The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control Project

Abstract

We describe an ambitious ongoing study that has been strongly influenced and inspired by Don Stuss's career-long efforts to identify key cognitive processes that characterize executive control, investigate potential unifying dimensions that define prefrontal function, and carefully attend to individual differences. The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control project tests a theoretical framework positing two key control dimensions: proactive and reactive. The framework's central tenets are that proactive and reactive control modes reflect domain-general dimensions of individual variation, with distinctive neural signatures, involving the lateral pFC as a central node within associated brain networks (e.g., fronto-parietal, cingulo-opercular). In the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control project, each participant is scanned while performing theoretically targeted variants of multiple well-established cognitive control tasks (Stroop, cued task-switching, AX-CPT, Sternberg working memory) in three separate imaging sessions, that each encourages utilization of different control modes plus also completes an extensive out-of-scanner individual differences battery. Additional key features of the project include a high spatio-temporal resolution (multiband) acquisition protocol and a sample that includes a substantial subset of monozygotic twin pairs and participants recruited from the Human Connectome Project. Although data collection is still continuing (target n = 200), we provide an overview of the study design and protocol, along with initial results (n = 80) revealing evidence of a domain-general neural signature of cognitive control and its modulation under reactive conditions. Aligned with Don Stuss's legacy of scientific community building, a partial data set has been publicly released, with the full data set released at project completion, so it can serve as a valuable resource.

Experimental Manipulation of Guided Attention to the Shoulder Movement Task in Clinical Dohsa-hou Induces Shifts in the Reactive Mode and Indicates Flexible Cognitive Control Performance

“…Online versions of stress management applications of the relaxation movement tasks or online Dohsa-hou for pandemic stress management ( Kamikura and Shimizu, 2021 ) might open the practice up to more diverse populations. The authors will make efforts to make the standardized guided attention task used in the experiment available in English for scholars of cognitive control in order to coordinate replication effect sizes in future studies, such as task battery validation projects on the DMC framework ( Braver et al, 2021 ; Tang et al, 2021 ).…”

The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control dataset, a theoretically-guided within-subject task fMRI battery

“…The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control (DMCC) project was initiated to provide an intensive study of the neural mechanisms associated with cognitive control, a higher mental function utilized to regulate thoughts, emotions, and actions in a flexible and goal-directed fashion 1–4 . The project was designed to test the Dual Mechanisms of Control theoretical framework, which postulates two important modes of control: proactive and reactive 5 .…”

“…The DMCC project 4 is currently ongoing, with the data collection effort spanning years, and a target enrollment of N=200. The DMCC55B dataset is the first public release of the DMCC project.…”

“…The entire DMCC dataset will be released in the future; this subset has been released early to be immediately useful to the wider community, as it already has already proven to be 6,7 . Additional details, particularly of the Proactive and Reactive session task manipulations, are available elsewhere 4 .…”

“…The task details (instructions, stimuli, etc.) varied across sessions to encourage the use of proactive or reactive cognitive control 4 . The DMCC55B dataset contains Baseline session task runs only, so the Baseline version of each task is described here.…”