Functional brain correlates of response time variability in children
Abstract
During tasks requiring response inhibition, intra-individual response time variability, a measure of motor response preparation, has been found to correlate with errors of commission, such that individuals with higher variability show increased commission errors. This study used fMRI to examine the neural correlates of response variability in 30 typically developing children, ages 8-12, using a simplified Go/No-go task with minimal cognitive demands. Lower variability was associated with Go activation in the anterior cerebellum (culmen) and with No-go activation in the rostral supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the postcentral gyrus, the anterior cerebellum (culmen) and the inferior parietal lobule. For both Go and No-go events, higher variability was associated with activation in prefrontal cortex and the caudate. The findings have implications for neuropsychiatric disorders such as ADHD and suggest that during response inhibition, children with more consistent performance are able to rely on premotor circuits involving the pre-SMA, important for response selection; those with less consistent performance instead recruit prefrontal circuits involved in more complex aspects of behavioral control.
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Imaging studies in humans most consistently link response precision with abnormalities in prefrontal cortical volumes and activations.
“Imaging studies in humans most consistently link response precision with abnormalities in prefrontal cortical volumes (e.g. [54]) and activations (e.g. [55]).”
From Linking ADHD to the Neural Circuitry of Attention (2017) · cites this paper as [55]
Higher reaction time variability correlates with higher levels of frontal activation during cognitive tasks, specifically in middle frontal regions, medial frontal cortex, frontal operculum, lateral and anterior prefrontal cortex, and rostral supplementary motor area.
“A consistent trend has emerged whereby higher RTV correlates with higher levels of frontal activation during tasks [36,62,63], specifically, in the middle frontal regions [36], the medial frontal cortex, frontal operculum, lateral and anterior prefrontal cortex [63], and rostral supplementary motor area [62].”
From Reaction Time Variability in ADHD: A Review (2012) · cites this paper as [62]
Individuals with lower reaction time variability tend to show increased activation in motor areas, suggesting that reliance on more efficient networks reduces reaction time variability.
“It is interesting that individuals with lower RTV tend to display increased activation in motor areas [62], suggesting that reliance on more efficient networks, such as premotor circuitry rather than higher order cognitive networks, reduces RTV.”
From Reaction Time Variability in ADHD: A Review (2012) · cites this paper as [62]
Greater response variability is correlated with impulsive responding and self-reported inattention, which suggests it contributes to ADHD diagnostic features.
“First, increased variability in responding has been demonstrated to correlate with impulsive responding and self-report of inattention to tasks (Rommelse et al., 2007; Simmonds et al., 2007; Strandburg et al., 1996), suggesting that variability in responding is a contributing factor to expression of diagnostic characteristics of ADHD.”
From Increased intra-individual reaction time variability in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder across response inhibition tasks with different cognitive demands (2009) · cites this paper as Simmonds et al., 2007
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“One group of investigators (Bunge et al., 2002) used a Go/No-go task during fMRI and examined the correlation of commission errors with No-go associated activation, finding that better performance (fewer commission errors) correlated with activation in several areas, including premotor, parietal,…”
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- Authors
- SIMMONDS, D., FOTEDAR, S., SUSKAUER, S., PEKAR, J., DENCKLA, M., & MOSTOFSKY, S.
- Affiliations
- Kennedy Krieger Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- MOSTOFSKY, S
- Venue
- Neuropsychologia
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2147-2157
- ISSN
- 0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2005009229
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 5.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- reaction time variability, response inhibition, children, go/no-go task, anterior cerebellum, supplementary motor area, prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, response selection, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, neural correlates
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Brain, Brain Mapping, Child, Choice Behavior, Cognition, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Oxygen, Reaction Time
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