Midcingulate morphology determines neurocognitive capabilities in cognitive control
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1
University of Oldenburg, Germany
As a key structure in cognitive control the midcingulate cortex clearly is associated with mechanisms such as the monitoring of errors or conflicts in information processing. While extensive efforts have been made to specify this region’s exact cognitive contributions and its functional mapping, research on the structural foundations driving differences in subjects’ performance is sparse. We present data from studies in which the degree and asymmetry of midcingulate folding was assessed and its association with neurocognitive functioning in tasks tapping cognitive control was tested. It is shown that a leftward midcingulate folding asymmetry (lMFA; a higher degree of local fissurization in the left than the right hemisphere) is associated with attenuated behavioral interference and augmented physiological reactivity in a Stroop task. Results from a follow up experiment using a design with masked Stroop stimuli proves this differences not to be mere manifestations of differential task strategies (e.g. the speed-accuracy trade off). Transferring this notion to another paradigm it was found that lMFA is associated with higher N200 but not P300 amplitudes in a stop-signal task, hence, suggesting functional specificity to processes related to conflict monitoring but not response inhibition. At last, findings from a lateralized, tactile stop-signal task show that differences between women and men with respect to the lateralization of the N200 can be explained in terms of variations in midcingulate folding. These findings do not only help to identify sources of interindividual differences in neurocognition and behavior but furthermore promise to advance theory-driven approaches in preventive diagnostics for disorders associated with malfunctions in cognitive control.
Keywords:
Cognition,
Midcingulate cortex
Conference:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Sessions: Neurophysiology of Cognition and Attention
Citation:
Huster
RJ and
Herrmann
CS
(2011). Midcingulate morphology determines neurocognitive capabilities in cognitive control.
Conference Abstract:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00325
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Received:
22 Nov 2011;
Published Online:
28 Nov 2011.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Rene J Huster, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany, rene.huster@psykologi.uio.no