Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience最新文献

Complex cognition, such as creativity, relies on cognitive integration of various component processes (e.g., memory, attention, and imagery). Yet, current methods cannot fully capture how the brain integrates cognitive processes during complex tasks. Previous research suggests that communication between functionally dissimilar regions might underlie cognitive integration, allowing for complex cognition. Here, we provide a formal test of this notion using task-based fMRI (n = 28) to assess functional connectivity (FC) among sets of regions ("levels") varying in their functional dissimilarity (defined by differences in resting-state FC profiles) across five tasks hypothesized to vary in cognitive complexity. Each task involved conceptual association and/or idea generation. We found that as task complexity increased, task-FC between regions with greater functional dissimilarity also increased, and the strength of this linear trend positively predicted the relative complexity of tasks. Thus, more complex tasks recruited greater interactions between functionally dissimilar regions. Furthermore, this effect was primarily driven by the default mode and frontoparietal control networks, especially connector hubs within these networks. Task-FC at the highest functional dissimilarity levels was mostly related to metaphor production and bi-association (involving integrating two concepts), followed by generating novel object uses and uncommon association (involving expanding one concept), and was least related to common association (thus, this task was the least complex). Altogether, task-FC across functional dissimilarity levels robustly tracked the cognitive complexity of tasks, supporting the validity of this neural feature for measuring cognitive complexity in a continuous manner and for data-driven tests of theorized differences in task complexity.

In mixed-features search tasks, the target-defining feature changes unpredictably across trials. Responses are faster when the same feature is repeated across successive trials. This effect, known as intertrial priming of pop-out (PoP), suggests that the selection of a perceptually salient singleton target is modulated by the properties of the preceding search array. To investigate whether PoP can be observed in touch, we developed a mixed-features search task in which a singleton target was presented simultaneously with three homogeneous distractors to the index and middle fingers of the left and right hands. The target-defining vibrotactile frequency varied across trials (either a high-frequency target among low-frequency distractors or vice versa) so that on half of the trials, the singleton frequency was repeated on successive trials, while on the other half, it was alternated. To investigate the presence and the mechanisms underlying PoP in touch, behavioral and ERPs were recorded. Specifically, the N140cc component was used as a marker of spatial selective attention in touch. In line with visual search studies, improved performance for both RTs and accuracy was observed when the singleton target feature was repeated across trials than when it was alternated. Importantly, the N140cc component showed larger amplitudes on repetition compared with change trials, demonstrating that the attentional selection of a tactile target was modulated by PoP. Results demonstrate for the first time that PoP effects emerge also during the search for a tactile target.

Subjective features of memory are often treated as secondary to the objective content of remembered events. However, growing evidence suggests that these features actively shape how memories are constructed, experienced, and used. Rather than treating visual perspective as a peripheral correlate of subjectivity, this review positions it as a key mechanism that shapes the memory. Because perspective can be flexibly controlled and reliably measured, it offers a unique window into how retrieval goals interact with mental simulation to produce vivid and emotionally resonant recollections. Drawing on behavioral and neuroimaging research, this review shows that visual perspective determines the spatial framing of memory and the emotional and sensory qualities of recollection. Focusing on the posterior parietal cortex, it outlines distinct roles for the angular gyrus (AG) and the precuneus in supporting perspective-dependent retrieval. The AG contributes to the selection and maintenance of a retrieval perspective, integrating perceptual and conceptual features into a coherent scene. In contrast, the precuneus supports spatial transformation and modulates the vividness, emotional tone, and embodied character of recollection, particularly when individuals recall events from a nondominant or shifted perspective. Together, these findings position visual perspective as a central mechanism in the construction of subjectivity. Understanding how perspective shapes the process of remembering provides insight into how memory supports emotion regulation, mental simulation, and the continuity of the self across time.

Cognitive fatigue, a key contributor to failures in high-stakes domains, is poorly understood due to imprecise definitions, inconsistent protocols, and neglect of working memory (WM) mechanisms. We propose that active fatigue, arising from sustained cognitive demands, should be studied through WM frameworks, distinguishing it from passive (low arousal) fatigue. Contemporary WM models identify theta/alpha-gamma oscillatory dynamics as fundamental to WM function, plausibly providing testable markers of fatigue-induced breakdown. Conceptualizing active fatigue as specifically a disruption of WM's oscillatory dynamics provides a framework for the precise identification of its core neurophysiological basis. Specifically, tracking destabilized theta/alpha-gamma coupling and frequency synchrony provides a direct link to observed performance declines, enabling targeted rhythm-specific interventions such as frequency-matched brain stimulation. Current induction tasks rarely sustain optimal cognitive difficulty and are confounded by learning effects, prompting us to develop WAND (working-memory adaptive-fatigue with n-back difficulty), an open-source adaptive fatigue induction n-back suite. WAND reduces learning effects, classifies participant performance, and maintains task performance in the "optimal challenge zone"; optional distractor probes and multimodal logging enable robust mechanistic analyses. This approach shifts the field toward mechanistic, intervention-ready insights, enhancing fatigue detection and mitigation through theoretically grounded neural markers and standardized induction protocols.

Although listeners can enhance perception by using prior knowledge to predict the content of degraded speech signals, this process can also elicit "misperceptions." The neurobiological mechanisms responsible for these phenomena remain a topic of debate. There is relatively consistent evidence for involvement of the bilateral posterior superior temporal gyri (pSTG) in speech perception in noise; however, a role for the left premotor cortex (PMC) is debated. In this study, we employed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and a prime-probe paradigm for the first time to investigate causal roles for the left PMC and pSTG in speech perception and misperception. To produce misperceptions, we created partially mismatched pseudosentence probes via homophonic nonword transformations (e.g., She moved into her apartment soon after signing the lease-Che moffed inso har apachment sool amter siphing tha leals). All probe sentences were then spectrotemporally degraded and preceded by a clear prime sentence. Compared with a control site (vertex), inhibitory stimulation of the left pSTG selectively disrupted priming of real but not pseudosentences. However, inhibitory stimulation of the left PMC did not significantly influence perception of either real sentences or misperceptions of pseudosentences. These results confirm a role for the left pSTG in the perception of degraded speech. However, they do not support a role for the left PMC in either lexical or sublexical processing during perception of degraded speech using ecologically valid sentence stimuli. We discuss the implications of these findings for neurobiological models of speech perception.

Working memory (WM) involves continuous and dynamic processes, including encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. While many studies have focused on the maintenance of WM information, encoding strategies also impact WM performance and can be shaped by the presentation format of stimuli. However, how presentation formats modulate neural responses across WM stages remains unclear. To address this issue, we conducted an EEG study examining the effects of presentation formats (simultaneous, location-sequential, and center-sequential presentation) and WM loads (one and three abstract shapes). Behavioral results showed longer RTs for the location-sequential than for the center-sequential format. Additionally, the recency effects observed in both sequential conditions reflect the influence of ordinal information. EEG results revealed distinct load-dependent alpha activity patterns across presentation formats during WM maintenance. Simultaneous presentations exhibited a persistent decrease in alpha power, whereas both sequential presentations exhibited an initial decrease followed by a subsequent increase. During sequential encoding, alpha power decreased cumulatively with each additional item in the location-sequential format, but not in the center-sequential format. At retrieval, the probe elicited a load-dependent negative potential (i.e., the N3rs) across all formats. The N3rs load modulation was stronger for simultaneous presentations than sequential ones and was more pronounced for earlier positions than for the last position in sequential presentations. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that the spatial and temporal order information embedded in presentation formats modulates load-dependent neural responses across WM stages. These effects extend beyond maintenance to encoding and retrieval, highlighting the influence of presentation formats on WM neural dynamics.

Harmonic expectation is an important mediator of musical experience. EEG research has identified event-related potential (ERP) components associated with expectation, including the early (right) anterior negativity (E(R)AN), which is theorized to index harmonic surprisal with reference to long-term memory of the statistical structure of music. However, the role of top-down influences on harmonic predictions remains underexplored. One specific influence concerns how a given harmony can be interpreted in different ways, depending on its syntactic role in a musical context. We present data from a novel paradigm that cues listeners to the syntactic structure of the stimuli (but not whether they contain improbable events). Our main result revealed larger E(R)AN amplitudes for improbable chords when listeners knew that additional context would follow a surprising harmony; P3a and P600 amplitudes were also larger in such cases. Using the theoretical framework of predictive coding, we propose that, in such cases, listeners assign higher precision to their predictions, leading to larger prediction errors as indexed by the E(R)AN, P3a, and P600 ERP components, and that prior context alone does not fully explain how unpredictable events are processed. Musical surprisal arises from a dynamic interplay between bottom-up cues and a listener's top-down anticipation within specific syntactic contexts.

Metacontrol states involve adapting cognitive control to contextual demands-being more flexible in frequent task-switching environments or more stable in those with infrequent switching. While these metacontrol states can be engaged proactively in anticipation or reactively in response to specific contexts, how these two metacontrol modes interact remains unclear. To address this question, we recorded EEG measures of brain activity during a task-switching paradigm in which we manipulated proactive metacontrol via block-level incentives (baseline vs. penalty). Within blocks, some images occurred more frequently on switch trials and others on repeat trials, which we expected to elicit reactive metacontrol adjustments. This design enabled us to investigate how block-level proactive metacontrol influences reactive metacontrol in response to image-specific switch demands. We found that during the penalty block, designed to enhance proactive processing, greater slow negative-polarity ERP waves (contingent negative variation waves) were elicited before the onset of the image and task cue, which has been associated with preparatory attention and improved task-switching efficiency. Moreover, the penalty block showed image-specific metacontrol adjustments or "reactive metacontrol," as reflected by modulations in the N2 and the late positive component EEG waves during image and task-cue presentation. Together, these findings support theoretical frameworks suggesting that heightened preparatory attentional control-such as that induced by penalty-based incentives-can serve to enhance stimulus feature-binding mechanisms critical for reactive metacontrol learning and instantiation.

Alpha oscillations (8-13 Hz), which are prominent in human EEG, have long been considered a neural marker of relaxation. However, the extent to which different frequency bands and electrode positions of the EEG reflect relaxation remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the associations between EEG components and concurrently measured the reference indices of relaxation in healthy adults. A comprehensive database search and screening employing preset criteria identified 54 studies that involve 2569 participants published from January 1940 to March 2025 for qualitative synthesis. These studies utilized various reference relaxation measures, such as electrocardiographic (ECG) indices associated with parasympathetic nervous system activity and introspective indices obtained through questionnaires. Risks of bias were assessed based on the risk of bias assessment tool for nonrandomized studies. A meta-analysis of 31 studies employing a random-effects model revealed positive correlations between relaxation index and the power of alpha oscillations in three specific combinations of EEG channel regions and reference index types: frontal channels with all reference indices, central channels with ECG-related indices, and occipital channels with questionnaire-based indices. No significant correlations were observed between relaxation indices and other EEG frequencies or channels. These findings indicate that alpha oscillations in different scalp regions may represent distinct aspects of the relaxation response based on the type of reference measure used.

The idea that the brain is a probabilistic (Bayesian) inference machine, continuously trying to figure out the hidden causes of its inputs, has become very influential in cognitive (neuro)science over recent decades. Here, I present a relatively straightforward generalization of this idea: The primary computational task that the brain is faced with is to track the probabilistic structure of observations themselves, without recourse to hidden states. Tracking this structure in the face of noise requires regularization, and prior experience is the best source of such regularization. Regularization and, by extension, prior expectations can be thought of as abstract "pulling" forces in the space of observations. The same is true for behavioral goals: Organisms strive toward (observing) goal states, so these states similarly exercise an attractive force. Prior expectations, regularization, and action induction can thus fruitfully be seen as attractors in the dynamical system constituted by the brain. This perspective refines thought within the "Bayesian brain" framework, avoids some previous counterintuitive conclusions, and may inspire new empirical and theoretical work by alerting researchers to parallels they were hitherto unaware of.