Stopping timed actions.

The ability to inhibit ongoing responses that suddenly become inappropriate is essential for safe and effective interaction with an ever-changing and unpredictable world. Response inhibition is quantified by the unobservablestop-signal reaction time (SSRT), the completion time of an inhibitory process triggered by a signal to stop responding. SSRTs can be inferred based on a model in which inhibitory and response processes race with each other to control behavior. Inhibition is usually studied in the context of choice responses, but there has been increasing interest in what is often a key component of skilled behavior, stopping a response that is timed to coincide with an anticipated event. We show that SSRT measurement via the standard race model fails for anticipated responses because the stop signal changes the perception of the passage of time, due to the long-known “filled-interval illusion”. We propose a computational model of anticipated response inhibitionthat takes account of this distortion of time perception and show that this model produces valid estimates of not only SSRT, but also another key process that determines inhibitory ability, lapses in attention. Our new modeland accompanying Bayesian estimation procedures provide a solid basis for the burgeoning study of timed-action control.

Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Inhibition of Motor Response Based on Correlation Analysis

In this paper, the effects of acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise on inhibition ability of college students were investigated from different aspects, such as behavioral performance, physiological response, and cognitive processing mode of brain. In this paper, college students were selected as the research object, and the content of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in blood was recorded and analyzed after moderate intensity aerobic exercise or reading intervention at the same time. In this paper, we completed the behavioral response and brain activity of the adapted go / NoGo task. After acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise, the correct rate of behavior inhibition of college students increased. The content of BDNF increased, and Nogo-N2 and NoGo-P3, which represent the inhibition ability, had obvious effect. Acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise can effectively promote the inhibition ability of college students, and its mechanism may lie in the rapid recognition of inhibition signals and the allocation of cognitive resources, as well as more peripheral BDNF circulation.

Probing Neurovisceral Integration via Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Heart Rate Variability

The neurovisceral integration model (NVM) proposes that an organism’s ability to flexibly adapt to its environment is related to biological flexibility within the central autonomic network (CAN). One important aspect of this flexibility is behavioral inhibition (Thayer and Friedman, 2002). During a behavioral inhibition task, the CAN, which comprises a series of feedback loops, must be able to integrate information and react to these inputs flexibly to facilitate optimal performance. The functioning of the CAN is shown to be associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), as the vagus nerve is part of this feedback system. Although the NVM has been examined through neural imaging and RSA, only a few studies have examined these measures simultaneously during the neuroimaging procedure. Furthermore, these studies were done at rest or used tasks that were not targeted at processes associated with the NVM, such as behavioral inhibition and cognitive flexibility. For this reason, the present study assessed RSA and neural activation in the pre-frontal cortex simultaneously while participants completed a behavior inhibition task. RSA and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were collected in 38 adults, and resting levels of pre-frontal activation were negatively related to RSA, but pre-frontal activation during the behavior inhibition task was not. The negative relationship between RSA and oxygenated hemoglobin is consistent with previous functional magnetic resonance imaging work examining the NVM at baseline and should be further studied. Additional research investigating how this relationship may change based on task demands or environmental contexts would help clarify the applicability of the model.

Association between Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in a Diagnostic Interviewing Study

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) demonstrates predictable, cyclic, affective and somatic symptoms that are aggravated in the late luteal phase and are resolved by menstruation. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive and persistant worry. The present study aims to evaluate the association between PMDD and GAD. The fluctuations of behavior inhibition, anxiety, depression, and irritability were also evaluated during the menstrual cycle among women with PMDD and healthy women. Methods: There were 100 women diagnosed with PMDD based on a psychiatric interview and on a prospective evaluation in three menstrual cycles. A total of 96 healthy women were recruited as controls. Each individual’s GAD diagnosis, behavior inhibition, behavior activation, depression, anxiety, and irritability were assessed in both luteal and follicular phases. Results: The odds ratio of women with GAD having PMDD was 7.65 (95% CI: 1.69–34.63) in relation to those without it. This association was partially mediated by behavior inhibition and irritability and was completely mediated by depression. Women with PMDD and GAD had higher anxiety during the luteal phase and higher PMDD severity, depression, and irritability than those without GAD in the follicular phase. There is no difference in anxiety, depression, or irritability between the luteal and follicular phases among women with PMDD and GAD. Conclusions: Women with GAD were more likely to have PMDD. Anxiety, depression, and irritability symptoms in women with PMDD and GAD were not relieved in the follicular phase. Thus, GAD should be assessed for women with PMDD. Their anxiety, depression, and irritability should be intervened not only in the luteal phase, but also in the follicular phase. Depression, irritability and behavior inhibition mediated the association between PMDD and GAD. Intervening with these mediators to attenuate GAD and PMDD comorbidity should be researched in the future.

The association of shyness with individuals' online and offline altruistic behavior

We explored the association between online and subsequent offline altruistic behavior in shy and not-shy individuals, using a 2 (priming condition: online altruism vs. control) × 2 (shyness level: shy vs. not shy) between-subjects design with 108 Chinese university students. We designed 6 online situations to prime altruism and a volunteer situation to assess subsequent offline altruism. Results were as follows: (a) engaging in online altruistic behavior was significantly associated with subsequently undertaking altruistic behavior offline; (b) shyness was not significantly associated with online altruism, but was significantly associated with subsequent altruistic behavior offline; and (c) shyness level moderated the association between online altruism and subsequent offline altruism. Engaging in online altruistic behavior had a stronger association with subsequent offline altruism among shy (vs. not-shy) participants. These findings clarify the relationship between online and offline altruistic behavior, and may help shy people overcome behavior inhibition in offline altruism contexts.

Ego Depletion in the Relationship Between Behavior Inhibition and Loss Aversion

We examined the associations between ego depletion, personality, and decision-making behavior, and investigated whether ego depletion enhances the relationship between the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and loss aversion. Participants (N = 70) were randomly assigned to depletion or control conditions, completed a financial decision-making task to test the framing effect, and responded to a measure of BIS. The results showed a framing effect in the decision-making task that was not weakened by ego depletion. However, participants in the depleted (vs. control) group, regardless of framing, showed more loss aversion in the decision-making task. Further, ego depletion enhanced the positive association between the BIS and framing effects, which means that ego depletion moderated the effect of the BIS on loss aversion. Thus, ego depletion did not directly contribute to more conservative or impulsive decision making, but it did lead individuals to act more in line with their habits or characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Wnt5a signaling induced phosphorylation increases APT1 activity and promotes melanoma metastatic behavior

Wnt5a has been implicated in melanoma progression and metastasis, although the exact downstream signaling events that contribute to melanoma metastasis are poorly understood. Wnt5a signaling results in acyl protein thioesterase 1 (APT1) mediated depalmitoylation of pro-metastatic cell adhesion molecules CD44 and MCAM, resulting in increased melanoma invasion. The mechanistic details that underlie Wnt5a-mediated regulation of APT1 activity and cellular function remain unknown. Here, we show Wnt5a signaling regulates APT1 activity through induction of APT1 phosphorylation and we further investigate the functional role of APT1 phosphorylation on its depalmitoylating activity. We found phosphorylation increased APT1 depalmitoylating activity and reduced APT1 dimerization. We further determined APT1 phosphorylation increases melanoma invasion in vitro, and also correlated with increased tumor grade and metastasis. Our results further establish APT1 as an important regulator of melanoma invasion and metastatic behavior. Inhibition of APT1 may represent a novel way to treat Wnt5a driven cancers.

Motivational Differences in Seeking Out Evaluative Categorization Information

Previous research shows that people draw finer evaluative distinctions when rating liked versus disliked objects (e.g., wanting a 5-point scale to evaluate liked cuisines and a 3-point scale to rate disliked cuisines). Known as the preference-categorization effect, this pattern may exist not only in how individuals form evaluative distinctions but also in how individuals seek out evaluative information. The current research presents three experiments that examine motivational differences in evaluative information seeking (rating scales and attributes). Experiment 1 found that freedom of choice (the ability to avoid undesirable stimuli) and sensitivity to punishment (as measured by the Behavior Inhibition System/Behavioral Approach System [BIS/BAS] scale) influenced preferences for desirable and undesirable evaluative information in a health-related decision. Experiment 2 examined choice optimization, finding that maximizers prefer finer evaluative information for both liked and disliked options in a consumer task. Experiment 3 found that this pattern generalizes to another type of evaluative categorization, attributes.