Towards a two-stage model of action-stopping: Attentional capture explains motor inhibition during early stop-signal processing

Abstract

The ability to stop an already initiated action is paramount to adaptive behavior. Most scientific debate in the field of human action-stopping currently focuses on two interrelated questions. First: Which mental and neural processes underpin the implementation of inhibitory control, and which reflect the attentional detection of salient stop-signals instead? Second: Why do physiological signatures of inhibition occur at two different latencies after stop-signals (for visual signals, either before or after ~150ms)? Here, we address both questions via two pre-registered experiments that combined transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and multi-variate pattern analysis of whole-scalp electroencephalography. Using a stop-signal task that also contained a second type of salient signal that did not require stopping, we found that both signals induced equal amounts of early-latency inhibitory activity, whereas only later signatures (after 175ms) distinguished the two. These findings resolve ongoing debates in the literature and strongly suggest a two-step model of action-stopping.

Transient beta modulates decision thresholds during human action-stopping

“…Our study also adds more evidence to models involving multiple stages of stopping, such as the pause-then-cancel model (Schmidt and Berke, 2017;Tatz et al, 2021). In the Threshold model beta effectively pauses both decision processes, buying time for the stop process to catch up.…”

“…SSRTs were estimated using the integration method (Verbruggen et al, 2019). Using the extracted timing of the beta bursts (see above), we estimated the probability of responding to the Stop cue, P(Respond), as a function of the time relative to the burst.…”

“…In the well-developed race model framework, a Go and a Stop process race against each other and whichever process reaches the decision threshold first determines the behavioral outcome (Go or Stop) (Logan and Cowan, 1984;Logan et al, 2014;Verbruggen and Logan, 2009). Here we developed and studied three different race model variants of how beta could modulate the Go and Stop processes by affecting decision thresholds, accumulation rates, and the interaction between Go and Stop processes, respectively.…”

Towards a unified neural mechanism for reactive adaptive behaviour

“…Yet, it should be noted that recent work on rodents has suggested that AS might be achieved by the combination of two consecutive neural inhibitory processes: an early one only pausing the action, and a later one potentially cancelling it ( 102 , 103 ). Future work should investigate the hypothesis of a multi-phasic AS process examining humans’ muscular activity, particularly considering the interesting analogies between AS and other RABs ( 104 ). Supramodality .…”

Partial response electromyography as a marker of action stopping

“…The earlier timing of the prEMG peak latency compared to the SSRT has been replicated in a number of independent studies (Hannah et al, 2020;Jana et al, 2020;Raud et al, 2020aRaud et al, , 2020bTatz et al, 2021;Thunberg et al, 2020). However, while the existence of the prEMG is relatively well-established, its characteristics and utility has not been explored sufficiently to declare it an unambiguous biomarker of the stopping latency.…”