Biology subjects

van Bijnen, S.

Publications and source records attributed to van Bijnen, S..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Alpha-beta oscillatory dynamics underlying auditory inhibitory control in children

Response inhibition, the ability to withhold an unwanted response, is a fundamental component of cognitive control. While evoked responses in inhibitory tasks have been widely studied, induced oscillatory dynamics, particularly in the auditory modality and in children, remain largely unexplored. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine induced alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-20 Hz) oscillations during passive listening and an auditory Go/Nogo task in 67 children (6-14 years) and 16 adults (20-30 years). During passive listening, both groups showed an early alpha power increase in right fronto-temporo-parietal regions, followed by an alpha decrease in temporal regions. Under inhibitory demands, adults displayed a late alpha and beta power increase within a left fronto-temporo-occipital network, whereas children exhibited an early-onset, prolonged beta power decrease in somatomotor and temporo-parietal regions. Our findings indicate that children and adults engage spectrally, temporally, and spatially different neural dynamics during inhibitory control: in children, oscillatory modulation emerges earlier and is dominated by a beta decrease in sensorimotor regions, whereas adults recruit synchronized late alpha-beta dynamics in executive networks, possibly reflecting more efficient and evaluative inhibitory processing.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Frontal theta power prospectively associated with response inhibition

A proactive mechanism has been postulated to promote successful inhibition (Kenemans, 2015). Specifically, this mechanism is thought to operate before any action demanding or countermanding event has occurred. In the current study, we investigated whether EEG theta power could reflect this mechanism, in a sample of healthy individuals performing a stop-signal paradigm. By comparing frontal theta power preceding failed versus successful stop trials, we tested whether frontal theta is predictive of inhibition success. We hypothesized that proactive cognitive control manifests in frontal theta power preceding a countermanding go-stop event. Our results demonstrate that frontal theta is indeed higher preceding successful as compared to preceding failed stopping events. We also show that frontal theta power preceding stopping events is associated with Stop-Signal Reaction Times (SSRT), with a higher theta being indicative of shorter SSRTs. This association was not present for go-RT. This study may be the first to reveal a relationship between lower frontal theta power and subsequent stopping failure, suggesting thetas role in proactive response inhibition.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Divergent associations between auditory activation and inhibition task performance in children and adults.

Adults and children show remarkable differences in cortical auditory activation which, in children, have shown relevance for cognitive performance, specifically inhibitory control. However, it has not been tested whether these differences translate to functional differences in response inhibition between adults and children. We recorded auditory responses of adults and school-aged children (6-14y) using combined magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) during passive listening conditions and an auditory Go/No-go task. The associations between auditory cortical responses and inhibition performance measures diverge between adults and children; while in children the brain-behavior associations are not significant, or stronger responses are beneficial, adults show negative associations between auditory cortical responses and inhibitory performance. Furthermore, we found qualitative differences in auditory responses between adults and children; the late ([~]200 ms post stimulation) adult peak activation shifts from auditory to frontomedial areas. In contrast, children show prolonged obligatory responses in the auditory cortex. Together this likely translates to a functional difference between adults and children in the cortical resources for performance consistency in auditory-based cognitive tasks.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Activity level in left auditory cortex predicts behavioral performance in inhibition tasks in children

Sensory processing during development is important for the emerging cognitive skills underlying goal-directed behavior. Yet, it is not known how auditory processing in children is related to their cognitive functions. Here, we utilized combined magneto- and electroencephalographic (M/EEG) measurements to show that child-unique auditory cortical activity at [~]250 ms after auditory stimulation predicts the performance in inhibition tasks. While unaffected by task demands, the amplitude of the left-hemisphere activation pattern was significantly correlated with the variability of behavioral response time. Since this activation pattern is not present in adults, our results suggest divergent brain mechanisms in adults and children for consistent performance in auditory-based cognitive tasks. This difference can be explained as a shift in cortical resources for cognitive control from sensorimotor associations in the auditory cortex of children to top-down regulated control processes involving (pre)frontal and cingulate areas in adults.

neuroscience↗