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Flexible cognitive control: effects of individual differences and brief practice on a complex cognitive task
A M Kelly1, Robert Hester, John J Foxe
1School of Psychology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Neuroimage
|March 8, 2006
Summary
Cognitive control, involving working memory (WM) and inhibitory processes, can be improved with practice. Brief practice modulates brain activity in WM and inhibitory regions, enhancing cognitive control abilities.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Brain activity during cognitive tasks changes with cognitive load, individual differences, and practice.
- Cognitive control involves inhibiting prepotent responses based on working memory (WM) content.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how practice modulates brain activity in a cognitive control task.
- Differentiate between item-specific and general task-skill practice effects on WM and inhibitory control.
Main Methods:
- Used a cognitive control task requiring response inhibition based on WM content.
- Analyzed brain activations associated with item repetition and general task practice.
Main Results:
- Item repetition decreased activity in WM and inhibitory regions.
- Task practice reduced tonic WM activity but increased activity in key inhibitory areas (PFC, parietal cortex).
- Practice and performance differences modulated frontostriatal activity related to attentional control.
Conclusions:
- Reflexive cognitive control is improvable through practice.
- Practice can modulate brain regions that show individual differences in activity.
- Distinct practice effects exist for item-specific learning versus general skill acquisition.