Adolescent Cognitive Control, Theta Oscillations, and Social Motivation

Buzzell, G. A.; Barker, T. V.; Troller-Renfree, S. V.; Bernat, E. M.; Bowers, M. E.; Morales, S.; Bowman, L. C.; Henderson, H. A.; Pine, D. S.; Fox, N. A.

doi:10.1101/366831

bioRxiv · 10.1101/366831

Adolescent Cognitive Control, Theta Oscillations, and Social Motivation

Buzzell, G. A.·Barker, T. V.·Troller-Renfree, S. V.·Bernat, E. M.·Bowers, M. E.·Morales, S.·Bowman, L. C.·Henderson, H. A.·Pine, D. S.·Fox, N. A.

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Abstract

Theta oscillations (4-8 Hz) provide an organizing principle of cognitive control, allowing goal-directed behavior that is conserved across species. In human adults, theta power over medial-frontal cortex (MFC) underlies monitoring, whereas theta synchrony between MFC and lateral-frontal regions reflects control recruitment. Prior work has not separated theta before/after motor responses, nor explained how medial-lateral synchrony drives different kinds of control behaviors. Thetas role during adolescence, a developmental window characterized by a motivation-control mismatch also remains unclear, preventing possible cross-species work. Here, adolescents performed a flanker task alone or under observation to increase social motivation. We separated theta dynamics immediately before/after motor responses, identifying functional dissociations. We also dissociate MFC connectivity with rostral/caudal frontal cortex and distinct forms of behavioral control, which further differed before/after response. Finally, social motivation was found to exclusively upregulate post-response error monitoring and changes in control to prevent future errors, as opposed to pre-response theta dynamics.

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Buzzell, G. A., Barker, T. V., Troller-Renfree, S. V., Bernat, E. M., Bowers, M. E., Morales, S., Bowman, L. C., Henderson, H. A., Pine, D. S., Fox, N. A.. 2018-07-11. Adolescent Cognitive Control, Theta Oscillations, and Social Motivation. https://doi.org/10.1101/366831

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