Flexible cognitive control: Effects of individual differences and brief practice on a complex cognitive task

Abstract

Brain activations underlying cognitive processes are subject to modulation as a result of increasing cognitive demands, individual differences, and practice. The present study investigated these modulatory effects in a cognitive control task which required inhibition of prepotent responses based on the contents of working memory (WM) and which enabled a novel dissociation of item-specific and taskskill effects resulting from brief practice. Distinct responses in areas underlying WM and inhibitory control in the absence of behavioral changes reflected different effects of item repetition and general task practice on tonic working memory and phasic inhibitory processes. Item repetition was associated with decreases in both unique and common areas subserving WM and inhibitory control. In contrast, general task practice was reflected in decreases in the level of tonic WM activity required to maintain a consistently high level of task performance but increased activity in a number of core inhibitory regions including dorsolateral and inferior PFC and inferior parietal cortex. Furthermore, both practice and individual differences in task performance were associated with the ability to modulate and maintain activity in frontostriatal areas mediating attentional control, suggesting that the areas that differ between individuals can be modulated by practice within an individual. These results raise the possibility that a fundamental human ability, reflexive cognitive control, is amenable to practice. D

Differential associations between impulsivity and risk-taking and brain activations underlying working memory in adolescents

“…However, a recent neurophysiological study has also implicated the left IFG and insula in response inhibition (Swick et al, 2008). Moreover, these findings are consistent with other studies that report common neural correlates underlying working memory and response inhibition in the left IFG, DLPFC and premotor cortex (Hester et al, 2004; Kelly et al, 2006). Indeed, inhibition may be important to working memory in preventing distraction from task-irrelevant stimuli (McNab et al, 2008).…”

“…Patients with lesions in DLPFC and posterior VMPFC show poor performance on both working memory and impulsivity tasks (Bechara, Damasio, Tranel, & Anderson, 1998; Manes et al, 2002). In studies combining demands on working memory and impulsivity (indexed by inhibition), common activity was observed in the medial frontal gyrus, DLPFC, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, putamen and insula (Hester, Murphy, & Garavan, 2004; Kelly, Hester, Foxe, Shpaner, & Garavan, 2006). Building on this work, McNab and colleagues (2008) performed a conjunction analysis to determine the overlapping brain regions of working memory (verbal and spatial) and inhibition (Go/no-go, Stop signal task and Flanker task).…”

The neural basis of task switching changes with skill acquisition

“…Learning novel skills involves brain-wide reorganizations guiding optimal recruitments of cognitive functions (Salmon and Butters, 1995; Petersen et al, 1998; Dayan and Cohen, 2011). Importantly, any skill consists of a series of cognitive processes governed via executive control systems (Smith and Jonides, 1999; Miller and Cohen, 2001), which are decreasingly necessary as expertise is acquired (Milham et al, 2003; Kelley et al, 2006). However, it is unclear how executive control interacts with the acquisition of a novel skill.…”

Validity, Lasting Outcomes and Fairness of Learner Assessment from the Perspective of Educational Neuroscience

“…Recent research studies show that elaborative rehearsal, involving higher-order thinking skills, engages the brain's frontal lobe. Further, they indicate that different parts of the brain are involved as more complex problem-solving tasks are handled (Cole, Bagic, Kass & Schneider, 2010;Kelly, Hester, Foxe, Shpaner & Garavan, 2006).…”