Right Fronto-Subcortical White Matter Microstructure Predicts Cognitive Control Ability on the Go/No-go Task in a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Cognitive control is crucial for behavior regulation and is indexed by go/no-go tasks.
• Previous research linked cognitive control to white matter microstructure in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)-subthalamic nucleus (STN) circuit.
• The specificity of this association and the influence of general white matter factors, related to processing speed, remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific relationship between white matter microstructure and go/no-go task performance.
• To determine if the right IFG-STN tract uniquely predicts cognitive control.
• To examine the influence of a general white matter factor and psychopathology on this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess white matter microstructure.
• Recruited a large community sample (n=378) with diverse psychopathology.
• Analyzed go/no-go task performance in relation to specific white matter tracts and a general white matter factor.

Main Results:

• White matter microstructure in the right IFG-STN tract significantly predicted go/no-go performance.
• This prediction remained significant after controlling for dimensional psychopathology.
• The general white matter factor was only significant when controlling for psychopathology, and the IFG-STN tract remained the sole significant predictor when both were included.

Conclusions:

• White matter microstructure in the right IFG-STN tract shows a specific association with cognitive control.
• General white matter factors, while present, do not solely account for go/no-go performance.
• Findings emphasize the importance of considering both specific and general neural correlates in cognitive research, particularly for speeded tasks.