Neurophysiological mechanisms associated to improve inhibitory control

Saturday, 11 de July de 2020

Inhibitory control is one of the components of executive function and is defined as a cognitive ability to inhibited distractive elements on the environment and keep focus in which is really important. In a practical, the inhibitory control exerts an important function in attentional control, behavior, thoughts, and emotions of people. Moreover, Inhibitory control is a mental health marker and academic achievement. Interestingly, the aerobic exercise practice has been indicated as a way to improve this cognitive ability. Several studies found a decrease in response time and/or increase accuracy after an aerobic exercise intervention

The prefrontal cortex is the brain area that is associated with inhibitory control. Specifically, the left-dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) is linked to the attentional component and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is related to the detection of conflict, normally present in inhibitory control tests such as Stroop Test. To access physiological mechanisms related to inhibitory control, event-related potential (ERP) has been using to assess the conflict monitoring through to waves’ amplitudes and latencies of specific components associated with inhibitory control. Also, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been using to assess the hemodynamic responses linked to cognitive tasks, considering the changes in brain circulation as a result of physical exercise practice. The main neuronal mechanism on fNIRS analysis is related to the greater left-lateralized activation difference arising from exercise adaptations. However, most studies investigated the electrophysiological and hemodynamic separately, and the relation between the mechanisms remains unclear

In order to identify the influence of aerobic fitness level and how the neurophysiological mechanisms manifest, Ludyga et al. compared the cognitive performance, ERP, and fNIRS responses between low and high aerobic fitness young men. The cognitive performance was assessed by Stroop Test, the ERP signals were measured by 32 electrodes of electroencephalogram (Brain Products GmbH) focus on N450 component, and fNIRS signals were measured by 16 optodes over the prefrontal cortex.

Source: Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.045

The behavioral results showed that the high-fit group presents lower interference on response time. Also, the high-fit group presents lower negativity of the N450 amplitude. On the other hand, no difference between group regarding hemodynamic, although the left-lateralized DLPFC oxygenation was related to Stroop interference.

Source: Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.045

Source: Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.045

In summary, the inhibitory control was mediated by conflict monitoring, and the conflict monitoring and the left-lateralized DLPFC oxygenation were associated with the response time. Thus, conflict monitoring is the variable more related to inhibitory control in high-fit men. Futures studies should investigate different aerobic training interventions in a long-term way, and whether this neurophysiological behavior-modifying over time.

References:

Ludyga et al. (2019). A Combined EEG-fNIRS Study Investigating Mechanisms Underlying the Association between Aerobic Fitness and Inhibitory Control in Young Adults. Neuroscience. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.045

Diamond (2013). Executive Functions. Annual Reviews of Psychology. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

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Autor:

Heloiana Faro

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