Hervault Mario, Soh Cheol, Wessel Jan R
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA; Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA; Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Cortex. 2025 Feb;183:232-250. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.12.005. Epub 2024 Dec 21.
The ability to stop already-initiated actions is paramount to adaptive behavior. In psychology and neuroscience alike, action-stopping is a popular model behavior to probe inhibitory control - the underlying cognitive control process that is purportedly vital to regulating thoughts and actions. Starting with seminal work in the 1990s, the frontocentral stop-signal P3 - an event-related potential derived from scalp EEG - has been proposed as a neurophysiological index of inhibitory control during action-stopping. However, this association has been challenged repeatedly over recent years. Here, we perform a critical review of both the evidence in support of the association between this P3 index and inhibitory control, as well as its documented criticisms. We first comprehensively review literature from the past three decades that suggested a link between stop-signal P3 and inhibitory control. Second, we then replicate the key empirical patterns reported in that body of literature in a uniquely large stop-signal task EEG dataset (N = 255). Third, we then examine the criticisms raised against the view of P3 as an index of inhibitory control and evaluate the evidence supporting these arguments. Finally, we present an updated view of the process(es) reflected in the stop-signal P3. Specifically, we propose that the stop-signal P3 indexes a specific, selective inhibitory control process that critically contributes to action-stopping. This view is motivated by recent two-stage models of inhibitory control and emerging empirical data. Together, we hope to clarify the process(es) reflected in the stop-signal P3 and resolve the ongoing debates regarding its utility as an index of inhibitory control during action-stopping.
能够停止已经启动的动作对于适应性行为至关重要。在心理学和神经科学领域，停止动作都是一种常用的模型行为，用于探究抑制控制——这一潜在的认知控制过程据称对调节思想和行为至关重要。从20世纪90年代的开创性研究开始，额中央区停止信号P3——一种从头皮脑电图得出的事件相关电位——就被提议作为动作停止过程中抑制控制的神经生理指标。然而，近年来这种关联屡屡受到挑战。在此，我们对支持该P3指标与抑制控制之间关联的证据及其已记录的批评意见进行了批判性综述。我们首先全面回顾了过去三十年表明停止信号P3与抑制控制之间存在联系的文献。其次，我们在一个独特的大型停止信号任务脑电图数据集（N = 255）中重现了该文献主体中报告的关键实证模式。第三，我们审视了针对将P3视为抑制控制指标这一观点提出的批评，并评估了支持这些论点的证据。最后，我们提出了关于停止信号P3所反映过程的更新观点。具体而言，我们认为停止信号P3标志着一个特定的、选择性的抑制控制过程，该过程对动作停止起着关键作用。这一观点受到近期抑制控制的两阶段模型和新出现的实证数据的推动。我们希望共同阐明停止信号P3所反映的过程，并解决关于其作为动作停止过程中抑制控制指标的效用的持续争论。
