The self-bias in working memory: the favorability of self-referential stimuli in resource allocation.

Self-representations guide and shape our thoughts and behaviour. People usually exhibit inherent biases in perception, attention, and memory to favour the information associated with themselves over that associated with others. The present study explored the phenomenon of self-bias in working memory (WM), specifically how self-referential processing impacts WM precision. Four precision-based experiments were conducted to assess the recall precision of self-referential items and items associated with other social agents. The findings revealed a robust self-prioritisation effect in WM precision, wherein self-referential items were recalled with greater precision than items associated with other social agents. Additionally, increased precision for self-referential items did not decrease the precision for simultaneously remembered items. This effect was limited by the total amount of WM resources and not influenced by a perceptual distractor. The inherent self-bias in WM can serve as a proxy to access the role self-representation in goal-oriented cognitive processing, providing a means of exploring the interaction between self-reference and high-level cognitive function.

Self-referential information optimizes conflict adaptation.

Self-referential information has been shown to optimize behavioral performance in various domains. The present study examined the role of self-referential information as a cue to enhance cognitive control and, more specifically, conflict adaptation. A revised color Stroop task was used with stimuli consisting of possessive pronouns and color words (e.g., "my green"). The results showed that self-referential information reduced conflict adaptation (the congruency sequence effect at trial level in Experiment 1, at block level in Experiment 2, and the list-wide proportion congruency effect at block level in Experiment 3). These findings suggest that self-referential information can act as a cue to optimize conflict adaptation. This study highlights the role of self-referential information in cognitive control adjustments.

Not all errors are created equal: decoding the error-processing mechanisms using alpha oscillations.

Empirical evidence on error processing comes from the comparison between errors and correct responses in general, but essential differences may exist between different error types. Typically, cognitive control tasks elicit errors without conflicts (congruent errors) and with conflicts (incongruent errors), which may employ different monitoring and adjustment mechanisms. However, the neural indicators that distinguish between both error types remain unclear. To solve this issue, behavioral and electrophysiological data were measured while subjects performed the flanker task. Results showed that a significant post-error improvement in accuracy on incongruent errors, but not on congruent errors. Theta and beta power were comparable between both error types. Importantly, the basic error-related alpha suppression (ERAS) effect was observed on both errors, whereas ERAS evoked by incongruent errors was greater than congruent errors, indicating that post-error attentional adjustments are both source-general and source-specific. And the brain activity in alpha band, but not theta or beta band, successfully decoded congruent and incongruent errors. Furthermore, improved post-incongruent error accuracy was predicted by a measure of post-error attentional adjustments, the alpha power. Together, these findings demonstrate that ERAS is a reliable neural indicator for identifying error types, and directly conduces to the improvement of post-error behavior.

Temporal dynamics of conflict adaptation across different conflict strengths.

Conflict adaptation is considered to reflect the adjustment of cognitive control, and it is critical for adaptive behavior. Despite intensive investigations on conflict adaptation, straightforward evidence on how changes in conflict strength influence the behavioral and neural dynamics of conflict adaptation remains scarce. To address this issue, we manipulated conflict strength by varying distractor-target congruency to investigate whether conflict strength per se or the expectancy of conflict strength triggers the adjustment of cognitive control. Behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures were recorded while participants performed a variant four-choice flanker task without feature repetitions. The behavioral results showed that reaction times increased with increasing conflict strength. Importantly, there were conflict adaptations between the congruent and incongruent-low, congruent and incongruent-high, and incongruent-low and incongruent-high conditions. Consistent with the behavioral results, the EEG results revealed that N2 and P3 were sensitive to conflict strength. Critically, there were typical conflict adaptations between every two conflict conditions on the early P3 amplitude related to the adjustment of attentional strategies. However, there were no differences among these conflict adaptation effects, both on reaction times and the early P3 amplitude, demonstrating that the expectancy of conflict strength rather than conflict strength per se may play a crucial role in conflict adaptation. Altogether, these results emphasize the functional role of expectancy based on previous conflict strength in the exertion of cognitive control, which is in accordance with the repetition expectation theory than with the conflict monitoring theory.

Functional coupling between frontoparietal control subnetworks bridges the default and dorsal attention networks.

The frontoparietal control network (FPCN) plays a central role in tuning connectivity between brain networks to achieve integrated cognitive processes. It has been proposed that two subnetworks within the FPCN separately regulate two antagonistic networks: the FPCNa is connected to the default network (DN) that deals with internally oriented introspective processes, whereas the FPCNb is connected to the dorsal attention network (DAN) that deals with externally oriented perceptual attention. However, cooperation between the DN and DAN induced by distinct task demands has not been well-studied. Here, we characterized the dynamic cooperation among the DN, DAN, and two FPCN subnetworks in a task in which internally oriented self-referential processing could facilitate externally oriented visual working memory. Functional connectivity analysis showed enhanced coupling of a circuit from the DN to the FPCNa, then to the FPCNb, and finally to the DAN when the self-referential processing improved memory recognition in high self-referential conditions. The direct connection between the DN and DAN was not enhanced. This circuit could be reflected by an increased chain-mediating effect of the FPCNa and the FPCNb between the DN and DAN in high self-referential conditions. Graph analysis revealed that high self-referential conditions were accompanied by increased global and local efficiencies, and the increases were mainly driven by the increased efficiency of FPCN nodes. Together, our findings extend prior observations and indicate that the coupling between the two FPCN subnetworks serves as a bridge between the DN and DAN, supporting the interaction between internally oriented and externally oriented processes.

Improving Emotion Regulation Through Real-Time Neurofeedback Training on the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Evidence From Behavioral and Brain Network Analyses.

We investigated if emotion regulation can be improved through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions, as well as how to change the brain networks implicated in this process. During the training period, the participants were instructed to up-regulate their right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) activity according to real-time functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neurofeedback signals, and there was no emotional element. The results showed that the training significantly increased emotion regulation, resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within the emotion regulation network (ERN) and frontoparietal network (FPN), and rsFC between the ERN and amygdala; however, training did not influence the rsFC between the FPN and the amygdala. However, self-regulation training on rDLPFC significantly improved emotion regulation and generally increased the rsFCs within the networks; the rsFC between the ERN and amygdala was also selectively increased. The present study also described a safe approach that may improve emotion regulation through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions.

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Drives the Prioritization of Self-Associated Stimuli in Working Memory.

Humans show a pervasive bias for processing self- over other-related information, including in working memory (WM), where people prioritize the maintenance of self- (over other-) associated cues. To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying this self-bias, we paired a self- versus other-associated spatial WM task with fMRI and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of human participants of both sexes. Maintaining self- (over other-) associated cues resulted in enhanced activity in classic WM regions (frontoparietal cortex), and in superior multivoxel pattern decoding of the cue locations from visual cortex. Moreover, ventromedial PFC (VMPFC) displayed enhanced functional connectivity with WM regions during maintenance of self-associated cues, which predicted individuals' behavioral self-prioritization effects. In a follow-up tDCS experiment, we targeted VMPFC with excitatory (anodal), inhibitory (cathodal), or sham tDCS. Cathodal tDCS eliminated the self-prioritization effect. These findings provide strong converging evidence for a causal role of VMPFC in driving self-prioritization effects in WM and provide a unique window into the interaction between social, self-referential processing and high-level cognitive control processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT People have a strong tendency to attend to self-related stimuli, such as their names. This self-bias extends to the automatic prioritization of arbitrarily self-associated stimuli held in working memory. Since working memory is central to high-level cognition, this bias could influence how we make decisions. It is therefore important to understand the underlying brain mechanisms. Here, we used neuroimaging and noninvasive neurostimulation techniques to show that the source of self-bias in working memory is the ventromedial PFC, which modulates activity in frontoparietal brain regions to produce prioritized representations of self-associated stimuli in sensory cortex. This work thus reveals a brain circuit underlying the socially motivated (self-referential) biasing of high-level cognitive processing.

Automatic Prioritization of Self-Referential Stimuli in Working Memory.

People preferentially attend to external stimuli that are related to themselves compared with others. Whether a similar self-reference bias applies to internal representations, such as those maintained in working memory (WM), is presently unknown. We tested this possibility in four experiments, in which participants were first trained to associate social labels (self, friend, stranger) with arbitrary colors and then performed a delayed match-to-sample spatial WM task on color locations. Participants consistently responded fastest to WM probes at locations of self-associated colors (Experiments 1-4). This self-bias was driven not by differential exogenous attention during encoding or retrieval (Experiments 1 and 2) but by internal attentional prioritization of self-related representations during WM maintenance (Experiment 3). Moreover, self-prioritization in WM was nonstrategic, as this bias persisted even under conditions in which it hurt WM performance. These findings document an automatic prioritization of self-referential items in WM, which may form the basis of some egocentric biases in decision making.

Reward improves response inhibition by enhancing attentional capture.

Reward plays a crucial role in enhancing response inhibition. While it is generally assumed that the process of response inhibition involves attentional capture and the stopping of action, it is unclear whether this reflects a direct impact of reward on response inhibition or rather an indirect mediation via attentional capture. Here, we employed a revised stop-signal task (SST) that separated these two cognitive elements, by including a continue signal that required the same motor response as in go trials, but also attention to a cue, as in stop trials. We first confirmed the engagement of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during stop and continue trials, both of which required the attentional capture of the task-relevant cue, but only one of which required motor inhibition. The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) was specifically activated by the contrast of the stop trials with the continue trials. The results indicated that the IFG played an important role in attentional capture by unexpected stimuli, while the pre-SMA was responsible for the direct control of motor inhibition. Behavioral performance of the SST was improved by reward, and moreover, reward induced an increase in IFG activity. In addition, this advantageous reward effect was associated with enhanced connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the IFG. These results indicated that the reward facilitation effect on response inhibition was indirect, occurring via a change in attentional processing. The present data confirm the specific function of the IFG and pre-SMA in response inhibition and provide straightforward evidence that reward can increase attentional capture-related activation in the IFG, which in turn improves the performance of response inhibition.

The structural and functional correlates underlying individual heterogeneity of reading the mind in the eyes.

Mentalizing is an essential component in human social interactions and the sources of individual variation in mentalizing are still very poorly understood. Utilizing the "reading the mind in the eyes" test (RMET), we examined the neuroanatomical basis of these differences with voxel-based morphometry and found that the gray matter density in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) could positively predict individuals' RMET scores. Furthermore, we found that the pSTS-amygdala functional connection was positively correlated to individuals' RMET scores. A test-validation procedure confirmed that the imaging results could be replicated and validated in another independent sample. Finally, mediation analysis revealed that pSTS-amygdala functional connection could account for the relationship between pSTS gray matter density and RMET scores. Present results demonstrate the contribution of brain structure of pSTS to individual variations in RMET performance and reveal an important implication of the neural circuit between core imitation and emotion regions in REMT.

Processing overlap-dependent distractor dilution rather than perceptual target load determines attentional selectivity.

The perceptual load theory of attentional selection argues that the degree to which distractors interfere with target processing is determined by the "perceptual load" (or discrimination difficulty) of target processing: when perceptual load is low, distractors interfere to a greater extent than when it is high. A well-known exception is load-independent interference effects from face distractors during processing of name targets. This finding was reconciled with load theory by proposing distinct processing resources for faces versus names. In the present study, we revisit this effect to test (a) whether increasing the processing overlap (perceptual, lexical, conceptual) between potential targets and distractors would reinstate the classic load effect, and (b) whether this data pattern could be better explained by load theory or by a rival account that argues that distractor dilution rather than target load determines the degree of distractor interference. Over four experiments, we first replicate the original finding and then show that load effects grow with increasing processing overlap between potential targets and distractors. However, by adding dilution conditions, we also show that these processing overlap dependent modulations of distractor interference can be explained by the distractor dilution perspective but not by perceptual load theory. Thus, our findings support a processing overlap dilution account of attentional selection.

The cognitive up- and down-regulation of positive emotion: Evidence from behavior, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging.

Although numerous studies have investigated emotion regulation, the physiological responses and neural substrates of positive emotion regulation remain unclear. To address this question, we explored the effect of reappraisal on subjective experience, zygomatic electromyography (zEMG) response, and blood oxygen level response, using the same materials across three independent experiments. Behaviorally, up-regulating positive emotion increased the valence, arousal, and zEMG response, whereas down-regulating positive emotion decreased the valence, but not arousal or the zEMG response. The neuroimaging results indicate that reappraisal-related prefrontal and cingulate regions were recruited in both the up- and down-regulation conditions, while the bilateral occipital lobe was more active in the up-regulation than in the down-regulation. The psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed that the prefrontal-subcortical (amygdala and ventral striatal) connections were primarily recruited during up-regulation. This study expands the research on emotion regulation and enhances the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the cognitive regulation of positive emotion.

Coactivation of cognitive control networks during task switching.

OBJECTIVE: The ability to flexibly switch between tasks is considered an important component of cognitive control that involves frontal and parietal cortical areas. The present study was designed to characterize network dynamics across multiple brain regions during task switching. METHOD: Functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) were captured during a standard rule-switching task to identify switching-related brain regions. Multiregional psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was used to examine effective connectivity between these regions. RESULTS: During switching trials, behavioral performance declined and activation of a generic cognitive control network increased. Concurrently, task-related connectivity increased within and between cingulo-opercular and fronto-parietal cognitive control networks. Notably, the left inferior frontal junction (IFJ) was most consistently coactivated with the 2 cognitive control networks. Furthermore, switching-dependent effective connectivity was negatively correlated with behavioral switch costs. The strength of effective connectivity between left IFJ and other regions in the networks predicted individual differences in switch costs. CONCLUSIONS: Task switching was supported by coactivated connections within cognitive control networks, with left IFJ potentially acting as a key hub between the fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attentional control underlies the perceptual load effect: Evidence from voxel-wise degree centrality and resting-state functional connectivity.

The fact that interference from peripheral distracting information can be reduced in high perceptual load tasks has been widely demonstrated in previous research. The modulation from the perceptual load is known as perceptual load effect (PLE). Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on perceptual load have reported the brain areas implicated in attentional control. To date, the contribution of attentional control to PLE and the relationship between the organization of functional connectivity and PLE are still poorly understood. In the present study, we used resting-state fMRI to explore the association between the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) and PLE in an individual differences design and further investigated the potential resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) contributing to individual's PLE. DC-PLE correlation analysis revealed that PLE was positively associated with the right middle temporal visual area (MT)-one of dorsal attention network (DAN) nodes. Furthermore, the right MT functionally connected to the conventional DAN and the RSFCs between right MT and DAN nodes were also positively associated with individual difference in PLE. The results suggest an important role of attentional control in perceptual load tasks and provide novel insights into the understanding of the neural correlates underlying PLE.

Phonological experience modulates voice discrimination: Evidence from functional brain networks analysis.

Numerous behavioral studies have found a modulation effect of phonological experience on voice discrimination. However, the neural substrates underpinning this phenomenon are poorly understood. Here we manipulated language familiarity to test the hypothesis that phonological experience affects voice discrimination via mediating the engagement of multiple perceptual and cognitive resources. The results showed that during voice discrimination, the activation of several prefrontal regions was modulated by language familiarity. More importantly, the same effect was observed concerning the functional connectivity from the fronto-parietal network to the voice-identity network (VIN), and from the default mode network to the VIN. Our findings indicate that phonological experience could bias the recruitment of cognitive control and information retrieval/comparison processes during voice discrimination. Therefore, the study unravels the neural substrates subserving the modulation effect of phonological experience on voice discrimination, and provides new insights into studying voice discrimination from the perspective of network interactions.

Improved emotional conflict control triggered by the processing priority of negative emotion.

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional conflict resolution, and this control mechanism is affected by the emotional valence of distracting stimuli. In the present study, we investigated effects of negative and positive stimuli on emotional conflict control using a face-word Stroop task in combination with functional brain imaging. Emotional conflict was absent in the negative face context, in accordance with the null activation observed in areas regarding emotional face processing (fusiform face area, middle temporal/occipital gyrus). Importantly, these visual areas negatively coupled with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the significant emotional conflict was observed in the positive face context, this effect was accompanied by activation in areas associated with emotional face processing, and the default mode network (DMN), here, DLPFC mainly negatively coupled with DMN, rather than visual areas. These results suggested that the conflict control mechanism exerted differently between negative faces and positive faces, it implemented more efficiently in the negative face condition, whereas it is more devoted to inhibiting internal interference in the positive face condition. This study thus provides a plausible mechanism of emotional conflict resolution that the rapid pathway for negative emotion processing efficiently triggers control mechanisms to preventively resolve emotional conflict.

The neural basis of trait self-esteem revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting state functional connectivity.

Self-esteem is an affective, self-evaluation of oneself and has a significant effect on mental and behavioral health. Although research has focused on the neural substrates of self-esteem, little is known about the spontaneous brain activity that is associated with trait self-esteem (TSE) during the resting state. In this study, we used the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) to identify TSE-related regions and networks. We found that a higher level of TSE was associated with higher ALFFs in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and lower ALFFs in the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right lingual gyrus. RSFC analyses revealed that the strengths of functional connectivity between the left vmPFC and bilateral hippocampus were positively correlated with TSE; however, the connections between the left vmPFC and right inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal sulcus were negatively associated with TSE. Furthermore, the strengths of functional connectivity between the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex were positively related to TSE. These findings indicate that TSE is linked to core regions in the default mode network and social cognition network, which is involved in self-referential processing, autobiographical memory and social cognition.

Task-switching Cost and Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in the Human Brain: Toward Understanding Individual Differences in Cognitive Flexibility.

The human ability to flexibly alternate between tasks (i.e., task-switching) represents a critical component of cognitive control. Many functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have explored the neural basis of the task-switching. However, no study to date has examined how individual differences in intrinsic functional architecture of the human brain are related to that of the task-switching. In the present study, we took 11 task-switching relevant areas from a meta-analysis study as the regions of interests (ROIs) and estimated their intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) with the whole brain. This procedure was repeated for 32 healthy adults based upon their fMRI scans during resting-state (rfMRI) to investigate the correlations between switching cost and the iFC strength across these participants. This analysis found that switch cost was negatively correlated with a set of iFC involved ROIs including left inferior frontal junction, bilateral superior posterior parietal cortex, left precuneus, bilateral inferior parietal lobule, right middle frontal gyrus and bilateral middle occipital gyrus. These connectivity profiles represent an intrinsic functional architecture of task-switching where the left inferior frontal junction plays a hub role in this brain-behavior association. These findings are highly reproducible in another validation independent sample and provide a novel perspective for understanding the neural basis of individual differences in task-switching behaviors reflected in the intrinsic architecture of the human brain.