Neural mechanisms of adaptive behavior: Dissociating local cortical modulations and interregional communication patterns.

Adaptive behavior is based on flexibly managing and integrating perceptual and motor processes, and the reconfiguration thereof. Such adaptive behavior is also relevant during inhibitory control. Although research has demonstrated local activity modulations in theta and alpha frequency bands during behavioral adaptation, the communication of brain regions is insufficiently studied.

The metacontrol of event segmentation-A neurophysiological and behavioral perspective.

During our everyday life, the constant flow of information is divided into discrete events, a process conceptualized in Event Segmentation Theory (EST). How people perform event segmentation and the resulting granularity of encapsulated segments likely depends on their metacontrol style. Yet, the underlying neural mechanisms remain undetermined.

Neural connectivity patterns explain why adolescents perceive the world as moving slow.

That younger individuals perceive the world as moving slower than adults is a familiar phenomenon. Yet, it remains an open question why that is. Using event segmentation theory, electroencephalogram (EEG) beamforming and nonlinear causal relationship estimation using artificial neural network methods, we studied neural activity while adolescent and adult participants segmented a movie.

Event segmentation in ADHD: neglect of social information and deviant theta activity point to a mechanism underlying ADHD.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most frequently diagnosed psychiatric conditions in children and adolescents. Although the symptoms appear to be well described, no coherent conceptual mechanistic framework integrates their occurrence and variance and the associated problems that people with ADHD face.

Aims: The current study proposes that altered event segmentation processes provide a novel mechanistic framework for understanding deficits in ADHD.

Neurophysiological effective network connectivity supports a threshold-dependent management of dynamic working memory gating.

To facilitate goal-directed actions, effective management of working memory (WM) is crucial, involving a hypothesized WM "gating mechanism." We investigate the underlying neural basis through behavioral modeling and connectivity assessments between neuroanatomical regions linked to theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. We found opposing, threshold-dependent mechanisms governing WM gate opening and closing.

The Ability to Voluntarily Regulate Theta Band Activity Affects How Pharmacological Manipulation of the Catecholaminergic System Impacts Cognitive Control.

Background: The catecholaminergic system influences response inhibition, but the magnitude of the impact of catecholaminergic manipulation is heterogeneous. Theoretical considerations suggest that the voluntary modulability of theta band activity can explain this variance. The study aimed to investigate to what extent interindividual differences in catecholaminergic effects on response inhibition depend on voluntary theta band activity modulation.

The temporal dynamics of how the brain structures natural scenes.

Individuals organize the evolving stream of events in their environment by partitioning it into discrete units. Event segmentation theory (EST) provides a cognitive explanation for the process of this partitioning. Critically, the underlying time-resolved neural mechanisms are not understood, and thus a central conceptual aspect of how humans implement this central ability is missing.

Interplay between alpha and theta band activity enables management of perception-action representations for goal-directed behavior.

Goal-directed behavior requires integrated mental representations of perceptions and actions. The neurophysiological underpinnings of these processes, however, are not yet understood. It is particularly undetermined, which oscillatory activities in which brain regions are involved in the management of perception-action representations.

The Effects of Different Theta and Beta Neurofeedback Training Protocols on Cognitive Control in ADHD.

Unlabelled: Neurofeedback (NF) is an important treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In ADHD, cognitive control deficits pose considerable problems to patients. However, NF protocols are not yet optimized to enhance cognitive control alongside with clinical symptoms, partly because they are not driven by basic cognitive neuroscience.

Perception-action integration during inhibitory control is reflected in a concomitant multi-region processing of specific codes in the neurophysiological signal.

The integration of perception and action has long been studied in psychological science using overarching cognitive frameworks. Despite these being very successful in explaining perception-action integration, little is known about its neurophysiological and especially the functional neuroanatomical foundations. It is unknown whether distinct brain structures are simultaneously involved in the processing of perception-action integration codes and also to what extent demands on perception-action integration modulate activities in these structures.

Cognitive science theory-driven pharmacology elucidates the neurobiological basis of perception-motor integration.

An efficient integration of sensory and motor processes is crucial to goal-directed behavior. Despite this high relevance, and although cognitive theories provide clear conceptual frameworks, the neurobiological basis of these processes remains insufficiently understood. In a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled pharmacological study, we examine the relevance of catecholamines for perception-motor integration processes.

Pre-trial fronto-occipital electrophysiological connectivity affects perception-action integration in response inhibition.

Inhibition of inappropriate behavior is relevant in many everyday situations. Nevertheless, the mechanisms that induce response inhibition based on sensory information and what influences these mechanisms are not entirely understood. We examined neurophysiological processes of perception-action integration in response inhibition and the impact of the pre-trial neurophysiological functional connectivity state in the theta and alpha band on these integration processes.

Alpha and Theta Bands Dynamics Serve Distinct Functions during Perception-Action Integration in Response Inhibition.

The ability to inhibit responses is central for situational behavior. However, the mechanisms how sensory information is used to inform inhibitory control processes are incompletely understood. In the current study, we examined neurophysiological processes of perception-action integration in response inhibition using the theory of event coding as a conceptual framework.

Pushing to the Limits: What Processes during Cognitive Control are Enhanced by Reaction-Time Feedback?

To respond as quickly as possible in a given task is a widely used instruction in cognitive neuroscience; however, the neural processes modulated by this common experimental procedure remain largely elusive. We investigated the underlying neurophysiological processes combining electroencephalography (EEG) signal decomposition (residue iteration decomposition, RIDE) and source localization. We show that trial-based response speed instructions enhance behavioral performance in conflicting trials, but slightly impair performance in nonconflicting trials.

Neural dynamics of stimulus-response representations during inhibitory control.

The investigation of action control processes is one major field in cognitive neuroscience and several theoretical frameworks have been proposed. One established framework is the "Theory of Event Coding" (TEC). However, only rarely, this framework has been used in the context of response inhibition and how stimulus-response association or binding processes modulate response inhibition performance.

Feedback-Based Learning of Timing in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Objective: Patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) frequently display symptoms resembling those of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Importantly, these disorders are characterised by distinct changes in the dopaminergic system, which plays an important role in timing performance and feedback-based adjustments in timing performance. In a transdiagnostic approach, we examine how far NF1 and ADHD show distinct or comparable profiles of timing performance and feedback-based adjustments in timing.

Resting theta activity is associated with specific coding levels in event-related theta activity during conflict monitoring.

Brain electrical activity in the theta frequency band is essential for cognitive control (e.g., during conflict monitoring), but is also evident in the resting state.

Learning Experience Reverses Catecholaminergic Effects on Adaptive Behavior.

Background: Catecholamines are important for cognitive control and the ability to adapt behavior (e.g., after response errors).