For historical reasons (Bianchi, 1895; Harlow, 1968; Luria, 1966; Shallice, 1982), a specific link between the central executive of working memory and the frontal cortex was originally suggested by Baddeley (1986). This review discusses the evidence against such a univocal link. Two executive processes investigated in neuropsychology are discussed: inhibition (WCST, Stroop, proactive interference, go-no go, Stop signal and the Hayling test) and dual-task management. The evidence reviewed demonstrates (i) that executive processes involve links between different brain areas, not exclusively with the frontal cortex, (ii) that patients with no evidence of frontal damage present with executive deficits, and (iii) that patients with frontal lesions do not always show executive deficits. In conclusion, this review suggests that it is time for a more dynamic and flexible view of the neural substrate of executive processes to be considered. It also confirms, as recently suggested by Baddeley (1996, 1998a, 1998b), that the study of frontal patients cannot be used as a primary source of evidence to understand CE functions.

Behavioral disinhibition in Go/No–Go task is thought to be associated with impulsiveness in humans. Recent imaging studies showed that neural circuits involving diverse areas of the frontal cortex and other association cortex sites such as the parietal cortex are implicated in the inhibition of response during No–Go trials. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between regional cerebral activation during No–Go trials and impulsiveness. Seventeen righthanded healthy volunteers participated in the study. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the brain activation during a Go/No–Go task. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, 11 th version (BIS–11) was used to measure impulsiveness. Activated regions included the right middle frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobe, which is consistent with previous neuroimaging studies. A negative correlation was observed between the motor impulsiveness of BIS–11 and No–Gorelated activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (RDLPFC). Our results suggest that the RDLPFC is the area most sensitive to differences in individual motor impulsiveness and its activity may be an indicator of the individual capacity for response inhibition.

Abstract In many circumstances alternative courses of action and thoughts have to be inhibited to allow the emergence of goal-directed behavior. However, this has not been the accepted view in the past and only recently has inhibition earned its own place in the neurosciences as a fundamental cognitive function. In this review we first introduce the concept of inhibition from early psychological speculations based on philosophical theories of the human mind. The broad construct of inhibition is then reduced to its most readily observable component which necessarily is its behavioral manifestation. The study of 'response inhibition' has the advantage of dealing with a relatively simple and straightforward process, the overriding of a planned or already initiated action. Deficient inhibitory processes profoundly affect everyday life, causing impulsive conduct which is generally detrimental for the individual. Impulsivity has been consistently linked to several types of addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mania and other psychiatric conditions. Our discussion of the behavioral assessment of impulsivity will focus on objective laboratory tasks of response inhibition that have been implemented in parallel for humans and other species with relatively few qualitative differences. The translational potential of these measures has greatly improved our knowledge of the neurobiological basis of behavioral inhibition and impulsivity. We will then review the current models of behavioral inhibition along with their expression via underlying brain regions, including those involved in the activation of the brain's emergency 'brake' operation, those engaged in more controlled and sustained inhibitory processes and other ancillary executive functions. Copyright 漏 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Background "The feeling of being there" is one possible way to describe the phenomenon of feeling present in a virtual environment and to act as if this environment is real. One brain area, which is hypothesized to be critically involved in modulating this feeling (also called presence) is the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), an area also associated with the control of impulsive behavior. Methods In our experiment we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right dlPFC in order to modulate the experience of presence while watching a virtual roller coaster ride. During the ride we also registered electro-dermal activity. Subjects also performed a test measuring impulsiveness and answered a questionnaire about their presence feeling while they were exposed to the virtual roller coaster scenario. Results Application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC while subjects were exposed to a virtual roller coaster scenario modulates the electrodermal response to the virtual reality stimulus. In addition, measures reflecting impulsiveness were also modulated by application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC. Conclusion Modulating the activation with the right dlPFC results in substantial changes in responses of the vegetative nervous system and changed impulsiveness. The effects can be explained by theories discussing the top-down influence of the right dlPFC on the "impulsive system".

Viewing images of other humans in pain elicits a variety of responses including distress, anxiety, and a sensation that is similar to pain. We aimed to evaluate whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could be effective in modulating the emotional aspects of pain as to further explore mechanisms of tDCS in pain relief. Twenty-three healthy subjects rated images with respect to unpleasantness and discomfort/pain (baseline), and then received stimulation with tDCS under four different conditions of stimulation: anodal tDCS of the left primary motor cortex (M1), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), occipital cortex (V1); and sham tDCS. The order of conditions was randomized and counterbalanced across subjects. During each stimulation session (after 3 min of stimulation), subjects were shown a new set of aversive images and were again asked to rate the images with respect to unpleasantness and discomfort/pain. The results showed that ratings of unpleasantness and discomfort/pain were significantly decreased during DLPFC tDCS only, as compared to baseline and sham tDCS. The other conditions of stimulation (M1 and V1 tDCS) did not result in any significant changes. These results support the notion that DLPFC is a critical area for the emotional processing of pain and also suggests that DLPFC may be a potential target of stimulation for alleviation of pain with a significant emotional-affective component. Our results also suggest that the mechanism of tDCS in modulating emotional pain involve pathways that are independent of those modulating the somatosensory perception of pain.

The data led us to consider new therapeutic alternatives in impulsive disorders by modulating prefrontal cortex activity through NIBS.

This study examines important developmental differences in patterns of activation in the prefrontal cortex during performance of a Go-No-Go paradigm using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Eighteen subjects (9 children and 9 adults) were scanned using gradient echo, echo planar imaging during performance of a response inhibition task. The results suggest four general findings. First, the location of activation in the prefrontal cortex was not different between children and adults, which is similar to our earlier pediatric fMRI results of prefrontal activation during a working memory task (Casey et al., 1995). Second, the volume of activation was significantly greater for children relative to adults. These differences in volume of activation were observed predominantly in the dorsal and lateral prefrontal cortices. Third, although inhibitory processes have typically been associated with more ventral or orbital frontal regions, the current study revealed activation that was distributed across both dorsolateral and orbitofrontal cortices. Finally, consistent with animal and human lesion studies, activity in orbital frontal and anterior cingulate cortices correlated with behavioral performance (i.e., number of false alarms). These results further demonstrate the utility of this methodology in studying pediatric populations.

Response inhibition is defined as the capacity to adequately withdraw pre-planned responses. It has been shown that individuals with deficits in inhibiting pre-planned responses tend to display more aggressive behaviour. The prefrontal cortex is involved in both, response inhibition and aggression. While response inhibition is mostly associated with predominantly right prefrontal activity, the neural components underlying aggression seem to be left-lateralized. These differences in hemispheric dominance are conceptualized in cortical asymmetry theories on motivational direction, which assign avoidance motivation (relevant to inhibit responses) to the right and approach motivation (relevant for aggressive actions) to the left prefrontal cortex. The current study aimed to directly address the inverse relationship between response inhibition and aggression by assessing them within one experiment. Sixty-nine healthy participants underwent bilateral transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to the inferior frontal cortex. In one group we induced right-hemispheric fronto-cortical dominance by means of a combined right prefrontal anodal and left prefrontal cathodal tDCS montage. In a second group we induced left-hemispheric fronto-cortical dominance by means of a combined left prefrontal anodal and right prefrontal cathodal tDCS montage. A control group received sham stimulation. Response inhibition was assessed with a go/no-go task (GNGT) and aggression with the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP). We revealed that participants with poorer performance in the GNGT displayed more aggression during the TAP. No effects of bilateral prefrontal tDCS on either response inhibition or aggression were observed. This is at odds with previous brain stimulation studies applying unilateral protocols. Our results failed to provide evidence in support of the prefrontal cortical asymmetry model in the domain of response inhibition and aggression. The absence of tDCS effects might also indicate that the methodological approach of shifting cortical asymmetry by means of bilateral tDCS protocols has failed.

停止信号任务(Stop Signal Task)是研究反应抑制的常用实验范式之一,近年来被广泛运用于认知神经科学、心理病理学等研究领域。本文详细介绍了经典停止信号任务的实验过程、评价指标,重点阐述了与此任务相关的反应抑制理论模型——独立竞争模型,并提出该范式存在的问题,为停止信号任务范式的完善与推广提供了基础。

Abstract BACKGROUND: Over the last 15-years, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a relatively novel form of neuromodulation, has seen a surge of popularity in both clinical and academic settings. Despite numerous claims suggesting that a single session of tDCS can modulate cognition in healthy adult populations (especially working memory and language production), the paradigms utilized and results reported in the literature are extremely variable. To address this, we conduct the largest quantitative review of the cognitive data to date. METHODS: Single-session tDCS data in healthy adults (18-50) from every cognitive outcome measure reported by at least two different research groups in the literature was collected. Outcome measures were divided into 4 broad categories: executive function, language, memory, and miscellaneous. To account for the paradigmatic variability in the literature, we undertook a three-tier analysis system; each with less-stringent inclusion criteria than the prior. Standard mean difference values with 95% CIs were generated for included studies and pooled for each analysis. RESULTS: Of the 59 analyses conducted, tDCS was found to not have a significant effect on any - regardless of inclusion laxity. This includes no effect on any working memory outcome or language production task. CONCLUSION: Our quantitative review does not support the idea that tDCS generates a reliable effect on cognition in healthy adults. Reasons for and limitations of this finding are discussed. This work raises important questions regarding the efficacy of tDCS, state-dependency effects, and future directions for this tool in cognitive research. Copyright 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stop-signal paradigms operationalize a basic test of goal-directed behaviour whereby an overarching stop goal that is performed intermittently must be maintained throughout ongoing performance of a reaction time go task (go goal). Previous studies of sustained brain activation during stop-signal task performance in humans did not observe activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) that, in concert with the parietal cortex, is known to subserve goal maintenance. Here we explored the hypothesis that a DLPFC and parietal network has a key role in supporting ongoing stop-signal task performance. We used a blocked functional magnetic resonance imaging design that included blocks of trials containing typical stop-signal paradigm stimuli that were performed under three conditions: Stop condition, which required reaction time responding to go stimuli and inhibition of cued responses upon presentation of a stop signal; Go condition, identical except that the tone was ignored; and Passive condition, which required only quiescent attention to stimuli. We found that, whereas a distributed corticothalamic network was more active in Stop compared with Go, only the right DLPFC and bilateral parietal cortex survived after masking that contrast with Stop compared with Passive. These findings indicate that sustained activation of a right dominant frontoparietal network supports stop goal processes during ongoing performance of the stop-signal task.

Previous studies have shown that high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex induces neuromodulation in prefrontal and striatal regions. We hypothesized that high-frequency rTMS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex would influence attentional control, which has been associated with neural activity in the same region. Seventeen healthy young men volunteered to participate in a sham-controlled rTMS study. Participants received both rTMS and sham stimulation on separate days and the Conners' continuous performance test was used to assess response inhibition and attentional vigilance. Results indicated that participants showed fewer commission errors during trials after rTMS as compared with sham stimulation, at longer interstimulus intervals (ISIs), which suggests that high-frequency rTMS may have the potential to improve response inhibition. This finding contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and attentional control and suggests possible therapeutic applications for high-frequency rTMS.

With the advent of multi-channel EEG hardware systems and the concurrent development of topographic and tomographic signal source localization methods, the international 10/20 system, a standard system for electrode positioning with 21 electrodes, was extended to higher density electrode settings such as 10/10 and 10/5 systems, allowing more than 300 electrode positions. However, their effectiveness as relative head-surface-based positioning systems has not been examined. We previously developed a virtual 10/20 measurement algorithm that can analyze any structural MR head and brain image. Extending this method to the virtual 10/10 and 10/5 measurement algorithms, we analyzed the MR images of 17 healthy subjects. The acquired scalp positions of the 10/10 and 10/5 systems were normalized to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) stereotactic coordinates and their spatial variability was assessed. We described and examined the effects of spatial variability due to the selection of positioning systems and landmark placement strategies. As long as a detailed rule for a particular system was provided, it yielded precise landmark positions on the scalp. Moreover, we evaluated the effective spatial resolution of 329 scalp landmark positions of the 10/5 system for multi-subject studies. As long as a detailed rule for landmark setting was provided, 241 scalp positions could be set effectively when there was no overlapping of two neighboring positions. Importantly, 10/10 positions could be well separated on a scalp without overlapping. This study presents a referential framework for establishing the effective spatial resolutions of 10/20, 10/10, and 10/5 systems as relative head-surface-based positioning systems.

Abstract Inhibition of an ongoing reaction tendency for adaptation to changing environments is a major function of the human prefrontal cortex. This function has been investigated frequently using the go/no-go task and set-shifting tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Studies in humans and monkeys suggest the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the two task paradigms. However, it remains unknown where in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex this function is localized, whether a common inhibitory mechanism is used in these task paradigms and how this inhibitory function acts on two different targets, i.e. the go response in the go/no-go task and the cognitive set in the WCST. In the go/no-go task of this study, subjects were instructed to either respond (go trial) or not respond (no-go trial), depending on the cue stimulus presented. The signals of functional MRI (fMRI) related to the inhibitory function should be transient by nature. Thus, we used the temporal resolution of fMRI (event-related fMRI) by which transient signals in go and no-go trials can be analysed separately and compared with each other. We found a focus that showed transient no-go dominant activity in the posterior part of the inferior frontal sulcus in the right hemisphere. This was true irrespective of whether the subjects used their right or left hands. These results suggest that the transient activation in the right inferior prefrontal area is related to the neural mechanism underlying the response inhibition function. Furthermore, this area was found to be overlapped spatially with the area that was activated transiently during cognitive set shifting in the WCST. The transient signals in the go/no-go task peaked 5 s after the transient expression of the inhibitory function, and the transient signals in the WCST peaked 7s after the transient expression, reflecting different durations of neuronal activity in the two inhibitory task paradigms. These results imply that the right inferior prefrontal area is commonly involved in the inhibition of different targets, i.e. the go response during performance of the go/no-go task and the cognitive set during performance of the WCST.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) might be a promising new treatment procedure for depression. However, underlying working mechanisms of this technique are yet unclear. Multiple sessions of rTMS may--apart from the reported antidepressant effects--cause primary improvements in attentional control over emotional information, modulated by changes in cortical brain excitability within stimulated prefrontal regions. METHOD: In two experiments, we examined the temporary effects of high-frequency (HF) rTMS (10 Hz) applied over the left and right DLPFC on the attentional processing of emotional information and self-reported mood within samples of healthy volunteers. RESULTS: The present study showed that one session of HF-rTMS over the right DLPFC produces instant impairments in the ability to inhibit negative information, in line with a characteristic cognitive vulnerability found in depressive pathology, whereas HF-rTMS of the left DLPFC did not lead to significant changes in attentional control. These effects could not be attributed to mood changes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study may suggest a specific involvement of the right DLPFC in the attentional processing of emotional information.

A large body of evidence suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is clinically effective in treating neuropsychiatric disorders and multiple sessions are commonly used. However, it is unknown whether multiple sessions of rTMS improve cognitive control, which is a function of the neural circuitry of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)-cingulate cortex in healthy individuals. In addition, it is still unclear which stages of neural processing are altered by rTMS. In this study, we investigated the effects of high-frequency rTMS on cognitive control and explored the time course changes of cognitive processing after rTMS using event-related potentials (ERPs). For seven consecutive days, 25 young healthy participants underwent one 10-Hz rTMS session per day in which stimulation was applied over the left DLPFC, and a homogeneous participant group of 25 individuals received a sham rTMS treatment. A Stroop task was performed, and an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. The results revealed that multiple sessions of rTMS can decrease reaction time (RTs) under both congruent and incongruent conditions and also increased the amplitudes of both N2 and N450 compared with sham rTMS. The negative correlations between the mean amplitudes of both N2 and N450 and the RTs were found, however, the latter correlation were restricted to incongruent trials and the correlation was enhanced significantly by rTMS. This observation supports the view that high-frequency rTMS over the left DLPFC can not only recruit more neural resources from the prefrontal cortex by inducing an electrophysiologically excitatory effect but also enhance efficiency of resources to deploy for conflict resolution during multiple stages of cognitive control processing in healthy young people.

Abstract BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region related to reward and motivational processes, is involved in effective response inhibition and that decreased activity in this region coincides with reduced inhibitory capacity. Using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to manipulate cortical activation, this study examined whether cross-hemispheric tDCS over the DLPFC affected performance on an inhibitory control task. METHODS: Neurologically intact participants performed a modified Stroop color-word matching task before and after completing one of two tDCS conditions; (1) anodal stimulation over the left DLPFC or (2) sham tDCS. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant effect of tDCS condition on Stroop reaction time (RT) pre-post tDCS change scores. Participants who received anodal stimulation over the left DLPFC demonstrated statistically significant faster RT change scores on the Stroop items compared to participants in the sham condition. Although errors on Stroop incongruent items decreased before and after receiving the tDCS treatment, there were no significant differences in errors on Stroop items between the anodal stimulation over left DLPFC and sham tDCS conditions. Anodal tDCS, which is known to elevate neural excitation, may have enhanced activation levels in the left DLPFC and minimized impairment of inhibitory control, resulting in better task performance. CONCLUSIONS: Current findings provide preliminary evidence that increased excitation of the left DLPFC improves inhibitory control and are a step toward understanding the potential of tDCS for moderating deficits in inhibitory control.

The science of large-scale brain networks offers a powerful paradigm for investigating cognitive and affective dysfunction in psychiatric and neurological disorders. This review examines recent conceptual and methodological developments which are contributing to a paradigm shift in the study of psychopathology. I summarize methods for characterizing aberrant brain networks and demonstrate how network analysis provides novel insights into dysfunctional brain architecture. Deficits in access, engagement and disengagement of large-scale neurocognitive networks are shown to play a prominent role in several disorders including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, dementia and autism. Synthesizing recent research, I propose a triple network model of aberrant saliency mapping and cognitive dysfunction in psychopathology, emphasizing the surprising parallels that are beginning to emerge across psychiatric and neurological disorders.

tDCS may be efficacious for treatment of MDE. The data do not support the use of tDCS in treatment-resistant depression, or as an add-on augmentation treatment. Larger studies over longer treatment periods are needed.

Disinhibition is a common focus in psychopathology research. However, use of inhibition models often is piecemeal, lacking an overarching taxonomy of inhibitory processes. The author organizes key concepts and models pertaining to different kinds of inhibitory control from the cognitive and temperament/personality literatures. Within the rubrics of executive inhibitory processes, motivational inhibitory processes, and automatic attentional inhibition processes, 8 kinds of inhibition are distinguished. Three basic temperament traits may address key executive and motivational inhibitory processes. Future developmental psychopathology research should be based on a systematic conceptual taxonomy of the kinds of inhibitory function relevant to a given disorder. Such an approach can clarify which inhibition distinctions are correct and which inhibition deficits go with which disorders.

Motor cortex excitability can be measured by single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can induce neuroplastic effects in stimulated and in functionally connected cortical regions. Due to its ability to non-invasively modulate cortical activity, rTMS has been investigated for the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, such studies revealed a high variability of both clinical and neuronal effects induced by rTMS. In order to better elucidate this meta-plasticity, rTMS-induced changes in motor cortex excitability have been monitored in various studies in a pre-post stimulation design. Here, we give a literature review of studies investigating motor cortex excitability changes as a neuronal marker for rTMS effects over non-motor cortical areas. A systematic literature review in April 2014 resulted in 29 articles in which motor cortex excitability was assessed before and after rTMS over non-motor areas. The majority of the studies focused on the stimulation of one of three separate cortical areas: the prefrontal area (17 studies), the cerebellum (8 studies), or the temporal cortex (3 studies). One study assessed the effects of multi-site rTMS. Most studies investigated healthy controls but some also stimulated patients with neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., affective disorders, tinnitus). Methods and findings of the identified studies were highly variable showing no clear systematic pattern of interaction of non-motor rTMS with measures of motor cortex excitability. Based on the available literature, the measurement of motor cortex excitability changes before and after non-motor rTMS has only limited value in the investigation of rTMS related meta-plasticity as a neuronal state or as a trait marker for neuropsychiatric diseases. Our results do not suggest that there are systematic alterations of cortical excitability changes during rTMS treatment, which calls into question the practice of re-adjusting the stimulation intensity according to the motor threshold over the course of the treatment.

Abstract Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated for the treatment of major depressive disorders in recent years. Here, we review the implications of current research for the clinical use of tDCS in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Meta-analyses, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, open-label trials, case reports and review articles were identified through a systematic search of the literature database of the National Institutes of Health (USA). Available articles were evaluated with regard to their clinical relevance. Results of tDCS efficacy are inconsistent due to the small sample sizes, the heterogeneous patient samples and the partially high treatment resistance in some studies. Overall, tDCS has very low side effects. Meta-analyses suggest some efficacy of tDCS in the treatment of acute depressive disorder with moderate effect size, and low efficacy in treatment-resistant depression. A general statement about the efficacy of tDCS as a therapeutic tool in major depression seems to be premature. tDCS is considered as a safe therapeutic option and is associated with only minor side effects. The effectiveness of tDCS decreases with resistance to treatment. Psychotropic drugs may attenuate or amplify its effects. The use of 2 mA current strength over 20 min per day over a short time span can be considered as safe.

Abstract Retrieving information from long-term memory can result in the episodic forgetting of related material. One influential account states that this retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) phenomenon reflects inhibitory mechanisms called into play to decrease retrieval competition. Recent neuroimaging studies suggested that the prefrontal cortex, which is critically engaged in inhibitory processing, is also involved in retrieval competition situations. Here, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to address whether inhibitory processes could be causally linked to RIF. tDCS was administered over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the retrieval-practice phase in a standard retrieval-practice paradigm. Sixty human participants were randomly assigned to anodal, cathodal, or sham-control groups. The groups showed comparable benefits for practiced items. In contrast, unlike both the sham and anodal groups, the cathodal group exhibited no RIF. This pattern is interpreted as evidence for a causal role of inhibitory mechanisms in episodic retrieval and forgetting.

Abstract Objective:: Current treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD) consists of psychotherapy and pharmacological interventions. However, the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could be beneficial to improve some BPD symptoms. The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical improvement in patients with BPD after application of rTMS over the right or left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Method:: Twenty-nine patients with BPD from the National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico, were randomized in two groups to receive 15 sessions of rTMS applied over the right (1 Hz, n=15) or left (5 Hz, n=14) DLPFC. Improvement was measured by the Clinical Global Impression Scale for BPD (CGI-BPD), Borderline Evaluation of Severity Over Time (BEST), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). Results:: Intragroup comparison showed significant (p < 0.05) reductions in every psychopathologic domain of the CGI-BPD and in the total scores of all scales in both groups. Conclusions:: Both protocols produced global improvement in severity and symptoms of BPD, particularly in impulsiveness, affective instability, and anger. Further studies are warranted to explore the therapeutic effect of rTMS in BPD. Clinical trial registration:: NCT02273674 .

Inhibitory control and error detection are among the highest evolved human self-monitoring functions. Attempts in functional neuroimaging to effectively isolate inhibitory motor control from other cognitive functions have met with limited success. Different brain regions in inferior, mesial, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and parietal and temporal lobes have been related to inhibitory control in go/no-go and stop tasks. The widespread activation reflects the fact that the designs used so far have comeasured additional noninhibitory cognitive functions such as selective attention, response competition, decision making, target detection, and inhibition failure. Here we use rapid, mixed trial, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to correlate brain activation with an extremely difficult situation of inhibitory control in a challenging stop task that controls for noninhibitory functions. The difficulty of the stop task, requiring withholding of a triggered motor response, was assured by an algorithm that adjusted the task individually so that each subject only succeeded on half of all stop trials, failing on the other half. This design allowed to elegantly separate brain activation related to successful motor response inhibition and to inhibition failure or error detection. Brain activation correlating with successful inhibitory control in 20 healthy volunteers could be isolated in right inferior prefrontal cortex. Failure to inhibit was associated with activation in mesial frontopolar and bilateral inferior parietal cortices, presumably reflecting an attention network for error detection.

The purpose of this study was to improve the inhibitory control functions through transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in adolescents with ADHD symptoms.Twenty high school students with ADHD symptoms participated in this single-blinded, crossover, sham-controlled study. All the participants were tested during the application of Stroop and Go/No-Go tasks that is used to measure inhibitory control, using 1.5 mA of tDCS for 15 min over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC).Anodal stimulation on left DLPFC had no effect on interference inhibition during the Stroop task and increased the proportion of correct responses in the "Go stage" of the Go/No-Go test compared with sham condition. Cathodal stimulation on the left DLPFC increased the inhibition accuracy in the inhibition stage during Go/No-Go task in comparison with sham.tDCS over the left DLPFC of adolescents who suffer from ADHD symptoms can improve inhibitory control in prepotent response inhibition.

Abstract Many situations in our everyday life call for a mechanism deputed to outright stop an ongoing course of action. This behavioral inhibition ability, known as response stopping, is often impaired in psychiatric conditions characterized by impulsivity and poor inhibitory control. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has recently been proposed as a tool for modulating response stopping in such clinical populations, and previous studies in healthy humans have already shown that this noninvasive brain stimulation technique is effectively able to improve response stopping, as measured in a stop-signal task (SST) administered immediately after the stimulation. So far, the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) has been the main focus of these attempts to modulate response stopping by the means of noninvasive brain stimulation. However, other cortical areas such as the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) have been implicated in inhibitory control with other paradigms. In order to provide new insight about the involvement of these areas in response stopping, in the present study, tDCS was delivered to 115 healthy subjects, using five stimulation setups that differed in terms of target area (rIFG or rDLPFC) and polarity of stimulation (anodal, cathodal, or sham). The SST was performed 15 min after the offset of the stimulation. Consistently with previous studies, only anodal stimulation over rIFG induced a reliable, although weak, improvement in the SST, which was specific for response stopping, as it was not mirrored in more general reaction time measures.

Disinhibition over drug use, enhanced salience of drug use and decreased salience of natural reinforcers are thought to play an important role substance dependence. Whether this is also true for pathological gambling is unclear. To understand the effects of affective stimuli on response inhibition in problem gamblers (PRGs), we designed an affective Go/Nogo to examine the interaction between response inhibition and salience attribution in 16 PRGs and 15 healthy controls (HCs). Four affective blocks were presented with Go trials containing neutral, gamble, positive or negative affective pictures. The No-Go trials in these blocks contained neutral pictures. Outcomes of interest included percentage of impulsive errors and mean reaction times in the different blocks. Brain activity related to No-Go trials was assessed to measure response inhibition in the various affective conditions and brain activity related to Go trials was assessed to measure salience attribution. PRGs made fewer errors during gamble and positive trials than HCs, but were slower during all trials types. Compared to HCs, PRGs activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate and ventral striatum to a greater extent while viewing gamble pictures. The dorsal lateral and inferior frontal cortex were more activated in PRGs than in HCs while viewing positive and negative pictures. During neutral inhibition, PRGs were slower but similar in accuracy to HCs, and showed more dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex activity. In contrast, during gamble and positive pictures PRGs performed better than HCs, and showed lower activation of the dorsolateral and anterior cingulate cortex. This study shows that gambling-related stimuli are more salient for PRGs than for HCs. PRGs seem to rely on compensatory brain activity to achieve similar performance during neutral response inhibition. A gambling-related or positive context appears to facilitate response inhibition as indicated by lower brain activity and fewer behavioural errors in PRGs.

反应抑制是指抑制不符合当前需要的或不恰当行为反应的能力,也是执行控制加工的重要成分。解释反应抑制的心理加工模型有两种:反应与抑制相互独立的赛马模型和交互作用的赛马模型。近年来对反应抑制神经机制的研究表明:额叶-基底神经节系统内的超直接通路和间接通路可能共同负责对优势反应的抑制,而额下回、辅助运动区/辅助运动前区和前部扣带回皮层等脑区可能是抑制控制的关键脑区;反应抑制与反应选择、工作记忆和注意的神经加工之间存在密切联系,它们的激活脑区既相互重叠,又相互区别;右背外侧前额皮层的激活可能反映与抑制任务相关的注意和工作记忆的加工。未来的研究需要将脑损伤、神经功能成像和经颅磁刺激等多种技术结合起来,进一步阐明上述脑区在反应抑制中的相互作用机制。

The current results demonstrate the utility of tDCS as a tool to assess how differences in cortical responsivity are associated with specific personality traits. Additionally, this study represents the first investigation into the influence of psychopathic traits on tDCS effects on dlPFC, and we observed beneficial changes in response inhibition as a result of, especially, cathodal stimulation in participants scoring high on Coldheartedness.

Abstract BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the short-term therapeutic effects of using repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to examine potential influencing factors. METHOD: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Wanfang, CNKI, and Sinomed databases on September 18, 2016 and reviewed the references of previous meta-analyses. Sham-controlled, randomized clinical trials using rTMS to treat OCD were included. Hedge's g was calculated for the effect size. Subgroup analyses and univariate meta-regressions were conducted. RESULTS: Twenty studies with 791 patients were included. A large effect size (g=0.71; 95%CI, 0.55-0.87; P<0.001) was found for the therapeutic effect. Targeting the supplementary motor area (SMA) (g=0.56; 95%CI, 0.12-1.01; P<0.001), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (g=0.47; 95%CI, 0.02-0.93; P=0.02), bilateral DLPFC (g=0.65; 95%CI, 0.38-0.92; P<0.001) and right DLPFC (g=0.93; 95%CI, 0.70-1.15; P<0.001), excluding the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (g=0.56; 95%CI, -0.05-1.18; P=0.07), showed significant improvements over sham treatments. Both low-frequency (g=0.73; 95%CI, 0.50-0.96; P<0.001) and high-frequency (g=0.70; 95%CI, 0.51-0.89; P<0.001) treatments were significantly better than sham treatments, with no significant differences between the effects of the two frequencies. The subgroup analyses indicated that patients who were non-treatment resistant, lacked concurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) and received threshold-intensity rTMS showed larger therapeutic effects than the corresponding subgroups. The subgroup analysis according to sham strategy showed that tilted coils yielded larger effects than sham coils. Meta-regression analyses revealed that none of the continuous variables were significantly associated with the therapeutic effects. LIMITATIONS: Only short-term therapeutic effects were assessed in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this study, the short-term therapeutic effects of rTMS are superior to those of sham treatments. The site of stimulation, stimulation frequency and intensity and sham condition were identified as potential factors modulating short-term therapeutic effects. The findings of this study may inspire future research. Copyright 漏 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.