Research in the past decades shed light on the different mechanisms that underlie our capacity for cognitive control. However, the meta-level processes that regulate cognitive control itself remain poorly understood. Following the terminology from artificial intelligence, meta-control can be defined as a collection of mechanisms that (a) monitor the progress of controlled processing and (b) regulate the underlying control parameters in the service of current task goals and in response to internal or external constraints. From a psychological perspective, meta-control is an important concept because it may help explain and predict how and when human agents select different types of behavioral strategies. From a cognitive neuroscience viewpoint, meta-control is a useful concept for understanding the complex networks in the prefrontal cortex that guide higher-level behavior as well as their interactions with neuromodulatory systems (such as the dopamine or norepinephrine system). The purpose of the special issue is to integrate hitherto segregated strands of research across three different perspectives: 1) a psychological perspective that specifies meta-control processes on a functional level and aims to operationalize them in experimental tasks; 2) a computational perspective that builds on ideas from artificial intelligence to formalize normative solutions to meta-control problems; and 3) a cognitive neuroscience perspective that identifies neural correlates of and mechanisms underlying meta-control.

过去几十年的研究揭示了我们认知控制能力背后的不同机制。然而，调节认知控制本身的元级过程仍然知之甚少。遵循人工智能的术语，元控制可以定义为一组机制，这些机制 (a) 监视受控处理的进度和 (b) 为当前任务目标服务并响应内部或外部约束。从心理学的角度来看，元控制是一个重要的概念，因为它可能有助于解释和预测人类代理如何以及何时选择不同类型的行为策略。从认知神经科学的角度来看，元控制是理解前额叶皮层中复杂网络的有用概念，这些网络指导高级行为及其与神经调节系统（如多巴胺或去甲肾上腺素系统）的相互作用。特刊的目的是整合迄今为止分离的三个不同视角的研究分支：1）心理学视角，在功能层面指定元控制过程，旨在将它们在实验任务中操作；2）基于人工智能思想的计算视角，将元控制问题的规范解决方案形式化；3）认知神经科学观点，识别元控制的神经相关性和机制。