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Prefrontal Cortical Mechanisms Underlying Individual Differences in Cognitive Flexibility and Stability
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The pFC is critical for cognitive flexibility (i.e., our ability to flexibly adjust behavior to changing environmental demands), but also for cognitive stability (i.e., our ability to follow behavioral plans in the face of distraction). Behavioral research suggests that individuals differ in their cognitive flexibility and stability, and neurocomputational theories of working memory relate this variability to the concept of attractor stability in recurrently connected neural networks. We introduce a novel task paradigm to simultaneously assess flexible switching between task rules (cognitive flexibility) and task performance in the presence of irrelevant distractors (cognitive stability) and to furthermore assess the individual "spontaneous switching rate" in response to ambiguous stimuli to quantify the individual dispositional cognitive flexibility in a theoretically motivated way (i.e., as a proxy for attractor stability). Using fMRI in healthy human participants, a common network consisting of parietal and frontal areas was found for task switching and distractor inhibition. More flexible persons showed reduced activation and reduced functional coupling in frontal areas, including the inferior frontal junction, during task switching. Most importantly, the individual spontaneous switching rate antagonistically affected the functional coupling between inferior frontal junction and the superior frontal gyrus during task switching and distractor inhibition, respectively, indicating that individual differences in cognitive flexibility and stability are indeed related to a common prefrontal neural mechanism. We suggest that the concept of attractor stability of prefrontal working memory networks is a meaningful model for individual differences in cognitive stability versus flexibility.
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“Cortical regions within these networks most strongly implicated in cognitive flexibility are the inferior frontal junction (IFJ), involved in the updating of task rule representations (18,26)”
From Brain Mechanisms Supporting Flexible Cognition and Behavior in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [26]
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Stochastic Dynamics Underlying Cognitive Stability and Flexibility
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“However, as described earlier, the forms of flexibility involved in these earlier studies have been shown to critically involve the pFC (Hamilton & Brigman, 2015; Nikiforuk & Popik, 2014; Shiner et al., 2014; Armbruster et al., 2012; Kehagia et al., 2010; Liston et al., 2006, 2009; Birrell & Brown, 2000; Rogers et al.…”
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“1 3 Interestingly, studies on both WMC and cognitive flexibility have shown that higher capacity is generally associated with less prefrontal cortex activity during cognitive performance (Armbruster et al. 2012; Rypma et al. 2002; Rypma and D’Esposito 1999, 2000), suggesting that higher capacity enables more efficient…”
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Individual differences in resilience to stress are associated with affective flexibility
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Reinforcement learning of adaptive control strategies
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BackgroundInfluentialEffects of Dopaminergic Drugs on Cognitive Control Processes Vary by Genotype
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“The FP and SFG contribute to a range of high-level cognitive functions including relational integration (Bunge et al., 2009), subgoal monitoring and integration during working memory (Braver and Bongiolatti, 2002), task switching (Armbruster et al., 2012) and inhibitory control (Li et al., 2006).”
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Fuentes‐Claramonte, P., Ávila, C., Rodríguez‐Pujadas, A., Ventura‐Campos, N., Bustamante, J. C., Costumero, V., Rosell‐Negre, P., & Barrós‐Loscertales, A. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0123073 · Cited by 23
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“AC C EP TE D M AN U SC R IP T Similar to the perceptual domain, there is also considerable individual variability in tasks that require cognitive flexibility (e.g., Stelzel, 2010; Herd et al., 2014; Armbruster et al., 2012; Braver et al., 2012).”
Resting-state BOLD signal variability is associated with individual differences in metacontrol
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“…resistance = Ndistractor (correct) − Ndistractor (incorrect) Ndistractor (correct + incorrect choices) ÷ success rateongoing According to the human test version (Armbruster et al., 2012), the probability of spontaneously switching under ambiguous conditions without external cues was also assessed.”
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Mogadam, A., Keller, A. E., Taylor, M. J., Lerch, J. P., Anagnostou, E. A., & Pang, E. W. (2017) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2017.10.001 · Cited by 22
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Flexibility as a matter of context, effort, and ability: evidence from the task-switching paradigm
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Do tasks matter in task switching? Dissociating domain-general from context-specific brain activity
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“At the same time, it is quite noteworthy that Armbruster et al. (2012) found a very similar area in the left superior frontal cortex to exhibit differential coupling with the left IFJ under a condition of cognitive flexibility, comparedwith a condition of cognitive stability.”
Jang, C., Knight, E. Q., Pae, C., Park, B., Yoon, S.-A., & Park, H. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep41414 · Cited by 20
“The results of the current study can be summarized as follows: (1) greater inter-individual functional connectivity variability exists within high level cognitive regions compared to sensory brain regions, (2) deviations from structural connectivity contributes to inter-individual variability, (3) inter-modular connec…”
BackgroundCognitive control deficits in pediatric frontal lobe epilepsy
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“It is closely related to cognitive fl exibility [21], broadly de fi ned as the ability to fl exibly adjust behavior to the demands of a changing environment [22].”
BackgroundRohr, C. S., Kamal, S., & Bray, S. (2019) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100747 · Cited by 22
Rohr, C. S., Bray, S., & Dewey, D. (2021) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579421001449 · Cited by 21
“one can switch from one task or mindset to another (4, 19, 20).”
BackgroundTesta, G., Mora‐Maltas, B., Camacho‐Barcia, L., Granero, R., Lucas, I., Agüera, Z., Jiménez‐Múrcia, S., Baños, R., Bertaina‐Anglade, V., Botella, C., et al. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13124426 · Cited by 20
“, attentional set-shifting and task-shifting) [21,22].”
Regional Striatal Cholinergic Involvement in Human Behavioral Flexibility
Bell, T., Lindner, M., Langdon, A., Mullins, P. G., & Christakou, A. (2019) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2110-18.2019 · Cited by 19
Frontostriatal contribution to the interplay of flexibility and stability in serial prediction
Trempler, I., Schiffer, A.-M., El-Sourani, N., Ahlheim, C., Fink, G. R., & Schubotz, R. I. (2017) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01040 · Cited by 18
Wackerhagen, C., Veer, I. M., van Leeuwen, J. M. C., Reppmann, Z. C., Riepenhausen, A., Bögemann, S. A., Mor, N., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Uściƚko, A., Zerban, M., et al. (2022) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/39817 · Cited by 19
“Furthermore, a computer-based paradigm, the Stab/Flex task [53,54], was administered to assess cognitive flexibility (refer to section 1 and Figure S1 in Multimedia Appendix 2).”
BackgroundMethodYi, Z.-X., Wei, L., Xu, L., Pang, W., & Liu, Y. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02755-4 · Cited by 22
“As one of the three core EF components [32, 33], cognitive flexibility defined as the ability to adapt behavior appropriately to changing environmental demands [34, 35], it shows significant positive associations with various physical activity modalities ( P 0.05) [36].”
InfluentialDell’Osso, L., Nardi, B., Bonelli, C., Amatori, G., Pereyra, M. A., Massimetti, E., Cremone, I. M., Pini, S., & Carpita, B. (2024) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci14010064 · Cited by 19
“In general, cognitive fl exibility is capacity to adapt behavior to the requirements of a changing environment detail, to focus set shifting and task shifting tests [81,82].”
BackgroundMogadam, A., Keller, A. E., Arnold, P. D., Schachar, R. J., Lerch, J. P., Anagnostou, E. A., & Pang, E. W. (2019) · Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1186/s11689-019-9280-2 · Cited by 20
Abdollahipour, R., Land, W. M., Valtr, L., Banátová, K., & Janura, M. (2022) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2022.2098356 · Cited by 20
“…& Cohen, 2021; Papadopetraki et al., 2019; Siqi-Liu & Egner, 2020), cognitive fl exibility is responsible for responding to environmental changes and updating goals by switching attention from one task-set to another (Armbruster-Genç et al., 2012; Banich et al., 2009; Siqi-Liu & Egner, 2020).”
BackgroundExamining Event-Related Potential (ERP) Correlates of Decision Bias in Recognition Memory Judgments
Hill, H., & Windmann, S. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106411 · Cited by 15
To stay or not to stay: The stability of choice perseveration in value-based decision making
Senftleben, U., Schoemann, M., Rudolf, M., & Scherbaum, S. (2020) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/1747021820964330 · Cited by 16
“…attentional set shifting, where the stimulus category stays the same (e.g., always digits instead of letters and digits), but participants have to switch between tasks (e.g., classifying a number as even or odd, and classifying a number as smaller or larger than 5) (e.g., Armbruster et al., 2012).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialControl dilemma: Evidence of the stability–flexibility trade-off
Qiao, L., Zhang, L., & Chen, A. (2023) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.07.002 · Cited by 16
Chen, H.-Y., Parent, J. H., Ciampa, C. J., Dahl, M. J., Hämmerer, D., Maaß, A., Winer, J. R., Yakupov, R., Inglis, B. A., Betts, M. J., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1236335 · Cited by 14
“Notably, associations with executive function captured LC contributions to both cognitive flexibility, which supports shifting between task sets, and cognitive stability, which supports set maintenance, distractor suppression, and inhibition (Armbruster et al., 2012).”
BackgroundCardiac defense reactivity and cognitive flexibility in high‐ and low‐resilience women
Otero, J., Muñoz, M. A., Fernández‐Santaella, M. C., Verdejo‐García, A., & Sánchez-Barrera, M. B. (2020) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13656 · Cited by 12
Steinberg, S. N., Malins, J. G., Liu, J., & King, T. Z. (2022) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108280 · Cited by 12
Internal consistency and test–retest reliability of an affective task-switching paradigm.
Eckart, C., Kraft, D., & Fiebach, C. J. (2021) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000972 · Cited by 16
Self-citationTaylor, M. J., Urbain, C. M., & Pang, E. E. W. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-00087-5 · Cited by 14
Standke, I., Trempler, I., Dannlowski, U., Schubotz, R. I., & Lencer, R. (2021) · NeuroImage: Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102855 · Cited by 11
“Flexibility and stability of prediction thus share some processes, while they differ in others (Hedden and Gabrieli, 2015; Armbruster et al. 2012).”
ResultBarnes, G. L., Ozsivadjian, A., Baird, G., Absoud, M., & Hollocks, M. J. (2025) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-024-06246-0 · Cited by 12
Psychiatric Illnesses as Disorders of Network Dynamics
Durstewitz, D., Huys, Q. J. M., & Koppe, G. (2020) · Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.01.001 · Cited by 84
“868 Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging S observed deficits in both working memory and cognitive flexibility (27,35,36).”
Brunet, V., Lafond, T., Kleiber, A., Lansade, L., Calandreau, L., & Colson, V. (2023) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1184296 · Cited by 13
“Behavioral flexibility is the ability of an individual to adjust its behavior according to changes in the external or internal environment (7).”
BackgroundTaylor, C. M., Furman, D. J., Berry, A. S., White, R. L., Jagust, W. J., D’Esposito, M., & Jacobs, E. G. (2023) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad134 · Cited by 12
Xu, H., Zhang, X., & Bai, G. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm11092484 · Cited by 11
van Holk, M., & Mejías, J. F. (2024) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101351 · Cited by 14
“…to an individual’s capacity to effectively adjust their thoughts and actions in response to shifting or unfamiliar environmental requirements [1,2], allowing our brains to perform context-dependent computations, quickly adapt our behavior, and make correct decisions in uncertain environments.”
BackgroundChuikova, Z. V., Filatov, A. A., Faber, A. Y., & Arsalidou, M. (2024) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-024-00921-7 · Cited by 13
“…from task switching were not distributed by types of switching due to mixed types of switching (Cubillo et al., 2019; DiGirolamo et al., 2001; Armbruster et al., 2012; Yeung et al., 2006; Jamadar et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2012b; Sohn et al., 2000).**Six articles included data for two types…”
Soga, K., Kamijo, K., & Masaki, H. (2016) · The Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine · doi:10.7600/jpfsm.5.57 · Cited by 13
Threat-dependent scaling of prelimbic dynamics to enhance fear representation
Casanova, J. P., Pouget, C., Treiber, N., Agarwal, I., Brimble, M. A., & Vetere, G. (2024) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.029 · Cited by 12
Spontaneous discovery of novel task solutions in children
Schuck, N. W., Li, A. X., Wenke, D., Ay-Bryson, D. S., Löwe, A. T., Gaschler, R., & Shing, Y. L. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0266253 · Cited by 10
“In line with this idea it has been found that depth of the attractor state, as indexed by functional coupling between prefrontal areas, is related to how readily individuals switch from one task state to another in the light of ambiguous task cues [45].”
BackgroundZhang, K., Fan, Z., Wang, Y., Faraone, S. V., Yang, L., & Chang, S. (2017) · The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/15622975.2017.1386324 · Cited by 13
“Cognitive flexibility, as one of main components of executive function, is the ability to regulate behaviour to the demands of a changing environment (Armbruster et al. 2012).”
BackgroundWaegeman, A., Declerck, C. H., & Boone, C. (2014) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2014.519218 · Cited by 10
Does cognitive control have a general stability/flexibility tradeoff problem?
Mayr, U., & Grätz, D. (2024) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101389 · Cited by 11
Hagan, K. E., Lloyd, E. C., & Gorrell, S. (2025) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.70029 · Cited by 9
“However, it may also move between (cognitive flexibility) (Armbruster, Ueltzh € offer, Basten, & Fiebach, 2012).”
Ciobanu, A., Shibata, K., Ali, L., Rioja, K., Andersen, . K., Bavelier, D., & Bediou, B. (2023) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-022-01055-3 · Cited by 10
“This pattern of reduced activation is also observed in individuals with high cognitive flexibility (Armbruster et al., 2012) and with repeated practice or performance improvements (Beauchamp et al.”
BackgroundKubo, H., Setoyama, D., Watabe, M., Ohgidani, M., Hayakawa, K., Kuwano, N., Sato‐Kasai, M., Katsuki, R., Kanba, S., Kang, D., et al. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75115-4 · Cited by 9
Metadata
- Authors
- Armbruster, D. J. N., Ueltzhöffer, K., Basten, U., & Fiebach, C. J.
- Affiliations
- 1Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Venue
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Published
- 2012-12-01
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2385-2399
- ISSN
- 0898-929X (ISSN-L)
- 1530-8898
- OpenAlex
- W2139146306
- Cited by
- 202
- References
- 86
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FI 848/3-1, DFG FI 848/3-1)
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01GQ1003A)
- Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- cognitive flexibility, cognitive stability, individual differences, prefrontal cortex, task switching, distractor inhibition, attractor stability, working memory, inferior frontal junction, superior frontal gyrus, functional coupling, recurrent neural networks, neurocomputational model
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Cognition, Cues, Female, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Individuality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult
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