b).”

“The importance of the basal ganglia for shifting is indicated by disruption of shifting following dopaminergic depletion, striatal lesions, and in Parkinson’s disease (Cools and Robbins, 2004; Cools et al., 2009; Monchi et al., 2004; Monchi et al., 2007; Nagano-Saito et al., 2008).”

“In keeping with this possibility, a homologous region in left VLPFC (BA 44) that has been implicated in selection processes also displayed activation during both inhibitory and facilitative processing (Badre et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 2005; Thompson-Schill et al., 1997).”

“Given such complications, findings to date are mixed, with some studies supporting the separate localization of inhibition or shifting processes to particular regions (Aron et al., 2004a; Dreher and Berman, 2002; Robbins, 2007; Sylvester et al., 2003; Wager, et al., 2005; Yeung et al., 2006), and others suggesting a u…”

“The homologous region in the left VLPFC is often associated with interference resolution or selection demands (Badre and Wagner, 2007; Bode and Haynes, 2009; D’Esposito et al., 1999; Forstmann et al., 2006; Forstmann et al., 2008; Leber et al., 2008; Nelson et al., 2009; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Thomp…”

“Neural correlates of facilitation have been rarely studied, but activation during facilitation could impose firm constraints on theoretical accounts of control processes thought to be subserved by specific brain regions (Badre et al., 2005; Carter et al., 1995; Cohen Kadosh et al., 2008; Weissman et al., 2005).”

“…to know if brain differences reflected differences in control processes per se or instead differences in task difficulty (Barber and Carter, 2005; Brass and von Cramon, 2004; Collette et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2005; Derrfuss et al., 2004; Konishi et al., 1999; Sylvester et al., 2003).”

“Given such complications, findings to date are mixed, with some studies supporting the separate localization of inhibition or shifting processes to particular regions (Aron et al., 2004a; Dreher and Berman, 2002; Robbins, 2007; Sylvester et al., 2003; Wager, et al., 2005; Yeung et al., 2006), and others suggesting a u…”

“Several current conceptions of executive control, broadly defined as the organization and manipulation of information in service of goal-oriented behavior, envision multiple component processes, although the parsing of components and their hierarchical organization in the human brain remains controversial (Banich, 200…”

“The homologous region in the left VLPFC is often associated with interference resolution or selection demands (Badre and Wagner, 2007; Bode and Haynes, 2009; D’Esposito et al., 1999; Forstmann et al., 2006; Forstmann et al., 2008; Leber et al., 2008; Nelson et al., 2009; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Thomp…”

“The importance of the basal ganglia for shifting is indicated by disruption of shifting following dopaminergic depletion, striatal lesions, and in Parkinson’s disease (Cools and Robbins, 2004; Cools et al., 2009; Monchi et al., 2004; Monchi et al., 2007; Nagano-Saito et al., 2008).”

“The importance of the basal ganglia for shifting is indicated by disruption of shifting following dopaminergic depletion, striatal lesions, and in Parkinson’s disease (Cools and Robbins, 2004; Cools et al., 2009; Monchi et al., 2004; Monchi et al., 2007; Nagano-Saito et al., 2008).”

“Behavioral studies of individual differences tend to find evidence that inhibition and shifting are separate, although correlated, processes, but interpretation of the behavioral studies hinges upon the interpretation of the magnitudes of correlations across studies (Hedden and Yoon, 2006).”

“The homologous region in the left VLPFC is often associated with interference resolution or selection demands (Badre and Wagner, 2007; Bode and Haynes, 2009; D’Esposito et al., 1999; Forstmann et al., 2006; Forstmann et al., 2008; Leber et al., 2008; Nelson et al., 2009; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Thomp…”

“The strongest evidence for a shifting preferential region implicated the left IPL (BA 7), a region repeatedly implicated in studies of task-shifting (Badre and Wagner, 2006; Bode and Haynes, 2009; Forstmann et al., 2006; Leber et al., 2008; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Wager et al.,…”

“The presupplementary motor area extending into the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and regions of the middle frontal gyrus are often observed during shifting conditions, but are not observed as consistently across studies as is the left IPL region (Badre and Wagner, 2006; Bode and Haynes, 2009; Forstmann et al.…”

“In other studies of attention using the global-local paradigm, the role of the ACC (BA 32) in conflict monitoring during incongruent trials has been emphasized (Weissman et al., 2003; Weissman et al., 2005; Weissman et al., 2006).”

“Inhibition may be a lower-level component process that is required to carry out the deactivation of the no-longer-relevant rule set during the higher-level process of shifting (Dreher and Berman, 2002; Robbins, 2007).”

“The homologous region in the left VLPFC is often associated with interference resolution or selection demands (Badre and Wagner, 2007; Bode and Haynes, 2009; D’Esposito et al., 1999; Forstmann et al., 2006; Forstmann et al., 2008; Leber et al., 2008; Nelson et al., 2009; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Thomp…”

“The importance of the basal ganglia for shifting is indicated by disruption of shifting following dopaminergic depletion, striatal lesions, and in Parkinson’s disease (Cools and Robbins, 2004; Cools et al., 2009; Monchi et al., 2004; Monchi et al., 2007; Nagano-Saito et al., 2008).”

“…preferential region implicated the left IPL (BA 7), a region repeatedly implicated in studies of task-shifting (Badre and Wagner, 2006; Bode and Haynes, 2009; Forstmann et al., 2006; Leber et al., 2008; Rossi et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2006; Wager et al., 2004, 2005; Yeung et al., 2006).”

“The presupplementary motor area extending into the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and regions of the middle frontal gyrus are often observed during shifting conditions, but are not observed as consistently across studies as is the left IPL region (Badre and Wagner, 2006; Bode and Haynes, 2009; Forstmann et al.…”

“, 2004b; Robbins, 2007), although it has also been implicated in at least some forms of task-shifting (Aron et al., 2004a; Pessoa et al., 2009; Robbins, 2007).”

“However, findings regarding facilitative stimuli have rarely been reported, with some studies finding decreased activation and others reporting increased activation during facilitation (Carter et al., 1995; Cohen Kadosh et al., 2008; Weissman et al., 2005 ).”

“Laboratory assessment of set shifting We measured set shifting ability by administering a standard global / local task ( based on Hedden & Gabrieli , 2010 ) .”

“It also plays a role in mediating cortical activation in the ACC and prefrontal regions to enhance switching the focus of attention between stimulus representations (Hedden & Gabrieli, 2010).”