J Cogn Neurosci. 2022 Dec 28:1-13. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_01954. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The SMA is fundamental in planning voluntary movements and execution of some cognitive control operations. Specifically, the SMA has been associated to play a dominant role in controlling goal-directed actions as well as those that are highly predicted (i.e., automatic). Yet, the essential contribution of SMA in goal-directed or automatic control of behavior is scarce. Our objective was to test the possible direct role of SMA in automatic and voluntary response inhibition.
METHODS: We separately applied two noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) inhibitory techniques over SMA: either continuous theta-burst stimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial static magnetic field stimulation. Each NIBS technique was performed in a randomized, crossover, sham-controlled design. Before applying NIBS, participants practiced a go/no-go learning task where associations between stimulus and stopping behaviors were created (initiation and inhibition). After applying each NIBS, participants performed a go/no-go task with reversed associations (automatic control) and the stop signal task (voluntary control).
RESULTS: Learning associations between stimuli and response initiation/inhibition was achieved by participants and therefore automatized during training. However, no significant differences between real and sham NIBS were found in either automatic (go/no-go learning task) or voluntary inhibition (stop signal task), with Bayesian statistics providing moderate evidence of absence.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results are compatible with a nondirect involvement of SMA in automatic control of behavior. Further studies are needed to prove a noncausal link between prior neuroimaging findings relative to SMA controlling functions and the observed behavior.
PMID:36603037 | DOI:10.1162/jocn_a_01954
