ABSTRACT

Cognitive control is a pivotal aspect of cognition and it is impaired in many clinical populations. To date, several distinct types of cognitive control have been proposed, and prior work demonstrated the instrumental role of basal ganglia, frontal and parietal regions. However, the role of the structural variation of these regions in cognitive control functions is poorly understood. Here, we examined in 39 adults the association between regional brain volume and three major types of cognitive control: (i) stimulus updating, (ii) task-switching, and (iii) distractor filtering. The volume of the globus pallidus was positively correlated with individual variation in task-switching , and was anatomically specific to the left hemisphere. Importantly, this region did not track performance in distractor filtering or stimulus updating. We then aimed to use transcranial direct current stimulation to target the left midline subcortical structures. However, we did not find an effect on task-switching. While the null effect in the brain stimulation prevents us from drawing causal inference from the role of globus pallidus on task-switching, our structural results reveal a novel and highly specific neurostructural mechanism for task-switching and provide a further understanding of the link between cognitive control functions and the human brain.

摘要

认知控制是认知的一个关键方面，它在许多临床人群中受到损害。迄今为止，已经提出了几种不同类型的认知控制，先前的工作证明了基底神经节、额叶和顶叶区域的工具作用。然而，人们对这些区域的结构变异在认知控制功能中的作用知之甚少。在这里，我们在 39 名成年人中检查了区域脑容量与三种主要认知控制类型之间的关联：(i) 刺激更新，(ii) 任务切换，以及 (iii) 干扰过滤。苍白球的体积与任务转换的个体差异呈正相关，并且在解剖学上特定于左半球。重要的是，该区域没有跟踪干扰过滤或刺激更新的表现。然后我们的目标是使用经颅直流电刺激来靶向左中线皮层下结构。但是，我们没有发现对任务切换的影响。虽然脑刺激中的无效效应阻止我们从苍白球在任务转换中的作用做出因果推断，但我们的结构结果揭示了一种新颖且高度特异性的任务转换神经结构机制，并提供了对认知之间联系的进一步理解控制功能和人脑。