ERPs dissociate proactive and reactive control: evidence from a task-switching paradigm with informative and...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Electrophysiology
• Psychology

Background:

• The dual mechanism of control (DMC) framework posits two modes of cognitive control: proactive and reactive.
• Proactive control aims to prevent conflict with advance preparation, while reactive control addresses conflict after detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically differentiate proactive and reactive cognitive control processes.
• To identify the event-related potential (ERP) correlates of these distinct control mechanisms.

Main Methods:

• A task-switch paradigm was employed with varying cue informativeness to manipulate proactive control feasibility.
• Behavioral data and electrophysiological measures (ERPs) were recorded.

Main Results:

• Proactive control was linked to sustained right-frontal ERP modulation during the cue-target interval.
• Informative cues (enabling proactive control) reduced conflict-related behavioral and ERP measures.
• Reactive control was associated with transient left-frontal ERP modulation, particularly when proactive control was not feasible.

Conclusions:

• Distinct neural mechanisms underlie proactive and reactive cognitive control.
• These complementary processes work together to manage task demands and resolve response conflicts flexibly.