Response stopping under conflict: The integrative role of representational dynamics associated with the insular cortex.

Coping with distracting inputs during goal-directed behavior is a common challenge, especially when stopping ongoing responses. The neural basis for this remains debated. Our study explores this using a conflict-modulation Stop Signal task, integrating group independent component analysis (group-ICA), multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), and EEG source localization analysis.

Alcohol-induced deficits in reactive control of response selection and inhibition are counteracted by a seemingly paradox increase in proactive control.

High-dose alcohol intoxication reduces cognitive control, including inhibition. Although inhibition deficits may contribute to the behavioral deficits commonly observed in alcohol use disorder (AUD), many questions about potentially modulating factors have remained unanswered. We examined the effects of experimentally induced high-dose alcohol intoxication (~ 1.

The role of visual association cortices during response selection processes in interference-modulated response stopping.

Response inhibition and the ability to navigate distracting information are both integral parts of cognitive control and are imperative to adaptive behavior in everyday life. Thus far, research has only inconclusively been able to draw inferences regarding the association between response stopping and the effects of interfering information. Using a novel combination of the Simon task and a stop signal task, the current study set out to investigate the behavioral as well as the neurophysiological underpinnings of the relationship between response stopping and interference processing.

On the Role of Stimulus-Response Context in Inhibitory Control in Alcohol Use Disorder.

The behavioral and neural dynamics of response inhibition deficits in alcohol use disorder (AUD) are still largely unclear, despite them possibly being key to the mechanistic understanding of the disorder. Our study investigated the effect of automatic vs. controlled processing during response inhibition in participants with mild-to-moderate AUD and matched healthy controls.

Evidence for independent representational contents in inhibitory control subprocesses associated with frontoparietal cortices.

Inhibitory control processes have intensively been studied in cognitive science for the past decades. Even though the neural dynamics underlying these processes are increasingly better understood, a critical open question is how the representational dynamics of the inhibitory control processes are modulated when engaging in response inhibition in a relatively automatic or a controlled mode. Against the background of an overarching theory of perception-action integration, we combine temporal and spatial EEG signal decomposition methods with multivariate pattern analysis and source localization to obtain fine-grained insights into the neural dynamics of the representational content of response inhibition.

The importance of resource allocation for the interplay between automatic and cognitive control in response inhibition - An EEG source localization study.

Goal-directed behavior often requires the inhibition of prepotent automatic responses. Response inhibition encompasses several top-down cognitive operations embedded in a neural network extending from fronto-cortical regions to subcortical nuclei. Yet, it has remained unclear whether the early allocation of cognitive resources also modulates response inhibition performance and neural structures involved in this process.

Auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation for alcohol use disorder: A chance to improve treatment?

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a relapsing-remitting condition characterized by excessive and/or continued alcohol consumption despite harmful consequences. New adjuvant tools, such as noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, might be helpful additions to conventional treatment approaches or even provide an alternative option for patients who fail to respond adequately to other treatment options. Here, we discuss the potential use of auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (atVNS) as an ADD-ON intervention in AUD.

How low working memory demands and reduced anticipatory attentional gating contribute to impaired inhibition during acute alcohol intoxication.

High-dose alcohol intoxication is commonly associated with impaired inhibition, but the boundary conditions, as well as associated neurocognitive/neuroanatomical changes have remained rather unclear. This study was motivated by the counterintuitive finding that high-dose alcohol intoxication compromises response inhibition performance when working memory demands were low, but not when they were high. To investigate whether this is more likely to be caused by deficits in cognitive control processes or in attentional processes, we examined event-related (de)synchronization processes in theta and alpha-band activity and performed beamforming analyses on the EEG data of previously published behavioral findings.

Pretrial Theta Band Activity Affects Context-dependent Modulation of Response Inhibition.

The ability to inhibit a prepotent response is a crucial prerequisite of goal-directed behavior. So far, research on response inhibition has mainly examined these processes when there is little to no cognitive control during the decision to respond. We manipulated the "context" in which response inhibition has to be exerted (i.

A role of the norepinephrine system or effort in the interplay of different facets of inhibitory control.

Inhibitory control has multiple facets, and one possible distinction can be made between 'inhibition of interferences' and the 'inhibition of actions'. Both facets of inhibitory control show an interdependency. Even though some neurophysiological processes underlying this interdependency have been examined, the role of neuro-modulatory processes in their interplay are not understood.

Neurobiological mechanisms of control in alcohol use disorder - Moving towards mechanism-based non-invasive brain stimulation treatments.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by excessive habitual drinking and loss of control over alcohol intake despite negative consequences. Both of these aspects foster uncontrolled drinking and high relapse rates in AUD patients. Yet, common interventions mostly focus on the phenomenological level, and prioritize the reduction of craving and withdrawal symptoms.

Visual Short-Term Memory for Coherent and Sequential Motion: A rTMS Investigation.

We investigated the role of the human medio-temporal complex (hMT+) in the memory encoding and storage of a sequence of four coherently moving random dot kinematograms (RDKs), by applying repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) during an early or late phase of the retention interval. Moreover, in a second experiment, we also tested whether disrupting the functional integrity of hMT+ during the early phase impaired the precision of the encoded motion directions. Overall, results showed that both recognition accuracy and precision were worse in middle serial positions, suggesting the occurrence of primacy and recency effects.

Alcohol intoxication, but not hangover, differentially impairs learning and automatization of complex motor response sequences.

Behavioral automatization usually makes us more efficient and less error-prone, but may also foster dysfunctional behavior like alcohol abuse. Yet, it has remained unclear whether alcohol itself causes the shift from controlled to habitual behavior commonly observed in alcohol use disorder (AUD). We thus investigated how the acute and post-acute effects of binge drinking affect the automatization of motor response sequences and the execution of automated vs.

Electrophysiological aftereffects of high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS): an EEG investigation.

There is evidence that high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) is effective in improving behavioural performance in several visual tasks. However, so far there has been limited research into the spatial and temporal characteristics of hf-tRNS-induced facilitatory effects. In the present study, electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of cortical activity modulated by offline hf-tRNS on performance on a motion direction discrimination task.

Spatial and Temporal Selectivity of Translational Glass Patterns Assessed With the Tilt After-Effect.

Glass patterns (GPs) have been widely employed to investigate the mechanisms underlying processing of global form from locally oriented cues. The current study aimed to psychophysically investigate the level at which global orientation is extracted from translational GPs using the tilt after-effect (TAE) and manipulating the spatiotemporal properties of the adapting pattern. We adapted participants to translational GPs and tested with sinewave gratings.

Visual short-term memory for coherent motion in video game players: evidence from a memory-masking paradigm.

In this study, we investigated visual short-term memory for coherent motion in action video game players (AVGPs), non-action video game players (NAVGPs), and non-gamers (control group: CONs). Participants performed a visual memory-masking paradigm previously used with macaque monkeys and humans. In particular, we tested whether video game players form a more robust visual short-term memory trace for coherent moving stimuli during the encoding phase, and whether such memory traces are less affected by an intervening masking stimulus presented 0.

Limited Attention Diminishes Spatial Suppression From Large Field Glass Patterns.

Glass patterns (GPs) consist of randomly distributed dot pairs (dipoles) whose orientations are determined by specific geometric transforms. We investigated the role of visuospatial attention in the processing of global form from GPs by measuring the effect of distraction on adaptation to GPs. In the nondistracted condition, observers were adapted to coherent GPs.

Modulatory mechanisms underlying high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS): A combined stochastic resonance and equivalent noise approach.

Background: High-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) is a neuromodulatory technique consisting of the application of alternating current at random intensities and frequencies. hf-tRNS induces random neural activity in the system that may boost the sensitivity of neurons to weak inputs. Stochastic resonance is a nonlinear phenomenon whereby the addition of an optimal amount of noise results in performance enhancement, whereas further noise increments impair signal detection or discrimination.

The effects of high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) on global motion processing: An equivalent noise approach.

Background: High frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) facilitates performance in several perceptual and cognitive tasks, however, little is known about the underlying modulatory mechanisms.

Objective: In this study we compared the effects of hf-tRNS to those of anodal and cathodal tDCS in a global motion direction discrimination task. An equivalent noise (EN) paradigm was used to assess how hf-tRNS modulates the mechanisms underlying local and global motion processing.

The interaction between orientation and motion signals in moving oriented Glass patterns.

Previous psychophysical evidence suggests that motion and orientation processing systems interact asymmetrically in the human visual system, with orientation information having a stronger influence on the perceived motion direction than vice versa. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this motion-form interaction we used moving and oriented Glass patterns (GPs), which consist of randomly distributed dot pairs (dipoles) that induce the percept of an oriented texture. In Experiment 1 we varied the angle between dipole orientation and motion direction (conflict angle).

The neural basis of form and form-motion integration from static and dynamic translational Glass patterns: A rTMS investigation.

A long-held view of the visual system is that form and motion are independently analysed. However, there is physiological and psychophysical evidence of early interaction in the processing of form and motion. In this study, we used a combination of Glass patterns (GPs) and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to investigate in human observers the neural mechanisms underlying form-motion integration.

Opposite effects of high- and low-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation probed with visual motion adaptation.

Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) is a recent neuro-modulation technique whose effects at both behavioural and neural level are still debated. Here we employed the well-known phenomenon of motion after-effect (MAE) in order to investigate the effects of high- vs. low-frequency tRNS on motion adaptation and recovery.

Action Video Games Improve Direction Discrimination of Parafoveal Translational Global Motion but Not Reaction Times.

Playing action video games enhances visual motion perception. However, there is psychophysical evidence that action video games do not improve motion sensitivity for translational global moving patterns presented in fovea. This study investigates global motion perception in action video game players and compares their performance to that of non-action video game players and non-video game players.

Improvement of uncorrected visual acuity and contrast sensitivity with perceptual learning and transcranial random noise stimulation in individuals with mild myopia.

Perceptual learning has been shown to produce an improvement of visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) both in subjects with amblyopia and refractive defects such as myopia or presbyopia. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) has proven to be efficacious in accelerating neural plasticity and boosting perceptual learning in healthy participants. In this study, we investigated whether a short behavioral training regime using a contrast detection task combined with online tRNS was as effective in improving visual functions in participants with mild myopia compared to a 2-month behavioral training regime without tRNS (Camilleri et al.

Improving myopia via perceptual learning: is training with lateral masking the only (or the most) efficacious technique?

Perceptual learning produces an improvement in visual functions such as an increase in visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity in participants with both amblyopia and refractive defects. This improvement has been observed in the presence of lateral masking, which is known to bring about lateral interactions between detectors in early cortical pathways. Improvement has also been revealed in the absence of flankers in healthy individuals and those with amblyopia.