Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Trier, 54286, Trier, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 24;11(1):22856. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02247-6.
Execution of two independent actions in quick succession results in transient binding of these two actions. Subsequent repetition of any of these actions automatically retrieves the other. This process is probably fundamental for developing complex action sequences. However, rigid bindings between two actions are not always adaptive. Sometimes, it is necessary to repeat only one of the two previously executed actions. In such situations, stored action sequences must be disassembled, for the sake of flexibility. Exact mechanisms that allow for such an active unbinding of actions remain largely unknown, but it stands to reason, that some form of prefrontal executive control is necessary. Building on prior neuronal research that explored other forms of binding (e.g. between distractors and responses and abstract representations and responses), we explored middle and superior frontal correlates of -response binding in a sequential classification task with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We found that anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity varied as a function of response-repetition condition. Activity in the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlated with changes in reaction times due to response-response binding. Our results indicate that the right anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dismantles bindings between consecutive actions, whenever such bindings interfere with current action goals.
连续快速执行两个独立的动作会导致这两个动作暂时绑定。随后重复执行这些动作中的任何一个，都会自动检索另一个。这个过程对于发展复杂的动作序列可能是基本的。然而，两个动作之间的刚性绑定并不总是适应的。有时，只需要重复之前执行的两个动作中的一个。在这种情况下，为了灵活性，存储的动作序列必须被分解。允许这种动作主动解绑的确切机制在很大程度上尚不清楚，但有理由认为，某种形式的前额叶执行控制是必要的。基于先前探索其他形式绑定（例如，分心物和反应之间以及抽象表示和反应之间的绑定）的神经学研究，我们使用功能性近红外光谱技术，在一项序列分类任务中，探索了中间和上额额前皮质与 -反应绑定的相关性。我们发现，背外侧前额叶皮质的前区活动随反应重复条件而变化。右前背外侧前额叶皮质的活动与由于反应-反应绑定而导致的反应时间变化相关。我们的结果表明，右侧前背外侧前额叶皮质会在连续动作之间的绑定干扰当前动作目标时，将其分解。
