Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305,
Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, SE-221 00, and.
J Neurosci. 2020 Mar 11;40(11):2343-2356. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1869-19.2020. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
Goal-directed behavior can benefit from proactive adjustments of cognitive control that occur in anticipation of forthcoming cognitive control demands (CCD). Predictions of forthcoming CCD are thought to depend on learning and memory in two ways: First, through direct experience, associative encoding may link previously experienced CCD to its triggering item, such that subsequent encounters with the item serve to cue retrieval of (i.e., predict) the associated CCD. Second, in the absence of direct experience, pattern completion and mnemonic integration mechanisms may allow CCD to be generalized from its associated item to other items related in memory. While extant behavioral evidence documents both types of CCD prediction, the neurocognitive mechanisms giving rise to these predictions remain largely unexplored. Here, we tested two hypotheses: (1) memory-guided predictions about CCD precede control adjustments due to the actual CCD required; and (2) generalization of CCD can be accomplished through integration mechanisms that link partially overlapping CCD-item and item-item associations in memory. Supporting these hypotheses, the temporal dynamics of theta and alpha power in human electroencephalography data ( = 43, 26 females) revealed that an associative CCD effect emerges earlier than interaction effects involving actual CCD. Furthermore, generalization of CCD from one item (X) to another item (Y) was predicted by a decrease in alpha power following the presentation of the X-Y pair. These findings advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying memory-guided adjustments of cognitive control. Cognitive control adaptively regulates information processing to align with task goals. Experience-based expectations enable adjustments of control, leading to improved performance when expectations match the actual control demand required. Using EEG, we demonstrate that memory for past cognitive control demand proactively guides the allocation of cognitive control, preceding adjustments of control triggered by the demands of the present environment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that learned cognitive control demands can be generalized through mnemonic integration processes, enabling the spread of expectations about cognitive control demands to items associated in memory. We reveal that this generalization is linked to decreased alpha oscillation in medial frontal channels. Collectively, these findings provide new insights into how memory-control interactions facilitate goal-directed behavior.
目标导向行为可以受益于认知控制的主动调整，这种调整发生在预期即将到来的认知控制需求（CCD）之前。人们认为，对即将到来的 CCD 的预测依赖于学习和记忆的两种方式：第一，通过直接经验，联想编码可以将先前经历过的 CCD 与其触发项联系起来，使得随后遇到该项可以提示检索（即预测）相关 CCD。第二，在没有直接经验的情况下，模式完成和记忆整合机制可以允许将 CCD 从其相关项目推广到记忆中相关的其他项目。虽然现有的行为证据记录了这两种类型的 CCD 预测，但导致这些预测的神经认知机制在很大程度上仍未得到探索。在这里，我们检验了两个假设：（1）与实际 CCD 相关的记忆引导预测先于控制调整；（2）可以通过整合机制将 CCD 推广到记忆中部分重叠的 CCD-项目和项目-项目关联。支持这些假设，人类脑电图数据（n=43，26 名女性）的θ和α功率的时间动态显示，与涉及实际 CCD 的交互效应相比，联想 CCD 效应更早出现。此外，从一个项目（X）到另一个项目（Y）的 CCD 推广可以通过 X-Y 对呈现后α功率的降低来预测。这些发现推进了对记忆引导认知控制调整机制的理解。认知控制自适应地调节信息处理，以与任务目标保持一致。基于经验的期望能够调整控制，当期望与实际控制需求匹配时，会提高性能。使用 EEG，我们证明了对过去认知控制需求的记忆可以主动指导认知控制的分配，先于由当前环境需求触发的控制调整。此外，我们证明了已学习的认知控制需求可以通过记忆整合过程进行推广，使关于认知控制需求的期望能够扩展到记忆中相关的项目。我们揭示了这种推广与内侧额通道中α振荡的降低有关。总的来说，这些发现为记忆-控制相互作用如何促进目标导向行为提供了新的见解。
