This proposal explores the neural and psychological mechanisms of cognitive control. Control processes are thought to be the 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 action 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 frontoparietal circuits, along with the midbrain dopamine system and medial frontal cortex. Nevertheless, theoretical progress in specifying of 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.
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