Why the same demand produces different brains

A year in research · 30 selected publications · five research threads

In 2018, we showed that control depends on where a conflict starts, what information it contains and which person or brain state has to resolve it.

Across pharmacology, development and clinical neuroscience, the year's work replaced broad labels such as inhibition or flexibility with a more precise question: which processing stage is being changed?

01 · MECHANISMS

The source and content of a conflict matter

Catecholamine-related interventions did not improve every kind of control equally. Methylphenidate and tyrosine benefited particular conflicts, while dopamine changed sensory evidence accumulation in a dose- and signal-dependent way.[1,2,3] Auditory work likewise showed that methylphenidate was most helpful when perceptual salience and attentional goals strongly disagreed.[4]

Emotional context affected late conflict resolution more than early attentional selection, and previous conflict made angry faces especially difficult to integrate.[5,6] Conscious and subliminal distractors also diverged: hangover increased processing of subliminal information, and adverse effects of control reflected whether implicit contingencies could be integrated into the active task representation.[7,8]

In plain terms: Neuromodulation and context act on particular information-processing operations, not on one all-purpose control faculty.

02 · INHIBITION

Stopping begins with perception

Response inhibition differed between adolescents and adults partly because sensory processing differed.[9] Decomposing the EEG revealed separate stimulus and response-selection codes when controlled stopping interacted with automatic tendencies.[10] The organization of somatosensory areas mattered less than their connection patterns for subsequent motor control.[11]

Causal stimulation supplied a striking demonstration: altering early sensory gain could reduce the later demand on the inhibition network.[12] Machine learning then found theta- and alpha-band features between familiar N2 and P3 markers that predicted stopping performance with about 78 percent accuracy.[13]

In plain terms: A successful stop is prepared by sensory selection and evidence processing before the final inhibitory response is visible.

03 · DEVELOPMENT AND STATE

Variability reveals what averages hide

Accounting for trial-to-trial neural variability uncovered different inhibition networks in children and adults and made treatment effects in ADHD more reliable.[14,15] In adolescent ADHD, the content of multisensory input and a narrowed temporal integration window explained difficulties with complex inhibition and multi-component action.[16,17] Interval timing further separated inattentive and combined ADHD presentations.[18]

Fatigue selectively disrupted response recoding when switching depended on working memory, and high-dose alcohol produced a similarly conditional impairment rather than a global loss of flexibility.[19,20] In restless legs syndrome, better evening performance arose from diminished visuomotor priming.[21]

In plain terms: Age, fatigue and treatment can change the timing and variability of a process even when average behaviour looks similar.

04 · CLINICAL CONTRASTS

Diagnosis does not dictate a single control profile

In Tourette syndrome, plasticity in supplementary-motor-to-motor pathways was normal, while prediction violations recruited anterior cingulate cortex more strongly.[22,23] Striatal microstructure offered a complementary explanation of how striosomes can shape the interaction between conscious and subliminal conflict.[24,25]

Adolescents with OCD sometimes became more flexible when repetitive task sets made relevant perceptual information easier to select.[26] In autism, basic switching was preserved without added memory load, while repetitive behaviour increased with that load.[27] These contrasts prevented broad clinical labels from being mistaken for uniform cognitive deficits.

In plain terms: Clinical conditions alter selected routes through the control system; preserved processes are as informative as impaired ones.

05 · ADAPTATION AND BIOLOGY

Good control includes knowing when to use less of it

People who adapted well to changing demands were especially able to downregulate control and automatize responses when the task became easy.[28] Phasic norepinephrine supported switching through parietal processes without changing every component of the switch itself.[29]

A multimodal study linked faster auditory-speech processing to denser neurites in the planum temporale, connecting microstructure to millisecond-scale function.[30] Across the year's studies, efficient behaviour emerged from matching biological gain, network organization and processing strategy to the information actually present.

In plain terms: Adaptive control is selective and economical: it amplifies, integrates or releases control according to current demands.

What 2018 added up to

The 2018 research made specificity the organizing principle. By separating sensory, representational and response-related stages, it explained why the same task can recruit different mechanisms across development, clinical groups and brain states.

Selected publications

Curated from PubMed records returned for Beste C[au] in 2018. Citation numbers in the story link to entries below. DOI links open the publisher landing page; PubMed links open the indexed record.

1. Catecholaminergic Modulation of Conflict Control Depends on the Source of Conflicts.

Bensmann W, Roessner V, Stock AK, Beste C. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology. 2018;21(10):901-909.

DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyy063   ·   PubMed

2. On the effects of tyrosine supplementation on interference control in a randomized, double-blind placebo-control trial.

Stock AK, Colzato L, Beste C. European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018;28(8):933-944.

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.05.010   ·   PubMed

3. Dopamine Modulates the Efficiency of Sensory Evidence Accumulation During Perceptual Decision Making.

Beste C, Adelhöfer N, Gohil K, Passow S, Roessner V, Li SC. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology. 2018;21(7):649-655.

DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyy019   ·   PubMed

4. The system-neurophysiological basis for how methylphenidate modulates perceptual-attentional conflicts during auditory processing.

Adelhöfer N, Gohil K, Passow S, Teufert B, Roessner V, Li SC, Beste C. Human brain mapping. 2018;39(12):5050-5061.

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24344   ·   PubMed

5. How socioemotional setting modulates late-stage conflict resolution processes in the lateral prefrontal cortex.

Schreiter ML, Chmielewski WX, Beste C. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience. 2018;18(3):521-535.

DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0585-5   ·   PubMed

6. Neurophysiological processes and functional neuroanatomical structures underlying proactive effects of emotional conflicts.

Schreiter ML, Chmielewski W, Beste C. NeuroImage. 2018;174:11-21.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.017   ·   PubMed

7. Alcohol Hangover Increases Conflict Load via Faster Processing of Subliminal Information.

Zink N, Bensmann W, Beste C, Stock AK. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 2018;12:316.

DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00316   ·   PubMed

8. Evidence for a neural dual-process account for adverse effects of cognitive control.

Zink N, Stock AK, Colzato L, Beste C. Brain structure & function. 2018;223(7):3347-3363.

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1694-1   ·   PubMed

9. Differences in response inhibition processes between adolescents and adults are modulated by sensory processes.

Bodmer B, Friedrich J, Roessner V, Beste C. Developmental cognitive neuroscience. 2018;31:35-45.

DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.04.008   ·   PubMed

10. Response selection codes in neurophysiological data predict conjoint effects of controlled and automatic processes during response inhibition.

Chmielewski WX, Mückschel M, Beste C. Human brain mapping. 2018;39(4):1839-1849.

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23974   ·   PubMed

11. Specific properties of the SI and SII somatosensory areas and their effects on motor control: a system neurophysiological study.

Friedrich J, Mückschel M, Beste C. Brain structure & function. 2018;223(2):687-699.

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1515-y   ·   PubMed

12. Paradoxical, causal effects of sensory gain modulation on motor inhibitory control - a tDCS, EEG-source localization study.

Friedrich J, Beste C. Scientific reports. 2018;8(1):17486.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35879-2   ·   PubMed

13. Machine learning provides novel neurophysiological features that predict performance to inhibit automated responses.

Vahid A, Mückschel M, Neuhaus A, Stock AK, Beste C. Scientific reports. 2018;8(1):16235.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34727-7   ·   PubMed

14. Neurophysiological variability masks differences in functional neuroanatomical networks and their effectiveness to modulate response inhibition between children and adults.

Bodmer B, Mückschel M, Roessner V, Beste C. Brain structure & function. 2018;223(4):1797-1810.

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1589-6   ·   PubMed

15. A comparative study on the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying effects of methylphenidate and neurofeedback on inhibitory control in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Bluschke A, Friedrich J, Schreiter ML, Roessner V, Beste C. NeuroImage. Clinical. 2018;20:1191-1203.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.10.027   ·   PubMed

16. Effects of multisensory stimuli on inhibitory control in adolescent ADHD: It is the content of information that matters.

Chmielewski WX, Tiedt A, Bluschke A, Dippel G, Roessner V, Beste C. NeuroImage. Clinical. 2018;19:527-537.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.05.019   ·   PubMed

17. Neural mechanisms underlying successful and deficient multi-component behavior in early adolescent ADHD.

Bluschke A, Gohil K, Petzold M, Roessner V, Beste C. NeuroImage. Clinical. 2018;18:533-542.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.02.024   ·   PubMed

18. Neurophysiological mechanisms of interval timing dissociate inattentive and combined ADHD subtypes.

Bluschke A, Schuster J, Roessner V, Beste C. Scientific reports. 2018;8(1):2033.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20484-0   ·   PubMed

19. On the role of the prefrontal cortex in fatigue effects on cognitive flexibility - a system neurophysiological approach.

Petruo VA, Mückschel M, Beste C. Scientific reports. 2018;8(1):6395.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24834-w   ·   PubMed

20. Effects of high-dose ethanol intoxication and hangover on cognitive flexibility.

Wolff N, Gussek P, Stock AK, Beste C. Addiction biology. 2018;23(1):503-514.

DOI: 10.1111/adb.12470   ·   PubMed

21. RLS patients show better nocturnal performance in the Simon task due to diminished visuo-motor priming.

Zhang R, Schrempf W, Brandt MD, Mückschel M, Beste C, Stock AK. Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. 2018;129(1):112-121.

DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2017.10.022   ·   PubMed

22. Associative plasticity in supplementary motor area - motor cortex pathways in Tourette syndrome.

Tübing J, Gigla B, Brandt VC, Verrel J, et al.. Scientific reports. 2018;8(1):11984.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30504-8   ·   PubMed

23. Neural correlates of prediction violations in boys with Tourette syndrome: Evidence from harmonic expectancy.

Buse J, Beste C, Roessner V. The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry. 2018;19(2):130-141.

DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2016.1274052   ·   PubMed

24. Striatal Microstructure and Its Relevance for Cognitive Control.

Beste C, Moll CKE, Pötter-Nerger M, Münchau A. Trends in cognitive sciences. 2018;22(9):747-751.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.06.007   ·   PubMed

25. The Basal Ganglia Striosomes Affect the Modulation of Conflicts by Subliminal Information-Evidence from X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism.

Beste C, Mückschel M, Rosales R, Domingo A, et al.. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991). 2018;28(7):2243-2252.

DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx125   ·   PubMed

26. When repetitive mental sets increase cognitive flexibility in adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Wolff N, Giller F, Buse J, Roessner V, Beste C. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2018;59(9):1024-1032.

DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12901   ·   PubMed

27. Working memory load affects repetitive behaviour but not cognitive flexibility in adolescent autism spectrum disorder.

Wolff N, Chmielewski WX, Beste C, Roessner V. The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry. 2018;19(7):509-520.

DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2017.1296973   ·   PubMed

28. On the Neurophysiological Mechanisms Underlying the Adaptability to Varying Cognitive Control Demands.

Zink N, Stock AK, Vahid A, Beste C. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 2018;12:411.

DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00411   ·   PubMed

29. The role of phasic norepinephrine modulations during task switching: evidence for specific effects in parietal areas.

Wolff N, Mückschel M, Ziemssen T, Beste C. Brain structure & function. 2018;223(2):925-940.

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1531-y   ·   PubMed

30. Neurite architecture of the planum temporale predicts neurophysiological processing of auditory speech.

Ocklenburg S, Friedrich P, Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Beste C, Güntürkün O, Genç E. Science advances. 2018;4(7):eaar6830.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar6830   ·   PubMed