Program
Psychology (Cognition, Brain, & Behavior)
College
Arts and Sciences
Student Level
Doctoral
Start Date
7-11-2018 3:00 PM
End Date
7-11-2018 4:00 PM
Abstract
Proactive preparation for an upcoming goal differs from last-minute reactive adaptation, but it is unclear how preparatory mechanisms change based on when in the future a goal needs to be executed. To assess how timing information is integrated into preparatory control, we designed a novel variant of the Dot Pattern Expectancy task, where each cue signaled both task rule and delay duration (known short, known long, or unknown) between cue and probe. We recorded EEG while healthy young adult participants (n=36) performed this task, and found that delay demands elicited distinct prefrontal preparatory activities. Medial prefrontal amplitude was sensitive to delay knowledge and delay length. In addition, inter-site theta phase consistency between mid-frontal and right prefrontal sites was strengthened for known short delays. These results show that different prefrontal preparatory control processes are elicited depending on goal timing demands, and highlight the need to consider timing dynamics in control preparation.
Included in
Biological Psychology Commons, Cognitive Neuroscience Commons, Computational Neuroscience Commons
Temporal information guides prefrontal preparatory activity
Proactive preparation for an upcoming goal differs from last-minute reactive adaptation, but it is unclear how preparatory mechanisms change based on when in the future a goal needs to be executed. To assess how timing information is integrated into preparatory control, we designed a novel variant of the Dot Pattern Expectancy task, where each cue signaled both task rule and delay duration (known short, known long, or unknown) between cue and probe. We recorded EEG while healthy young adult participants (n=36) performed this task, and found that delay demands elicited distinct prefrontal preparatory activities. Medial prefrontal amplitude was sensitive to delay knowledge and delay length. In addition, inter-site theta phase consistency between mid-frontal and right prefrontal sites was strengthened for known short delays. These results show that different prefrontal preparatory control processes are elicited depending on goal timing demands, and highlight the need to consider timing dynamics in control preparation.
