Cognitive Control Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy the research community. There is an ever-growing research body focusing on adjudicating whether there is, in fact, an effect of using two or... more

The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy the research community. There is an ever-growing research body focusing on adjudicating whether there is, in fact, an effect of using two or more languages regularly on cognition. In this paper, we briefly review some of the more pertinent literature that has attempted to identify attenuating, modulating, and confounding factors in research comparing monolingual and bilingual populations, and we highlight issues that should be taken into account in future research to move forward as a research community. At the same time, we argue for a change in perspective concerning what is deemed an advantage and what is not and argue for more ecologically valid research that investigates real-life advantages.

Freud proposed that unwanted memories can be forgotten by pushing them into the unconscious, a process called repression1. The existence of repression has remained controversial for more than a century, in part because of its strong... more

Freud proposed that unwanted memories can be forgotten by pushing them into the unconscious, a process called repression1. The existence of repression has remained controversial for more than a century, in part because of its strong coupling with trauma, and the ethical and practical difficulties of studying such processes in controlled experiments. However, behavioural and neurobiological research on memory and attention shows that people have executive control processes directed at minimizing perceptual distraction2, 3, overcoming interference during short and long-term memory tasks3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and stopping strong habitual responses to stimuli8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Here we show that these mechanisms can be recruited to prevent unwanted declarative memories from entering awareness, and that this cognitive act has enduring consequences for the rejected memories. When people encounter cues that remind them of an unwanted memory and they consistently try to prevent awareness of it, the later recall of the rejected memory becomes more difficult. The forgetting increases with the number of times the memory is avoided, resists incentives for accurate recall and is caused by processes that suppress the memory itself. These results show that executive control processes not uniquely tied to trauma may provide a viable model for repression.

Making sense of the world around us depends upon selectively retrieving information relevant to our current goal or context. However, it is unclear whether selective semantic retrieval relies exclusively on general control mechanisms... more

Making sense of the world around us depends upon selectively retrieving information relevant to our current goal or context. However, it is unclear whether selective semantic retrieval relies exclusively on general control mechanisms recruited in demanding non-semantic tasks, or instead on systems specialised for the control of meaning. One hypothesis is that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) is important in the controlled retrieval of semantic (not non-semantic) information; however this view remains controversial since a parallel literature links this site to event and relational semantics. In a functional neuroimaging study, we demonstrated that an area of pMTG implicated in semantic control by a recent meta-analysis was activated in a conjunction of (i) semantic association over size judgements and (ii) action over colour feature matching. Under these circumstances the same region showed functional coupling with the inferior frontal gyrus — another crucial site for semantic control. Structural and functional connectivity analyses demonstrated that this site is at the nexus of networks recruited in automatic semantic processing (the default mode network) and executively demanding tasks (the multiple-demand network). Moreover, in both task and task-free contexts, pMTG exhibited functional properties that were more similar to ventral parts of inferior frontal cortex, implicated in controlled semantic retrieval , than more dorsal inferior frontal sulcus, implicated in domain-general control. Finally, the pMTG region was functionally correlated at rest with other regions implicated in control-demanding semantic tasks, including inferior frontal gyrus and intraparietal sulcus. We suggest that pMTG may play a crucial role within a large-scale network that allows the integration of automatic retrieval in the default mode network with executively-demanding goal-oriented cognition, and that this could support our ability to understand actions and non-dominant semantic associations, allowing semantic retrieval to be 'shaped' to suit a task or context.

An emerging body of evidence has begun to document the beneficial after effects of single bouts —or doses —of physical activity for cognition. This article highlights a selection of common themes and critical delimitations that... more

An emerging body of evidence has begun to document the beneficial after effects of single bouts —or doses —of physical activity for cognition. This article highlights a selection of common themes and critical delimitations that investigators new to this area of research as well as those currently working in the field may find relevant for advancing research in this area. The intent of this article is to provide a stimulus for future investigations to enhance not only the breadth and depth of the evidence, but also the experimental rigor. In doing so, a number of fundamental considerations are discussed including the aspects of cognition predominantly focused upon to date, issues related to the dose of the physical activity (i.e., how long the after effects persist, what characteristics of the dose may maximize the cognitive after effects), potential moderating variables, as well as potential underlying mechanisms. Additionally, discussion is provided regarding methodological conside...

... Results from the present investigation support the theoretical perspective of Pekrun and his colleagues (eg, Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun et al., 2006): namely, that students' cognitive appraisals and achievement ... The role of... more

... Results from the present investigation support the theoretical perspective of Pekrun and his colleagues (eg, Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun et al., 2006): namely, that students' cognitive appraisals and achievement ... The role of students' cognitive engagement in online learning. ...

Background Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing... more

Background Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing effects of tangible rewards such as money, neglecting that social-emotional stimuli may also impact task performance in ADHD patients. Methods To determine whether non-social (monetary) and social (positive facial expressions) rewards differentially improve response inhibition accuracy in children and adolescents with ADHD, we applied an incentive go/no-go task with reward contingencies for successful inhibition and compared ADHD subjects with typically developing individuals. Results Both social and monetary contingencies improved inhibition accuracy in all participants. However, individuals with ADHD displayed a particularly higher profit from social reward than healthy controls, suggesting that cognitive control in ADHD patients can be specifically improved by social reinforcement. By contrast, self-rated motivation associated with task performance was significantly lower in ADHD patients. Conclusion Our findings provide evidence for hyperresponsiveness to social rewards in ADHD patients, which is accompanied by limited self-awareness. These data suggest that social reward procedures may be particularly useful in behavioral interventions in children with ADHD.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves cognitive control: the ability to coordinate thoughts or actions in relation with internal goals. Its functional architecture, however, remains poorly understood. Using brain imaging in humans, we... more

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves cognitive control: the ability to coordinate thoughts or actions in relation with internal goals. Its functional architecture, however, remains poorly understood. Using brain imaging in humans, we showed that the lateral PFC is organized as a cascade of executive processes from premotor to anterior PFC regions that control behavior according to stimuli, the present perceptual

When confronted with reminders to things that we would prefer not to think about, we often attempt to put the unwanted memories out of awareness. Here, I argue that the ability to control memory is a special case of a broad class of... more

When confronted with reminders to things that we would prefer
not to think about, we often attempt to put the unwanted memories out
of awareness. Here, I argue that the ability to control memory is a special
case of a broad class of situations thought to require executive control: response
override. In such situations, one must stop a strong habitual response
to a stimulus due to situational demands, a function thought to be
accomplished by inhibitory processes that suppress the response, enabling
more flexible, context-sensitive control over behavior. Recent behavioral
studies show that inhibitory mechanisms that control overt behavior are
also targeted at declarative memories to control retrieval. Recent neuroimaging
findings (Anderson et al., 2004) further establish that controlling
awareness of unwanted memories is associated with increased dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex activation, reduced hippocampal activation, and impaired
retention of the unwanted trace and that the magnitude of activation in prefrontal
cortex predicts memory suppression. These findings indicate that
cognitive and neural systems that support our ability to override prepotent
responses can be recruited to override declarative memory retrieval, and
that this cognitive act leads to memory failure. The relation between these
findings and those obtained with the directed forgetting procedure is also
discussed.

We present a synthetic theory of skilled action which proposes that cognitive processes make an important contribution to almost all skilled action, contrary to influential views that many skills are performed largely automatically.... more

We present a synthetic theory of skilled action which proposes that cognitive processes make an important contribution to almost all skilled action, contrary to influential views that many skills are performed largely automatically. Cognitive control is focused on strategic aspects of performance, and plays a greater role as difficulty increases. We offer an analysis of various forms of skill experience and show that the theory provides a better explanation for the full set of these experiences than automatic theories. We further show that the theory can explain experimental evidence for skill automaticity, including evidence that secondary tasks do not interfere with expert performance, and evidence that experts have reduced memory for performance of sensorimotor skills.

When confronted with reminders to an unpleasant memory, people often try to prevent the unwanted memory from coming to mind. In this article, we review behavioral and neurocognitive evidence concerning the consequences of exerting such... more

When confronted with reminders to an unpleasant memory, people often try to prevent the unwanted memory from coming to mind.
In this article, we review behavioral and neurocognitive evidence concerning the consequences of exerting such control over memory
retrieval. This work indicates that suppressing retrieval is accomplished by control mechanisms that inhibit the unwanted memories,
making them harder to recall later, even when desired. This process engages executive control mechanisms mediated by the lateral prefrontal
cortex to terminate recollection-related activity in the hippocampus. Together, these findings specify a neurocognitive model of
how memory control operates, suggesting that executive control may be an important means of down-regulating intrusive memories over
time. We conclude by proposing that individual differences in the regulation of intrusive memories in the aftermath of trauma may be
mediated by pre-existing differences in executive control ability. In support of this executive deficit hypothesis, we review the recent work
indicating links between executive control ability and memory suppression.

Three studies show that the retrieval process itself causes long-lasting forgetting. Ss studied 8 categories (e.g., Fruit). Half the members of half the categories were then repeatedly practiced through retrieval tests (e.g., Fruit... more

Three studies show that the retrieval process itself causes long-lasting forgetting. Ss studied 8 categories (e.g., Fruit). Half the members of half the categories were then repeatedly practiced through retrieval tests (e.g., Fruit Or_____). Category-cued recall of unpracticed members of practiced categories was impaired on a delayed test. Experiments 2 and 3 identified 2 significant features of this retrieval-induced forgetting: The impairment remains when output interference is controlled, suggesting a retrieval-based suppression that endures for 20 min or more, and the impairment appears restricted to high-frequency members. Low-frequency members show little impairment, even in the presence of strong, practiced competitors that might be expected to block access to those items. These findings suggest a critical role for suppression in models of retrieval inhibition and implicate the retrieval process itself in everyday forgetting.

A central theme of embodied cognition research is the idea that cognition is grounded in the rich interaction processes by which individuals navigate the world—interaction processes that are deeply shaped by the physical structure of... more

A central theme of embodied cognition research is the idea that cognition is grounded in the rich interaction processes by which individuals navigate the world—interaction processes that are deeply shaped by the physical structure of bodies and the environment. It is, moreover, often suggested that traditional cognitive science has neglected these interaction processes, and that properly taking them into account has profound conceptual consequences. For obvious reasons skill research and sport psychology are areas of prime interest for embodied cognition theory—advanced skills exemplify highly tuned, richly interactive human abilities. Recently we have proposed a theory of skill called mesh (Christensen, Sutton, and McIlwain 2016), and at the kind invitation of the editor, Max Cappuccio, the original paper is reprinted here. In this new introduction we expand on the issues that mesh tries to address and discuss some of the connections between mesh and broader issues in embodied cognition and sport psychology.

Inhibitory processes have been proposed to play an important role in resolving interference during retrieval (M. C. Anderson, 2003; M. C. Anderson & Spellman, 1995). Supporting this view, retrieval induces a negative aftereffect on... more

Inhibitory processes have been proposed to play an important role in resolving interference during
retrieval (M. C. Anderson, 2003; M. C. Anderson & Spellman, 1995). Supporting this view, retrieval
induces a negative aftereffect on competing items known as retrieval-induced forgetting (M. C. Anderson,
Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). Retrieval-induced forgetting often generalizes to novel cues used to test the
forgotten items, and this cue independence is considered diagnostic of inhibition. This interpretation of
cue independence assumes, however, that these novel cues (i.e., independent probes) are truly independent
of the original cues. Challenging this assumption, Camp, Pecher, Schmidt, and Zeelenberg (2009)
reported that extralist cuing test performance can be influenced by increasing the accessibility of other
nonpresented cues. Here we consider this evidence for nonindependence and the conditions under which
it occurs. We present two experiments demonstrating that this cue enhancement effect arises exclusively
whenever independent probes have uncontrolled semantic relationships to the study cues of the sort that
are specifically proscribed by the method—relationships not at all detected by association norms. When
such relationships are controlled, as they are in many studies of inhibition, cue enhancement effects
disappear. These findings highlight the importance of carefully controlling probe–cue relatedness in
research on cue-independent forgetting and suggest that cue independence is diagnostic of inhibition.

Objectives Mindfulness practice can enhance different aspects of attentional functions, such as the ability to sustain the attentional focus over time. However, it is still unclear whether this practice might indeed impact higher... more

Objectives
Mindfulness practice can enhance different aspects of attentional functions, such as the ability to sustain the
attentional focus over time. However, it is still unclear whether this practice might indeed impact higher cognitive
functions, such as control mechanisms that allow the appropriate and flexible allocation of attentional resources. In this longitudinal study, changes associated with a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program were investigated, with a focus on proactive and reactive cognitive control mechanisms, namely, the ability to maintain task-relevant information and to prepare in advance the response and the ability to promptly adjust overlearned behaviors in response to conflicting stimuli.
Methods
Two groups of participants took part in the study: 26 participants who completed a formal MBSR training (mean age = 43 years, females = 21) and 23 participants who performed a control training (mean age = 47.2 years, females = 20).
They were tested on a modified AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT), before and after 8 training weeks. The electroencephalographic (EEG) signal was recorded during task execution, and amplitude modulations of eventrelated potentials (ERPs) associated with cues and probes were examined.
Results
After the training, the MBSR group exhibited a significant reduction of errors on high conflicting trials. Concurrently,
the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV), an index of anticipatory processes, elicited by task cues became more
pronounced in post-training session in the MBSR group only. In addition, an attenuated probe-locked N2 amplitude
and an increased P3a component emerged.
Conclusion
Taken together, the electrophysiological and behavioral results suggest that the mindfulness practice enhanced the
ability to implement both proactive and reactive cognitive control processes.

The extraordinary flexibility of human behaviour relies on our capacity for cognitive control: the ability to use internal goals to guide our thoughts and behaviour. The scientific study of the brain mechanisms underlying cognitive... more

The extraordinary flexibility of human behaviour relies on our capacity for cognitive control: the ability to use internal goals to guide our thoughts and behaviour. The scientific study of the brain mechanisms underlying cognitive control has grown exponentially over the past two decades, from a handful of papers to hundreds of published studies per year. The Wiley Handbook of Cognitive Control represents the first authoritative reference work to comprehensively cover this rapidly growing, highly interdisciplinary field. This volume brings together world-renowned experts in cognitive psychology and neuroscience to summarize the current state-of-the-art in cognitive control research, as well as its intersection with other disciplines. The in-depth coverage includes basic constructs and behavioural phenomena of cognitive control, prevalent neuroanatomical and computational models of frontal lobe function, the interface between cognitive control and other mental processes - like memory, emotion, and decision making – and the way in which cognitive control research informs our understanding of brain development, and neurological and psychiatric conditions.

In the past 20 years, the field of bilingualism has made a substantial effort to better understand the set of cognitive mechanisms that allow bilinguals to functionally manage and use their languages. Among the mechanisms that have been... more

In the past 20 years, the field of bilingualism has made a substantial effort to better understand the set of cognitive mechanisms that allow bilinguals to functionally manage and use their languages. Among the mechanisms that have been identified, cognitive control has been posited to be key for proficient bilingual language processing and use. However, the role of cognitive control in developing bilingualism, i.e., among adult learners learning a second language (L2), is still unclear with some studies indicating a relationship between cognitive control and adult L2 development/developing bilingualism and other studies finding the opposite pattern. This set of contradictory findings merits further investigation in order to deepen our understanding of the role that cognitive control plays during the process of becoming bilingual. In the present study, we aimed to address this open question by examining the role of cognitive control among adult L2 learners of Spanish at the intermediate level using multiple behavioral measures as a way to provide a multidimensional perspective on the role of cognitive control and developing bilin-gualism. Our results indicate a significant relationship between cognitive control abilities, specific to reactive control, and overall L2 proficiency. We also found a significant relationship between speed of processing and overall L2 proficiency. The results of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on cognitive factors related to developing bilingualism and provide critical new insight into the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to adult L2 learners becoming bilingual.

The successful learning and performance of mathematics relies on a range of individual, social and educational factors. Recent research suggests that executive function skills, which include monitoring and manipulating information in mind... more

The successful learning and performance of mathematics relies on a range of individual, social and educational factors. Recent research suggests that executive function skills, which include monitoring and manipulating information in mind (working memory), suppressing distracting information and unwanted responses (inhibition) and flexible thinking (shifting), play a critical role in the development of mathematics proficiency. This paper reviews the literature to assess concurrent relationships between mathematics and executive function skills, the role of executive function skills in the performance of mathematical calculations, and how executive function skills support the acquisition of new mathematics knowledge. In doing so, we highlight key theoretical issues within the field and identify future avenues for research.

This research investigates whether early childhood bilingualism affects working memory performance in 6- to 8-year-olds, followed over a longitudinal period of three years. The study tests the hypothesis that bilinguals might exhibit more... more

This research investigates whether early childhood bilingualism affects working memory performance in 6- to 8-year-olds, followed over a longitudinal period of three years. The study tests the hypothesis that bilinguals might exhibit more efficient working memory abilities than monolinguals, potentially via the opportunity a bilingual environment provides to train cognitive control by combating interference and intrusions from the non-target language. Forty-four bilingual and monolingual children, matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status, completed assessments of working memory (simple span and complex span tasks), fluid intelligence, and language (vocabulary and syntax). The data showed that the monolinguals performed significantly better on the language measures across the years whereas no language group effect emerged on the working memory and fluid intelligence tasks after verbal abilities were considered. The study suggests that the need to manage several language systems in the bilingual mind affects children’s language skills whilst having little impact on the development of working memory abilities.

There is a widespread view that well-learned skills are automated, and that attention to the performance of these skills is damaging because it disrupts the automatic processes involved in their execution. This idea serves as the basis... more

There is a widespread view that well-learned skills are automated, and that attention to the performance of these skills is damaging because it disrupts the automatic processes involved in their execution. This idea serves as the basis for an account of choking in high pressure situations. On this view, choking is the result of self-focused attention induced by anxiety. Recent research in sports psychology has produced a significant body of experimental evidence widely interpreted as supporting this account of choking in certain kinds of complex sensorimotor skills. We argue against this interpretation, pointing to problems with both the empirical evidence and the underlying theory. The experimental research fails to provide direct support for the central claims of the self-focus approach, contains inconsistencies, and suffers from problems of ecological validity. In addition, qualitative studies of choking have yielded contrary results. We further argue that in their current forms the self-focus and rival distraction approaches lack the theoretical resources to provide a good theory of choking, and we argue for an expanded approach. Some of the elements that should be in an expanded approach include accounts of the features of pressure situations that influence the psychological response, the processes of situation appraisal, and the ways that attentional control can be overwhelmed, leading to distraction in some cases, and in others, perhaps, to damaging attention to skill execution. We also suggest that choking may sometimes involve performance-impairing mechanisms other than distraction or self-focus.