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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
Published on: May 14, 2014
Reactive mechanism of cognitive control system
Yosuke Morishima1, Jiro Okuda, Katsuyuki Sakai
1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. morishi@iew.uzh.ch
This study reveals how the brain adjusts behavior in real-time. It shows the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) work together to manage sensory conflict and guide actions.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- The prefrontal cortex (PFC) proactively modulates neural states for task-relevant information.
- Intrinsic neural fluctuations can limit proactive control effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate an additional control mechanism adjusting behavior to trial-by-trial neural fluctuations.
- Examine how cognitive conflict at the sensory processing stage is regulated.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human subjects performing a Stroop task.
- Single-trial isolation of cognitive conflict by comparing activation in task-relevant and irrelevant sensory areas.
- Analysis of activation covariation and functional coupling between brain regions.
Main Results:
- Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation covaried with sensory conflict on incongruent trials.
- Increased coupling between DLPFC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) observed during high-conflict trials with rapid responses.
- DLPFC involvement in detecting sensory conflict was confirmed.
Conclusions:
- DLPFC detects sensory conflict, but online behavioral adjustment relies on DLPFC-ACC interactions.
- Neural mechanisms for adapting behavior to fluctuating sensory information involve coordinated prefrontal and cingulate activity.
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