NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT EFFECTS ON NEURAL MECHANISMS OF COGNITIVE CONTROL

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案探讨认知控制的神经和心理机制。控制过程被认为对实现人类认知的灵活性、复杂性和复杂性至关重要。相反，认知控制的崩溃是许多神经精神疾病（如阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病、精神分裂症和多动症）损害的主要来源。认知控制的一个核心组成部分是积极主动的能力——预先准备注意力、思想和行动——基于对即将发生的事件的预见、期望或目标。大量的工作已经阐明了参与主动或预备控制的神经系统，目前的共识是背前顶叶回路的重要性，以及中脑多巴胺系统和内侧额叶皮层。然而，在确定这些系统的精确功能贡献和相互作用方面的理论进展缓慢。我们之前的工作已经证明，理论理解的挑战是因为存在多种可能的控制机制，可以根据特定的任务需求灵活部署，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。当前的应用验证了以下假设：a)注意控制vs.意向控制；B)有意控制vs.意志控制；c)在目标层次的不同层次上的表示。这些假设将在一系列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）中得到验证，这些研究将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一个重要的理论进步，通过阐明如何控制认知的神经机制和行为后果。该项目与公共卫生具有高度相关性，因为它有可能提供关于健康个体和临床人群所遭受的认知控制的短暂性失误和持续性损伤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。

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.