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Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
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Positive affect modulates flexibility and evaluative control.

Nelleke C van Wouwe1, Guido P H Band, K Richard Ridderinkhof

  • 1Leiden University. nelleke.vanwouwe@tno.nl

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|November 21, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Positive affect enhances reactive and evaluative control in working memory by influencing dopamine release. Proactive control and context maintenance remain largely unaffected by induced positive affect.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Affective Science

Background:

  • Effective interaction with dynamic environments necessitates balancing working memory (WM) maintenance with sensitivity to new information.
  • Mesocortical dopamine pathways in frontal regions are crucial for WM maintenance and flexibility.
  • Emerging evidence suggests positive affect transiently enhances dopamine release.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of induced positive affect on proactive control (context maintenance/updating) and reactive control (flexible adaptation) within an AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT).
  • To examine the role of positive affect in evaluative control, specifically error processing.

Main Methods:

  • Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded during an AX-CPT task where participants responded to probes preceded by specific cues.
  • Positive affect was induced in participants.
  • Analysis focused on ERP components reflecting proactive control (P3b, Contingent Negative Variation) and reactive/evaluative control (N2, Error-Related Negativity).

Main Results:

  • Induced positive affect significantly modulated reactive control, as indicated by changes in the N2 component.
  • Positive affect also influenced evaluative control, reflected in the Error-Related Negativity (ERN).
  • Proactive control processes, including cue-induced preparation and context maintenance (P3b, CNV), were largely unaffected by the induced positive affect.

Conclusions:

  • Positive affect selectively enhances reactive and evaluative control mechanisms in working memory, likely through dopamine modulation.
  • Proactive aspects of working memory, such as context maintenance, appear less sensitive to positive affect induction.
  • Findings contribute to understanding the interplay between emotion and cognitive control in dynamic environments.