Cognitive control and the social brain

Question 1

Brain areas in early development

Answer 1

early reasoning about social goals linked with STS activation of action perception

later perspective taking and attributing mental sates links with TPJ and medial PFC

Question 2

Adult social brain network

Answer 2

after effects bias to looking opposite direction after looking at probe modulated by belief (whether probe had googles or not)

Question 3

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 3

PFC damaged in adults leads to perseverative (switch ideas) errors
- draw a circle task
communication difficulties and poor self regulation - executive cognition impacts everyday life

Question 4

Hypo frontality

Answer 4

Reduced glucose and blood flow in prefrontal cortex leads to executive impairment

Question 5

Heterochronicty

Answer 5

rate at which cortical areas mature
white matter still immature at adolescence
allows for learning by error

Question 6

Monkey study

Answer 6

Diamond - non matching object task to find food
baby monkeys and adult monkeys with DL-PFC lesions struggle

Question 7

A not B task

Answer 7

linear relation between duration which infants an delay search and age which working memory develops

Question 8

Self-control

Answer 8

ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, behaviour in the face of temptations and impulses

Question 9

Characteristics of self-control

Answer 9

goal directed
intentional actions
regulated by endogenous goals
cold cognitive processes inhibition frontal-medial brain activity
hot impulsive behaviour inhibition right inferior prefrontal cortex

Question 10

Marshmallow task

Answer 10

delayed gratification - wait longer if older
temptation focus - code behaviours relevant to reward
cohort effects- wait longer in recent generations
cross-cultural replication
individual difference associated with increased competence in academic domains

Question 11

long term outcomes

Answer 11

stronger social skills and fewer anxiety and depression
stronger academic skills
predicts goal-directed control

Question 12

training self control

Answer 12

wait either alone , teacher or robot
wait longer times with robot as can act as a distrator

Question 13

Inhibitory control (cool)

Answer 13

ability to inhibit behaviour responses to irrelevant stimuli while pursuing a cognitively represented goal

pre-potency- strength of action schema in generating response

measurement- Stroop, Simon, go-nogo

Question 14

Interference control

Answer 14

ability to resolve conflict between abstract representations

Question 15

Go-NoGo task

Answer 15

Rt respond button to cheese but not cat manipulate prepotency by having lots of go tasks

4 year old marshmallow task measured delay times and temptation focus (behaviours towards)

younger children make more omission and commission errors

by 18 children with low temptation focus had faster response at go trials and respond with more pre-potency

so individual differences in inhibitory control are stable over time

Question 16

inhibition separate from working memory

Answer 16

chid respond with different keys (left or right) if butterfly or frog. manipulate congruence if on same side as button press
need to inhibit natural cue-response

test different ages if sperate constructs then different growth trajectories

congruent trails ceiling performance
incongruent trails developmental increase in age non-overlapping in children

Question 17

using perspectives (director task)

Answer 17

ppt hear instructions from director with occluded vision or just hear a voice
ppts should take into account the directors perspective when asked to move small ball
perform badly until an adult

Question 18

Brain area associated with using perspectives

Answer 18

prefrontal cortex

Question 19

children vs adults linking cognitive control to pre frontal cortex

Answer 19

go-nogo task
activation greater for children across entire prefrontal cortex region