Altered brain-behavior coupling during inhibitory control in ankylosing spondylitis: ERP evidence from NoGo-P3...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Cognitive dysfunction is increasingly recognized in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).
• Neural mechanisms of inhibitory control in AS are not well understood.
• Altered cognitive function in AS may involve task-dependent brain-behavior coupling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate executive control in AS using a Go/NoGo task.
• To examine brain-behavior coupling during inhibitory processing in AS patients.
• To identify potential electrophysiological markers of altered executive function in AS.

Main Methods:

• 16 male AS patients and 23 healthy controls performed a Go/NoGo task with 32-channel EEG.
• Event-related potential (ERP) analysis focused on N2 and NoGo-P3 components.
• Linear regression models tested ERP × Group interactions for brain-behavior coupling; theta-band power was also analyzed.

Main Results:

• AS patients exhibited lower Go accuracy and longer Go reaction times.
• In AS patients, NoGo accuracy positively correlated with NoGo-P3 amplitude (FCz, Cz).
• A significant ERP × Group interaction for NoGo-P3 at FCz indicated differing brain-behavior coupling between groups; enhanced theta power was observed in AS during NoGo processing.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest altered brain-behavior coupling during inhibitory control in AS, particularly the NoGo-P3 component.
• This pattern indicates greater reliance on effortful neural recruitment for successful inhibition in AS.
• Altered executive processing in AS may be identifiable via electrophysiological markers.