Early error detection predicted by reduced pre-response control process: an ERP topographic mapping study

Advanced ERP topographic mapping techniques were used to study error monitoring functions in human adult participants, and test whether proactive attentional effects during the pre-response time period could later influence early error detection mechanisms (as measured by the ERN component) or not. Participants performed a speeded go/nogo task, and made a substantial number of false alarms that did not differ from correct hits as a function of behavioral speed or actual motor response. While errors clearly elicited an ERN component generated within the dACC following the onset of these incorrect responses, I also found that correct hits were associated with a different sequence of topographic events during the pre-response baseline time-period, relative to errors. A main topographic transition from occipital to posterior parietal regions (including primarily the precuneus) was evidenced for correct hits similar to 170-150 ms before the response, whereas this topographic change was markedly reduced for errors. The same topographic transition was found for correct hits that were eventually performed slower than either errors or fast (correct) hits, confirming the involvement of this distinctive posterior parietal activity in top-down attentional control rather than motor preparation. Control analyses further ensured that this pre-response topographic effect was not related to differences in stimulus processing. Furthermore, I found a reliable association between the magnitude of the ERN following errors and the duration of this differential precuneus activity during the pre-response baseline, suggesting a functional link between an anticipatory attentional control component subserved by the precuneus and early error detection mechanisms within the dACC. These results suggest reciprocal links between proactive attention control and decision making processes during error monitoring

Aging, working memory capacity and the proactive control of recollection:An event-related potential study

The present study investigated the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in the control of recollection in young and older adults. We used electroencephalographic event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the effects of age and of individual differences in WMC on the ability to prioritize recollection according to current goals. Targets in a recognition exclusion task were words encoded using two alternative decisions. The left parietal ERP old/new effect was used as an electrophysiological index of recollection, and the selectivity of recollection measured in terms of the difference in its magnitude according to whether recognized items were targets or non-targets. Young adults with higher WMC showed greater recollection selectivity than those with lower WMC, while older adults showed nonselective recollection which did not vary with WMC. The data suggest that aging impairs the ability to engage cognitive control effectively to prioritize what will be recollected

MS

thesisUnderstanding the relationships between personality and cognitive ability has implications for how we characterize and even diagnose cognitive impairment. While many studies have investigated relationships between personality and executive functions, few have directly studied personality in relation to working memory (WM), specifically. In addition, results from such studies have been inconclusive. The present study examined the relationships between WM and the Five Factor Model of personality in a large sample (n=354) of young adults. Results revealed that increased Neuroticism is associated with poorer WM performance, while higher Openness to Experience is associated with improved WM performance. Implications for dual mechanism theories of attentional control are discussed

Proactive and reactive stopping when distracted: An attentional account

This is a postprint of an article published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance © 2014 copyright American Psychological Association. 'This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.' Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance is available online at: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/xhp/index.aspxThe authors have deposited data related to this article in ORE on open access. See: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/13401Performance in response-inhibition paradigms is typically attributed to inhibitory control. Here we examined the idea that stopping may largely depend on the outcome of a sensory detection process. Subjects performed a speeded go task, but they were instructed to withhold their response when a visual stop signal was presented. The stop signal could occur in the centre of the screen or in the periphery. On half of the trials, perceptual distractors were presented throughout the trial. We found that these perceptual distractors impaired stopping, especially when stop signals could occur in the periphery. Furthermore, the effect of the distractors on going was smallest in the central stop-signal condition, medium in a condition in which no-signals could occur, and largest in the condition in which stop signals could occur in the periphery. The results show that an important component of stopping is finding a balance between ignoring irrelevant information in the environment and monitoring for the occurrence of occasional stop signals. These findings highlight the importance of sensory detection processes when stopping and could shed new light on a range of phenomena and findings in the response-inhibition literature.Economic and Social Research CouncilBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilEuropean Research Counci

Components of reward-driven attentional bias and impulsivity

History of reward biases attentional selection. However, this reward-driven attentional bias (RDAB) has not been investigated within the context of the separable components of facilitated capture and impaired disengagement. Furthermore, separating these components may better clarify the relationship between RDAB and impulsivity. To this end, across 2 experiments, the current study aimed to firstly characterize capture and disengagement in RDAB and secondly test the relationship between components of RDAB and measures of impulsivity. Across both studies participants completed reward-training followed by a modified cueing paradigm using previously rewarded and previously unrewarded stimuli as cues. Results demonstrated robust effects of facilitated capture and significant effects of impaired disengagement, although these effects were restricted to individuals aware of the reward association, either incidentally or explicitly. Across both studies, neither capture nor disengagement independently predicted impulsivity; however, total RDAB predicted impulsivity in Study 1 only. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.Master of Art

Attention control in adults with high autistic traits and attention training in children with autism

While attention is not a core component of the autism phenotype, attention atypicalities are often reported in research. However, contradicting findings in autism and the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) imply that the circumstances under which attentional selection is successful or impaired are not clear. Therefore, this thesis attempts to delineate more clearly the contexts under which attentional control is enhanced or impaired in the BAP. Specifically, I investigate whether differences in attentional control are driven by perceptual atypicalities in Chapters 2 & 3, where global/local stimuli and face/scene pairs are used while participants selected one aspect and suppressed the other. In Chapter 3, I investigate if attentional atypicalities in the BAP are linked to the mode of attentional control required, using experiments tapping separately proactive and reactive distractor suppression. In Chapter 4, I ask whether attentional atypicalities in the BAP translate to the motor domain, using a reaching task that may also tap proactive and reactive control processes and distractor suppression. In Chapter 5, I test whether attention training could prove beneficial for children with autism. The Computerized Progressive Attentional Training (CPAT) programme was utilized in schools with children with autism, while transfer effects were tested (in behaviour, cognitive and academic performance). Results suggest enhanced distractor suppression in adults with more autistic traits, when preparatory control is utilized, while the CPAT is shown to bring transfer effects from attention training to cognitive and academic skills of children with autism. Results are further discussed in Chapter 6