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Development of response activation and inhibition in a selective stop-signal task
Maria C van de Laar1, Wery P M van den Wildenberg2, Geert J M van Boxtel3
1Amsterdam Center for the Study of Adaptive Control in Brain and Behavior (Acacia), Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Biological Psychology
|July 12, 2014
Summary
Children show less developed action control than adults, struggling with response inhibition and proactive control. This impacts their ability to stop or adjust actions effectively, highlighting developmental differences in brain potential.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Action control is crucial for goal-directed behavior.
- Understanding developmental changes in action control informs theories of cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in action control mechanisms.
- To examine response selection, activation, and inhibition during development.
Main Methods:
- Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded.
- Three age groups (8, 12, and 21 years) performed choice and stop-signal tasks.
- Behavioral and electrophysiological data were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Children exhibited less efficient proactive control, slowing responses and showing reduced motor output.
- Children were less effective at inhibiting responses on failed trials, leading to higher partial inhibition rates.
- While all groups reactivated responses on invalid stop trials, children were less efficient in this process.
Conclusions:
- Developmental changes in action control involve distinct trajectories for proactive and reactive inhibition.
- Children's greater recruitment of motor responses hinders inhibition and proactive control efficiency.
- Findings contribute to understanding the maturation of inhibitory control and action regulation.
