Interindividual differences in cognitive flexibility: Influence of gray-matter volume, functional connectivity and trait impulsivity

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility, a core aspect of executive functioning, is required for the speeded shifting between different tasks and sets. Using an interindividual differences approach, we examined whether cognitive flexibility, as assessed by the Delis-Kaplan card-sorting test, is associated with gray matter volume (GMV) and functional connectivity (FC) of regions of a core network of multiple cognitive demands as well as with different facets of trait impulsivity. The core multipledemand network was derived from three large-scale neuroimaging meta-analyses and only included regions that showed consistent associations with sustained attention, working memory as well as inhibitory control. We tested to what extent self-reported impulsivity as well as GMV and Correspondence to: Veronika I. Müller, v.mueller@fz-juelich.de. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00429-014-0797-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Conflict of interestAll authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript resting-state FC in this core network predicted cognitive flexibility independently and incrementally. Our analyses revealed that card-sorting performance correlated positively with GMV of the right anterior insula, FC between bilateral anterior insula and midcingulate cortex/ supplementary motor area as well as the impulsivity dimension "Premeditation." Importantly, GMV, FC and impulsivity together accounted for more variance of card-sorting performance than every parameter alone. Our results therefore indicate that various factors contribute individually to cognitive flexibility, underlining the need to search across multiple modalities when aiming to unveil the mechanisms behind executive functioning.

Brain structural correlates of executive and social cognition profiles in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and elderly bipolar disorder

“…Furthermore, in bvFTD patients, the number of categories found in the WCST has previously been associated with atrophy in the superior temporal gyrus (Lagarde, et al, 2013). Regarding the impact of insular atrophy on executive functioning, and supporting our findings, previous studies on healthy individuals (Muller, Langner, Cieslik, Rottschy, & Eickhoff, 2015;Ruscheweyh, et al, 2013) reported a strong association between GM in the insula and several EF (i.e., cognitive flexibility, working memory and inhibitory control). Lesion studies have implicated the insula in response inhibition (Swick, Ashley, & Turken, 2008) and verbal fluency (Baldo, Schwartz, Wilkins, & Dronkers, 2006).…”

Functional neurochemical imaging of the human striatal cholinergic system during reversal learning

“…Other tasks of cognitive flexibility have also been shown to be influenced by trait impulsivity levels (e.g. Müller et al ., ). Therefore, all participants completed the Barratt Impulsiveness scale (BIS‐11; Patton et al ., ) and their total score was used as a trait measure of impulsivity.…”

Large-scale brain network abnormalities in Huntington's disease revealed by structural covariance

“…Four large‐scale networks, implicated in motor control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and affective processing, which have repeatedly been shown to be affected in HD, were chosen for assessing patterns of covariance in GM volumes. For this purpose, ROIs were selected separately for each of the predefined cortico‐striatal networks, based on previously published meta‐analyses [Amft et al, ; Hardwick et al, ; Müller et al, ; Rottschy et al, ] and extracted using a 6‐mm radius sphere and the coordinates of each ROI as a centre. Coordinate‐based ALE meta‐analyses [Eickhoff et al, ; Turkeltaub et al, ] allow for specifying voxels that are less sensitive to noise and are based on activations derived from a multitude of different, domain‐specific neuroimaging studies.…”