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Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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Brain Signal Variability Differentially Affects Cognitive Flexibility and Cognitive Stability.

Diana J N Armbruster-Genç1, Kai Ueltzhöffer2, Christian J Fiebach3

  • 1Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, D-60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Heidelberg University, D-68161 Mannheim, Germany, Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg University, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany, armbruster-genc@psych.uni-frankfurt.de.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|April 8, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Brain signal variability benefits cognitive flexibility but hinders cognitive stability. This study reveals how neural variability in the inferior frontal junction differentially impacts task switching versus distractor inhibition performance in healthy adults.

Keywords:
BOLD-signal variabilitybehavioral variabilitycognitive flexibilitycognitive stabilityfMRI

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Brain Imaging

Background:

  • Recent research indicates that higher neuronal process variability benefits cognitive function in healthy adults.
  • Neurocomputational theories suggest variability aids working memory, but only for tasks demanding cognitive flexibility.
  • It is hypothesized that cognitive stability, maintaining focus against distractors, may suffer with increased brain signal variability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically test the differential impact of brain signal variability on cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability.
  • To investigate the role of neural variability in task switching (cognitive flexibility) and distractor inhibition (cognitive stability).
  • To develop and apply an efficient analysis for blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal variability in event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Main Methods:

  • Assessed behavioral and brain signal variability in healthy human subjects during cognitive flexibility and stability tasks.
  • Utilized an efficient analysis approach for BOLD-signal variability in event-related fMRI.
  • Examined performance metrics including accuracy and response time costs.

Main Results:

  • A general positive association between neural variability and task performance accuracy was observed.
  • Increased BOLD-signal variability in the left inferior frontal junction facilitated cognitive flexibility (task switching) by reducing error rate costs.
  • Conversely, variability in the same region detrimentally affected cognitive stability (distractor inhibition), increasing response time costs.

Conclusions:

  • Neural variability exhibits a context-dependent effect on cognitive performance, aligning with computational predictions.
  • Higher neural variability in the inferior frontal junction enhances task switching effectiveness but impairs distractor inhibition efficiency.
  • Behavioral variability mirrored these findings, with higher variability linked to better task switching and poorer distractor inhibition.