Leveraging Time-Frequency EEG to Understand the Role of Theta Oscillations in Adolescent Cognitive Control

• In Event: 3-132 - Cognitive Control in Childhood and Adolescence: Tracking Neural Development and Testing Novel Interventions

Integrative Statement

Goal-directed behavior in humans engages neurocognitive processes- commonly referred to as cognitive control-to coordinate system-level brain activity (Gratton, 2018). Cognitive control involves two primary components, including: 1) monitoring for conflict or errors, which indicate control is needed; 2) control recruitment, further broken down into proactive control, recruited before needed, and reactive control, recruited in a just-in-time manner (Braver, 2012). In various mammalian species, theta oscillations reflect organizing activity within a cross-level cognitive control system (Cavanagh and Frank, 2014; Cohen, 2017; Verguts, 2017) and time-frequency EEG analyses can map oscillations among brain regions in ways that are missed by other approaches, linking particular cognitive control subprocesses to neural oscillations. For example, in adults, increased theta power over medial-frontal cortex (MFC) underlies monitoring (Ullsperger et al., 2014), whereas theta connectivity between MFC and lateral-frontal regions reflects control recruitment (Cavanagh and Frank, 2014). Application of these methods to adolescent data provides a unique opportunity to inform mechanistic understandings of cognitive control during a critical period of development. Cognitive control develops throughout childhood to approach maturity in adolescence (Casey et al., 2001; Luna et al., 2004; Chatham et al., 2009), with motivational processes becoming uniquely salient during this period (Nelson et al., 2005; Casey et al., 2008; Steinberg et al., 2008; Luciana and Collins, 2012). Here, we leverage EEG and advanced time-frequency approaches to explore the role of theta oscillations and social motivation on the deployment of cognitive control systems during this vital window of human brain development. Towards this end, 144 adolescents performed a flanker task twice, once alone and once believing they were under peer observation to increase social motivation. Broadly, theta dynamics were found to behave qualitatively similar to prior reports in adults. In a novel approach, we separated theta dynamics immediately before and after motor responses, identifying specific cognitive control mechanisms. We dissociate MFC connectivity with rostral/caudal frontal cortex and distinct forms of post-error behavioral control, as well as identified inverse relations between pre- and post-response control. Finally, social motivation was found to exclusively upregulate post-response error monitoring and proactive control, as opposed to pre-response conflict monitoring and reactive control. Collectively, the current study links theta to adolescent cognitive control, identifies specific effects of social motivation on proactive control, and more broadly identifies novel cognitive control dynamics.

Authors

• George A Buzzell, University of Maryland, College Park
  Presenting Author

• Tyson V. Barker, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sonya V Troller-Renfree, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Edward M Bernat, University of Maryland, College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maureen E Bowers, University of Maryland, College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Santiago Morales, University of Maryland
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lindsay C Bowman, University of California Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Heather Henderson, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel Pine, NIMH
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nathan Fox, University of Maryland
  Non-Presenting Author