The system neurophysiological basis of backward inhibition

Abstract

Task switching is regularly required in our everyday life. To succeed in switching, it is important to inhibit the most recently performed task and instead activate the currently relevant task. The process that inhibits a recently performed task when a new task is to be performed is referred to as 'backward inhibition' (BI). While the BI effect has been subject to intense research in cognitive psychology, little is known about the neuronal mechanisms that are related to the BI effect and those that relate to differences in the magnitude of the BI effect. In the current study, we examined the system neurophysiological basis of BI processes using event-related potentials (ERPs) and sLORETA by also taking inter-individual differences in the magnitude of the BI into account. The results suggest that BI processes and inter-individual differences in them strongly depend upon attentional selection mechanisms (reflected by N1-ERP modulations in the current task/trial) mediated via networks consisting of extrastriate occipital areas, the temporo-parietal junction and the inferior frontal gyrus. Other processes and mechanisms related to conflict monitoring, response selection, or the updating, organization and implementation of a new task-set (i.e. N2 and P3 processes) were not shown to be modulated by BI processes and differences in their magnitude, as evoked with a common BI paradigm.

The neurophysiological basis of developmental changes during sequential cognitive flexibility between adolescents and adults

“…This was followed by an independent component analysis needs to be stressed that the CSD transformation was used in other studies using the same task and therefore fosters comparability across studies and examined populations (Wolff et al, 2018;Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a;Zhang, Stock, Fischer, et al, 2016b). This was followed by an independent component analysis needs to be stressed that the CSD transformation was used in other studies using the same task and therefore fosters comparability across studies and examined populations (Wolff et al, 2018;Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a;Zhang, Stock, Fischer, et al, 2016b).…”

“…The data was analyzed as done in previous studies by our research group (Zhang, Stock, Fischer, et al, 2016b): the two backswitching triplets as well as the two baseline triplets were averaged individually to achieve a measure for the BI condition and the baseline (BASE) condition, respectively. Subsequently, we calculated the "BI effect" as the RT difference between BI and BASE conditions [BI effect = mean (ABA, BAB)mean (DBA, DAB)].…”

“…Therefore, and to keep the data comparable to other published studies using that paradigm (Wolff et al, 2018;Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a;Zhang, Stock, Fischer, et al, 2016b), those triplets were not included in the data analysis. This is all the more the case because intra-individual variability of behavioral and EEG data is an issue in developmental studies (refer introduction section).…”

“…It relates to the assumption that efficient cognitive flexibility requires the activation of a new task set (or rule), which warrants the deactivation of the no longer needed, competing task through inhibitory processes (Dajani & Uddin, 2015;Klimesch, 2011;Mayr & Keele, 2000). Formally, the BI effect concerns the interplay of the n-2 and n-1 trials and its effect on the nth trial (Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a;Zhang, Stock, Fischer, & Beste, 2016b). Hence, when switching back to a recently suppressed task set (e.g., task A) after one intermediate trial (e.g., aba triplet/ BI condition), the performance costs are higher compared with trials without n-2 task repetition in sequence (e.g., DBA task triplet/BASE condition).…”

“…Previous studies have shown that cognitive neurophysiological subprocesses underlying backward inhibition are reflected by the N2 ERP-component, likely reflecting response selection mechanisms (Beste, Baune, Falkenstein, & Konrad, 2010;Gajewski, Kleinsorge, & Falkenstein, 2010;Gehring, Bryck, Jonides, Albin, & Badre, 2003) in the context of backward inhibition (Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a;Zhang, Stock, Fischer, et al, 2016b). Although the N2 component has been related to conflict monitoring (Deng, Wang, Ding, & Tang, 2015;Donkers & van Boxtel, 2004;Larson, Clayson, & Clawson, 2014), it has been shown that in the context of backward inhibition modulations of the N2 are not in line with the conflict-monitoring approach (Zhang, Stock, & Beste, 2016a), because the N2 was not enhanced in the BI condition.…”