Early Development of Inhibitory Control is Related to the Maturation of the Cognitive Control Network

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Biological Processes: Neuroscience and Genetics

Abstract

Inhibitory control (IC) is an executive function that enables us to suppress or override dominant behavioral responses in favor of higher-order goals. Rapid improvements in this fundamental ability are observed in early preschool age, both in tasks measuring the cognitive (‘cold’) and motivational (‘hot’) components of IC. Research in adults indicates a cognitive control network in the brain, involving frontoparietal cortices and subcortical structures, such as the thalamus and striatum. The neural basis of the early development of IC, however, is currently unknown. In this study, we relate behavioral changes in ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ components of IC to the maturation of the cognitive control network, by investigating cortical and subcortical structure in combination with white matter connectivity in 3- and 4-year-old children (N = 38). Our results reveal distinct components of the cognitive control network involved in the development of 'cold' and 'hot' IC, respectively. Specifically, we show that the development of ‘cold’ IC is uniquely related to the maturation of prefrontal (BA 10) and inferior parietal brain regions, as well as with the maturation of the left thalamus and striatum. In contrast, ‘hot’ IC is associated with maturation indices in superior and inferior parietal regions and right thalamus (see Figure). This dissociation is confirmed by distinct and independent patterns of cortico-thalamic connectivity related to the IC domains. Our findings reveal that the emergence of 'cold' and 'hot' IC abilities is related to the maturation of distinct parts of the cognitive control network, previously identified in adults. The independent networks involved in IC components underline the distinction of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ IC forwarded in the behavioral literature.

Authors

• Philipp Berger, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
  Presenting Author

• Angela Friederici, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Br...
  Non-Presenting Author

• Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
  Non-Presenting Author