All competition is not alike: neural mechanisms for resolving underdetermined and prepotent competition
Open accessAbstract
People must constantly select among potential thoughts and actions in the face of competition from (a) multiple task-relevant options (underdetermined competition) and (b) strongly dominant options that are not appropriate in the current context (prepotent competition). These types of competition are ubiquitous during language production. In this work, we investigate the neural mechanisms that allow individuals to effectively manage these cognitive control demands and to quickly choose words with few errors. Using fMRI, we directly contrast underdetermined and prepotent competition within the same task (verb generation) for the first time, allowing localization of the neural substrates supporting the resolution of these two types of competition. Using a neural network model, we investigate the possible mechanisms by which these brain regions support selection. Together, our findings demonstrate that all competition is not alike: resolving prepotent competition and resolving underdetermined competition rely on partly dissociable neural substrates and mechanisms. Specifically, activation of left ventrolateral pFC is specific to resolving underdetermined competition between multiple appropriate responses, most likely via competitive lateral inhibition. In contrast, activation of left dorsolateral pFC is sensitive to both underdetermined competition and prepotent competition from response options that are inappropriate in the current context. This region likely provides top-down support for task-relevant responses, which enables them to out-compete prepotent responses in the selection process that occurs in left ventrolateral pFC.
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- Authors
- Snyder, H. R., Banich, M. T., & Munakata, Y.
- Affiliations
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
- Publisher
- MIT Press - Journals
- Published
- 2014-11-01
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 2608-2623
- ISSN
- 0898-929X (ISSN-L)
- 1530-8898
- PMC
- PMC4182108
- OpenAlex
- W2060920163
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5f31mh087073-02)
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH079485, T32 MH15442, F32MH098481, F31-MH087073, T32MH015442)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Keywords
- cognitive control, response selection, language production, verb generation, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, lateral inhibition, top-down control, neural network model, word choice errors
- MeSH terms
- Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Reaction Time, Semantics, Speech, Thinking, Neural Networks, Computer, Prefrontal Cortex
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