NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT EFFECTS ON NEURAL MECHANISMS OF COGNITIVE CONTROL

描述(由申请者提供)：这项建议探索认知控制的神经和心理机制。控制过程被认为是实现人类认知的灵活性、复杂性和成熟度的根本重要因素。相反，认知控制障碍是一系列神经精神障碍的主要障碍来源，如阿尔茨海默氏症和帕金森氏症、精神分裂症和多动症。认知控制的一个核心组成部分是能够基于对即将发生的事件的预知、预期或目标而主动--提前准备注意力、思想和行动。大量工作阐明了参与主动或预备控制的神经系统，目前的共识表明，背侧前顶叶环路以及中脑多巴胺系统和额叶内侧皮质的重要性。然而，在确定这些系统的确切功能贡献和相互作用方面，理论进展缓慢。我们以前的工作表明，由于有多种可能的控制机制可以根据特定的任务需求灵活地部署，以及其他因素，如稳定的个体差异、动机因素和特定神经控制系统的完整性，因此对理论理解产生了挑战。目前的应用检验了这一假设，即准备之间存在重要的定性差异，其基础是：a)注意控制与有意控制；b)有意控制与意志控制；以及c)在目标层次的不同水平上的表征。这些假设将在一系列整合的行为和神经成像研究(使用最先进的功能磁共振成像方法和分析技术)中进行测试，这些研究从一组共同的实验范式中系统地检查这些差异，包括年轻人和老年人，以及与个体差异变量的关系。这项工作的成功将代表着一项重大的理论进步，因为它澄清了认知控制如何实现的神经机制和行为后果。该项目对公共卫生具有很高的相关性，因为它有可能提供关于健康个人和临床人群在认知控制方面的暂时性失误和持续性损害的神经和心理基础的关键信息。这些知识可以用来推动制定更有效的干预措施。 公共卫生相关性：该项目通过提供关于避免动机(即避免负面结果的驱动力)在易受药物滥用影响方面的作用的关键信息，对公共卫生具有高度相关性。具体地说，回避动机可能对大脑功能和高级认知(如计划和决策策略)产生重大影响，处于药物滥用风险的个人在这种情况下反应受损。为了确定受损的决策相关行为为什么以及如何导致某些人的药物滥用问题，并因此制定适当的纠正干预措施来解决并有望预防此类问题，有必要提高对这一过程的大脑基础的理解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal explores the neural and psychological mechanisms of cognitive control. Control processes are thought to be fundamentally important in enabling the flexibility, complexity, and sophistication of human cognition. Conversely, breakdowns in cognitive control are a major source of impairment in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, schizophrenia, and ADHD. A core component of cognitive control is the ability to be proactive - to prepare attention, thoughts, and actions in advance - based on foreknowledge, expectations, or goals regarding upcoming events. A large body of work has elucidated the neural systems involved in proactive or preparatory control, with current consensus pointing to the importance of dorsal front parietal circuits, along with the midbrain dopamine system and medial frontal cortex. Nevertheless, theoretical progress in specifying the precise functional contributions and interactions of these systems has been slow. Our previous work has demonstrated that challenges for theoretical understanding arise because there are multiple possible control mechanisms that can be flexibly deployed according to the specific task demands, and other factors such as stable individual differences, motivational factors, and the integrity of specific neural control systems. The current application tests the hypothesis that important qualitative distinctions exist between preparation based on: a) attentional vs. intentional control; b) intentional vs. volitional control; and c) representations at different levels of a goal hierarchy. These hypotheses will be tested in an integrated series of behavioral and neuroimaging studies (using state-of-the-art functional magnetic resonance imaging methods and analytical techniques) that systematically examine these distinctions from within a common set of experimental paradigms, in both young and older adults, and in relation to individual difference variables. Success in this work would represent a significant theoretical advance, by clarifying the neural mechanisms and behavioral consequences of how control over cognition is achieved. This project has high relevance for public health in terms of the potential to provide critical information regarding the neural and psychological bases of both the transient lapses and sustained impairments in cognitive control suffered by both healthy individuals and clinical populations. Such knowledge could be used to drive the development of more effective interventions. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project has high relevance for public health by providing critical information about the role of avoidance motivation (i.e., the drive to avoid negative outcomes) in vulnerability to substance abuse. Specifically, avoidance motivation may have a significant impact on brain function and high-level cognition (e.g., planning and decision- making strategies), with individuals at risk for substance abuse showing an impaired response in such situations. An improved understanding of the brain basis of this process is necessary for determining why and how impaired decision-related behaviors might lead to problems with substance abuse for some individuals, and as such developing appropriate corrective interventions to address, and hopefully prevent, such problems.