Frontoparietal action-oriented codes support novel instruction implementation

González-García, Carlos; Formica, Silvia; Wisniewski, David; Braß, Marcel

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117608

Cited by 26 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The lack of an incoming task-set formation would make the recollection the final step in the memorization encoding process, yielding the observed differences when compared with a full task-set formation process in implementation. In turn, the decreased activity in the angular gyrus during implementation could be explained by smaller relevance of the declarative format in implementation, which is consistent with recent neuroimaging studies (González-García et al, 2021). The angular gyrus has also been related to semantic processing and verbal working memory (Seghier, 2013), and, interestingly, it has been specifically linked to retrieval of rule-based schemas and their constituting components (Wagner et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Prior studies have reported the pervasive effects of instruction following on behavioral and neural markers. The intention to execute a recently encoded instruction induces brain activation in areas associated with control and category-selective perceptual processing (González-García, Arco, Palenciano, Ramírez, & Ruz, 2017;González-García, Formica, Wisniewski, & Brass, 2021), and impacts the neural patterns representing the instructed content (Bourguignon, Braem, Hartstra, De Houwer, & Brass, 2018; Muhle-Karbe, Duncan, De Baene, Mitchell, & Brass, 2017;Ruge, Schäfer, Zwosta, Mohr, & Wolfensteller, 2019). In this line, a recent study (Palenciano, González-García, Arco, Pessoa, et al, 2019) showed that, during implementation demands, neural patterns in areas such as the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) are organized by the need to integrate information from different dimensions of the instruction (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of task demands on the neural patterns generated by novel instruction encoding

Sobrado

Palenciano

González-García

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Verbal instructions allow fast and optimal implementation of novel behaviors. Previous research has shown that different control-related variables organize neural activity in frontoparietal regions during the preparation of novel instructed task sets. Little is known, however, about how such variables organize brain activity under different task demands. In this study, we assessed the impact of implementation and memorization demands in the neural representation of novel instructions. We combined functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with an instruction-following paradigm to compare the effect of three relevant control-related variables (integration of dimensions, response complexity, and stimulus category) across demands, and to explore the degree of overlap between these. Our results reveal, first, that the implementation and memorization of novel instructions share common neural patterns in several brain regions. Importantly, they also suggest that the preparation to implement instructions results in a strengthened coding of relevant control-related information in frontoparietal areas compared to their mere memorization. Overall, our study shows how the content of novel instructions proactively shapes brain activity based on multiple dimensions and how these organizational patterns are strengthened during implementation demands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of task demands on the neural patterns generated by novel instruction encoding

Sobrado

Palenciano

González-García

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…This might be due to the response set used in the specific task, or to other idiosyncratic factors. Despite these inconsistencies in the behavioral measures, the dissociation between Implementation and Memorization is well established at the neural level (Demanet et al, 2016; González-García et al, 2019; Muhle-Karbe et al, 2017). Here, we show such differences are reflected in oscillatory mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A growing number of fMRI studies has primarily focused on revealing which brain regions support the implementation of novel task sets (Demanet et al, 2016; González-García, Arco, Palenciano, Ramírez, & Ruz, 2017; Hartstra, Kühn, Verguts, & Brass, 2011; Hartstra, Waszak, & Brass, 2012; Palenciano, González-García, Arco, & Ruz, 2019; Ruge & Wolfensteller, 2010) and, more recently, on characterizing implementation-specific neural representations (Bourguignon, Braem, Hartstra, De Houwer, & Brass, 2018; González-García, Formica, Wisniewski, & Brass, 2019; Muhle-Karbe, Duncan, De Baene, Mitchell, & Brass, 2017; Palenciano, González-García, Arco, Pessoa, & Ruz, 2019; Ruge, Schäfer, Zwosta, Mohr, & Wolfensteller, 2019). These results consistently point towards a crucial role of frontoparietal regions, and in particular of the prefrontal cortex (PFC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural oscillations track the maintenance and proceduralization of novel instructions

Formica

González-García

Senoussi

et al. 2020

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Humans are extremely efficient in rapidly and flexibly converting complex symbolic instructions into novel behaviors. Previous evidence and theoretical models suggest that the implementation of a novel instruction requires the reformatting of its declarative content into an action-oriented code optimized for the execution of the instructed behavior. While neuroimaging research focused on identifying the brain areas involved in such process, its temporal profile and electrophysiological characteristics remain unknown. In the present study, we recorded EEG while we asked participants to either simply maintain declaratively the content of novel S-R mappings for recognition or to proactively prepare for their implementation. By means of time-frequency analyses, we isolated the oscillatory features specifically associated with the proceduralization of the encoded instruction. Before the onset of the implementation target, we observed stronger delta/low-theta activity over frontal electrodes and a significant suppression in mu and beta activity over central electrodes. On the contrary, activity in the alpha band showed no differences between the two tasks. Together, these results support the crucial role attributed to prefrontal regions in orchestrating complex task setting and further extend on it by characterizing the temporal and frequency profile of this process. Moreover, we highlight the critical involvement of motor activity in the proactive preparation for novel instruction implementation. Significance StatementHumans developed the unique ability of converting novel instructions in effective behavior. This skill is associated with activity in frontoparietal brain regions, whose interplay supports the reformatting of the declarative content of the instruction into an action-guiding representation. However, the time-resolved unfolding of such cognitive processes is still poorly understood. Here, we investigated how oscillatory brain activity differed between simple maintenance and reformatting of novel instructions. In preparation to the target, we observed differences in lower frequencies over frontal regions, and oscillatory features of motor preparation. Together, these results suggest that instruction implementation is mediated by the exertion of top-down cognitive control, reflected in theta dynamics, and motor-related activation.

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“…Our research contributes to the growing literature drawing links between neural responses and behaviour using MVPA. Using spatial and temporal neuroimaging, classifier prediction errors and distances from the classifier boundary have been shown to correlate with behavioural error patterns and reaction times (e.g., Carlson et al, 2014; González-García et al, 2021; Grootswagers et al, 2018; Walther et al, 2009). Here, we argue that a tighter link between brain and behaviour can be found by testing what is represented on error trials when an incorrect decision is made.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking the brain with behaviour: the neural dynamics of success and failure in goal-directed behaviour

Robinson

Rich

Woolgar

2021

Preprint

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The human brain is extremely flexible and capable of rapidly selecting relevant information in accordance with task goals. Regions of frontoparietal cortex flexibly represent relevant task information such as task rules and stimulus features when participants perform tasks successfully, but less is known about how information processing breaks down when participants make mistakes. This is important for understanding whether and when information coding recorded with neuroimaging is directly meaningful for behaviour. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess the temporal dynamics of information processing, and linked neural responses with goal-directed behaviour by analysing how they changed on behavioural error. Participants performed a difficult stimulus-response task using two stimulus-response mapping rules. We used time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis to characterise the progression of information coding from perceptual information about the stimulus, cue and rule coding, and finally, motor response. Response-aligned analyses revealed a ramping up of perceptual information prior to a correct response, suggestive of internal evidence accumulation. Strikingly, when participants made a stimulus-related error, and not when they made other types of errors, patterns of activity initially reflected the stimulus presented, but later reversed, and accumulated towards a representation of the incorrect stimulus. This suggests that the patterns recorded at later timepoints reflect an internally generated stimulus representation that was used to make the (incorrect) decision. These results illustrate the orderly and overlapping temporal dynamics of information coding in perceptual decision-making and show a clear link between neural patterns in the late stages of processing and behaviour.

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Frontoparietal action-oriented codes support novel instruction implementation

Cited by 26 publications

References 52 publications

The effect of task demands on the neural patterns generated by novel instruction encoding

The effect of task demands on the neural patterns generated by novel instruction encoding

Neural oscillations track the maintenance and proceduralization of novel instructions

Linking the brain with behaviour: the neural dynamics of success and failure in goal-directed behaviour

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