Understanding autonomous behaviour development: Exploring the developmental contributions of context‐tracking and task selection to self‐directed cognitive control

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Frick ◽  
Maria A. Brandimonte ◽  
Nicolas Chevalier
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Selection ◽  
And Task

Do Young Children Modulate Their Cognitive Control?

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solène Ambrosi ◽  
Patrick Lemaire ◽  
Agnès Blaye
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Stroop Tasks ◽  
And Task

Abstract. Dynamic, trial-by-trial modulations of inhibitory control are well documented in adults but rarely investigated in children. Here, we examined whether 5-to-7 year-old children, an age range when inhibitory control is still partially immature, achieve such modulations. Fifty three children took flanker, Simon, and Stroop tasks. Above and beyond classic congruency effects, the present results showed two crucial findings. First, we found evidence for sequential modulations of congruency effects in these young children in the three conflict tasks. Second, our results showed both task specificities and task commonalities. These findings in young children have important implications as they suggest that, to be modulated, inhibitory control does not require full maturation and that the precise pattern of trial-by-trial modulations may depend on the nature of conflict.

scholarly journals Space, object, and task selection

2009 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 995-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Lachter ◽  
Roger W. Remington ◽  
Eric Ruthruff
Keyword(s):  
Space Object ◽  
Task Selection ◽  
And Task

Contributions of Brain Function and Structure to Three Different Domains of Cognitive Control in Normal Aging

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Jenny R. Rieck ◽  
Giulia Baracchini ◽  
Cheryl L. Grady
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Functional Activity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Diffusion Imaging ◽  
Normal Aging ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
And Task

Cognitive control involves the flexible allocation of mental resources during goal-directed behavior and comprises three correlated but distinct domains—inhibition, shifting, and working memory. The work of Don Stuss and others has demonstrated that frontal and parietal cortices are crucial to cognitive control, particularly in normal aging, which is characterized by reduced control mechanisms. However, the structure–function relationships specific to each domain and subsequent impact on performance are not well understood. In the current study, we examined both age and individual differences in functional activity associated with core domains of cognitive control in relation to fronto-parietal structure and task performance. Participants ( N = 140, aged 20–86 years) completed three fMRI tasks: go/no-go (inhibition), task switching (shifting), and n-back (working memory), in addition to structural and diffusion imaging. All three tasks engaged a common set of fronto-parietal regions; however, the contributions of age, brain structure, and task performance to functional activity were unique to each domain. Aging was associated with differences in functional activity for all tasks, largely in regions outside common fronto-parietal control regions. Shifting and inhibition showed greater contributions of structure to overall decreases in brain activity, suggesting that more intact fronto-parietal structure may serve as a scaffold for efficient functional response. Working memory showed no contribution of structure to functional activity but had strong effects of age and task performance. Together, these results provide a comprehensive and novel examination of the joint contributions of aging, performance, and brain structure to functional activity across multiple domains of cognitive control.

Hierarchical Task Prioritization Behavior in Two- and Four-Task Scenarios

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxi Zhang ◽  
Robert Feyen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Task Selection ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Concurrent Tasks ◽  
Task Prioritization ◽  
And Task

This paper describes an empirical study conducted to validate a computational model of dynamic task prioritization based on a framework proposed by Zhang and Feyen (2005). Three key factors in task prioritization were manipulated: processing time, available time, and task valence. Because earlier studies did not investigate how people prioritize tasks when valence and temporal characteristics conflict, this study examined how these conflicts are resolved. 20 subjects completed 54 time-limited task scenarios. Each scenario consisted of two or four concurrent tasks, each assigned a point value for completion. Subjects were instructed to maximize points scored. Results indicated that, although valence was predominant in determining task selection, it failed to explain all instances. Instead, a hierarchy of task prioritization was revealed in which subjects first checked what tasks were doable (e.g., self-efficacy), then applied rules first regarding valence, then temporal characteristics, and then others (e.g., task location).

Event coding, executive control, and task-switching

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 893-894
Author(s):  
Nachshon Meiran
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Directed System ◽  
Theory Of Event Coding ◽  
Dominant Paradigm ◽  
And Task

Like the Theory of Event Coding (TEC), theories of executive functions depict cognition as a flexible and goal-directed system rather than a reflex-like one. Research on task-switching, a dominant paradigm in executive control, has revealed complex and some apparently counterintuitive results. Many of these are readily explained by assuming, like TEC, that cognitive control is based on selecting information from commensurate representations of stimuli and actions.

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