Abstract
Task switching processes reflect a faculty of cognitive flexibility. The underlying neural mechanisms and functional cortical networks have frequently been investigated using neurophysiological (EEG) or functional imaging methods. However, task switching processes are subject to strong intra-individual variability, especially when tested under varying levels of working memory demands. This intra-individual variability compromises the reliable estimation of neurophysiological processes and related functional neuroanatomical networks. In this study, we combine residue iteration decomposition (RIDE) of event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization methods to circumvent this problem. Due to strong intra-individual variability, behavioral effects between memory-based and cue-based task switching were not reflected by classical ERPs, but were so after applying RIDE. Using RIDE, modulations paralleling the behavioral data were specifically reflected by processes related to the updating of internal representations for response selection (reflected by the C-cluster in the P3-component time range) rather than by stimulus and motor-related processes (reflected by the S-cluster and R-cluster). The C-cluster-processes were associated with activation differences in the inferior parietal cortex, including the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ, BA40) and likely reflect mechanisms related to the updating of internal representations and task sets for response selection. The results underline the necessity to use temporal decomposition methods to control the problem of intra-individual signal variability to decipher the neurophysiology and functional neuroanatomy of cognitive processes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barceló F, Muñoz-Céspedes JM, Pozo MA, Rubia FJ (2000) Attentional set shifting modulates the target P3b response in the Wisconsin card sorting test. Neuropsychologia 38:1342–1355
Beste C, Ness V, Lukas C et al (2012) Mechanisms mediating parallel action monitoring in fronto-striatal circuits. NeuroImage 62:137–146. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.05.019
Beste C, Kneiphof J, Woitalla D (2015) Effects of fatigue on cognitive control in neurosarcoidosis. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 25:522–530
Chmielewski WX, Beste C (2015) Action control processes in autism spectrum disorder—insights from a neurobiological and neuroanatomical perspective. Prog Neurobiol 124:49–83. doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2014.11.002
Chmielewski WX, Mückschel M, Stock A-K, Beste C (2015) The impact of mental workload on inhibitory control subprocesses. NeuroImage 112:96–104. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.02.060
Chmielewski WX, Mückschel M, Dippel G, Beste C (2016) Concurrent information affects response inhibition processes via the modulation of theta oscillations in cognitive control networks. Brain Struct Funct 221:3949–3961
Cooper PS, Darriba Á, Karayanidis F, Barceló F (2016) Contextually sensitive power changes across multiple frequency bands underpin cognitive control. NeuroImage 132:499–511. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.010
Diamond A (2013) Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol 64:135–168. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Dippel G, Beste C (2015) A causal role of the right inferior frontal cortex in implementing strategies for multi-component behaviour. Nat Commun 6:6587. doi:10.1038/ncomms7587
Dippel G, Chmielewski W, Mückschel M, Beste C (2015) Response mode-dependent differences in neurofunctional networks during response inhibition: an EEG-beamforming study. Brain Struct Funct. doi:10.1007/s00429-015-1148-y
Eriksson J, Vogel EK, Lansner A et al (2015) Neurocognitive architecture of working memory. Neuron 88:33–46. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.020
Folstein JR, Van Petten C (2008) Influence of cognitive control and mismatch on the N2 component of the ERP: a review. Psychophysiology 45:152–170. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00602.x
Fuchs M, Kastner J, Wagner M et al (2002) A standardized boundary element method volume conductor model. Clin Neurophysiol Off J Int Fed Clin Neurophysiol 113:702–712
Gajewski PD, Falkenstein M (2011) Diversity of the P3 in the task-switching paradigm. Brain Res 1411:87–97. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2011.07.010
Gajewski PD, Kleinsorge T, Falkenstein M (2010a) Electrophysiological correlates of residual switch costs. Cortex 46:1138–1148. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2009.07.014
Gajewski PD, Kleinsorge T, Falkenstein M (2010b) Electrophysiological correlates of residual switch costs. Cortex J Devoted Study Nerv Syst Behav 46:1138–1148. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2009.07.014
Gajewski PD, Hengstler JG, Golka K et al (2011) The Met-allele of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism enhances task switching in elderly. Neurobiol Aging 32(2327):e7–19. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.06.010
Gehring WJ, Bryck RL, Jonides J et al (2003) The mind’s eye, looking inward? In search of executive control in internal attention shifting. Psychophysiology 40:572–585. doi:10.1111/1469-8986.00059
Geng JJ, Vossel S (2013) Re-evaluating the role of TPJ in attentional control: contextual updating? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 37:2608–2620. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.08.010
Gohil K, Dippel G, Beste C (2016) Questioning the role of the frontopolar cortex in multi-component behavior—a TMS/EEG study. Sci Rep 6:22317. doi:10.1038/srep22317
Herrmann CS, Knight RT (2001) Mechanisms of human attention: event-related potentials and oscillations. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 25:465–476
Hsieh S, Liu H (2009) Electrophysiological evidence of the adaptive task-set inhibition in task switching. Brain Res 1255:122–131. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.11.103
Jamadar S, Hughes M, Fulham WR et al (2010) The spatial and temporal dynamics of anticipatory preparation and response inhibition in task-switching. NeuroImage 51:432–449. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.090
Jost K, Mayr U, Rösler F (2008) Is task switching nothing but cue priming? Evidence from ERPs. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 8:74–84
Karayanidis F, Coltheart M, Michie PT, Murphy K (2003) Electrophysiological correlates of anticipatory and poststimulus components of task switching. Psychophysiology 40:329–348. doi:10.1111/1469-8986.00037
Kieffaber PD, Hetrick WP (2005) Event-related potential correlates of task switching and switch costs. Psychophysiology 42:56–71. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2005.00262.x
Kiesel A, Steinhauser M, Wendt M et al (2010) Control and interference in task switching—a review. Psychol Bull 136:849–874. doi:10.1037/a0019842
Klimesch W (2011) Evoked alpha and early access to the knowledge system: the P1 inhibition timing hypothesis. Brain Res 1408:52–71. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2011.06.003
Kubanek J, Snyder LH (2015) Reward size informs repeat-switch decisions and strongly modulates the activity of neurons in parietal cortex. Cereb Cortex N Y N. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv230
Liu Z, Braunlich K, Wehe HS, Seger CA (2015) Neural networks supporting switching, hypothesis testing, and rule application. Neuropsychologia 77:19–34. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.07.019
Lorist MM, Klein M, Nieuwenhuis S et al (2000) Mental fatigue and task control: planning and preparation. Psychophysiology 37:614–625
Marco-Pallarés J, Grau C, Ruffini G (2005) Combined ICA-LORETA analysis of mismatch negativity. NeuroImage 25:471–477. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.11.028
Mazziotta J, Toga A, Evans A et al (2001) A probabilistic atlas and reference system for the human brain: International Consortium for Brain Mapping (ICBM). Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B 356:1293–1322. doi:10.1098/rstb.2001.0915
Monsell S (2003) Task switching. Trends Cogn Sci 7:134–140
Mückschel M, Stock A-K, Beste C (2014) Psychophysiological mechanisms of interindividual differences in goal activation modes during action cascading. Cereb Cortex N Y N 1991 24:2120–2129. doi:10.1093/cercor/bht066
Nunez PL, Pilgreen KL (1991a) The spline-Laplacian in clinical neurophysiology: a method to improve EEG spatial resolution. J Clin Neurophysiol 8:397–413. doi:10.1097/00004691-199110000-00005
Nunez PL, Pilgreen KL (1991b) The spline-Laplacian in clinical neurophysiology: a method to improve EEG spatial resolution. J Clin Neurophysiol Off Publ Am Electroencephalogr Soc 8:397–413
Ouyang G, Herzmann G, Zhou C, Sommer W (2011) Residue iteration decomposition (RIDE): a new method to separate ERP components on the basis of latency variability in single trials. Psychophysiology 48:1631–1647. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01269.x
Ouyang G, Sommer W, Zhou C (2015a) Updating and validating a new framework for restoring and analyzing latency-variable ERP components from single trials with residue iteration decomposition (RIDE). Psychophysiology 52:839–856. doi:10.1111/psyp.12411
Ouyang G, Sommer W, Zhou C (2015b) A toolbox for residue iteration decomposition (RIDE)—a method for the decomposition, reconstruction, and single trial analysis of event related potentials. J Neurosci Methods 250:7–21. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.10.009
Pascual-Marqui RD (2002) Standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA): technical details. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 24(Suppl D):5–12
Petruo VA, Stock AK, Münchau A, Beste C (2016) A systems neurophysiology approach to voluntary event coding. NeuroImage 135:324–332
Poulsen C, Luu P, Davey C, Tucker DM (2005) Dynamics of task sets: evidence from dense-array event-related potentials. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 24:133–154. doi:10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.01.008
Riley MR, Constantinidis C (2015) Role of prefrontal persistent activity in working memory. Front Syst Neurosci 9:181. doi:10.3389/fnsys.2015.00181
Ruge H, Jamadar S, Zimmermann U, Karayanidis F (2013) The many faces of preparatory control in task switching: reviewing a decade of fMRI research. Hum Brain Mapp 34:12–35. doi:10.1002/hbm.21420
Rushworth MFS, Passingham RE, Nobre AC (2002) Components of switching intentional set. J Cogn Neurosci 14:1139–1150. doi:10.1162/089892902760807159
Sekihara K, Sahani M, Nagarajan SS (2005) Localization bias and spatial resolution of adaptive and non-adaptive spatial filters for MEG source reconstruction. NeuroImage 25:1056–1067. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.11.051
Tenke CE, Kayser J (2012) Generator localization by current source density (CSD): implications of volume conduction and field closure at intracranial and scalp resolutions. Clin Neurophysiol 123:2328–2345. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2012.06.005
Vallesi A, Arbula S, Capizzi M et al (2015) Domain-independent neural underpinning of task-switching: an fMRI investigation. Cortex J Devoted Study Nerv Syst Behav 65:173–183. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2015.01.016
Verleger R, Heide W, Butt C, Kömpf D (1994) Reduction of P3b in patients with temporo-parietal lesions. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 2:103–116
Verleger R, Metzner MF, Ouyang G et al (2014) Testing the stimulus-to-response bridging function of the oddball-P3 by delayed response signals and residue iteration decomposition (RIDE). NeuroImage 100:271–280. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.036
Wagenmakers E-J, Brown S (2007) On the linear relation between the mean and the standard deviation of a response time distribution. Psychol Rev 114:830–841. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.114.3.830
Wolff N, Roessner V, Beste C (2016a) Behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for increased cognitive flexibility in late childhood. Sci Rep 6:28954. doi:10.1038/srep28954
Wolff N, Gussek P, Stock AK, Beste C (2016b) Effects of high-dose ethanol intoxication and hangover on cognitive flexibility. Addict Biol. doi:10.1111/adb.12470
Yin S, Wang T, Pan W et al (2015) Task-switching cost and intrinsic functional connectivity in the human brain: toward understanding individual differences in cognitive flexibility. PLoS One 10:e0145826. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145826
Zhang R, Stock A-K, Beste C (2016a) The neurophysiological basis of reward effects on backward inhibition processes. NeuroImage. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.080
Zhang R, Stock A-K, Fischer R, Beste C (2016b) The system neurophysiological basis of backward inhibition. Brain Struct Funct. doi:10.1007/s00429-016-1186-0
Acknowledgements
This work was partly supported by a Grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) SFB 940 project B8 to C.B.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wolff, N., Mückschel, M. & Beste, C. Neural mechanisms and functional neuroanatomical networks during memory and cue-based task switching as revealed by residue iteration decomposition (RIDE) based source localization. Brain Struct Funct 222, 3819–3831 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1437-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1437-8