Domain-general Stroop Performance and Hemispheric Asymmetries: A Resting-state EEG Study

Ambrosini, Ettore; Vallesi, Antonino · 2017 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01076

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Summary

This study investigates the neurophysiological basis of individual differences in interference resistance, a core component of executive function. Specifically, it addresses whether prefrontal cortex (pFC) hemispheric asymmetries in resting-state brain dynamics reflect domain-general cognitive control mechanisms or domain-specific processes. Building on previous findings linking left-lateralized pFC activity to task-switching, the authors hypothesized that similar asymmetries would predict performance in Stroop tasks, which measure the ability to suppress irrelevant information. To test for domain generality, the study examined both verbal and spatial Stroop tasks, aiming to determine if left-lateralized pFC activity supports phasic cognitive control independent of the cognitive domain. The researchers recorded resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity from 56 university students. They performed spectral power analysis on estimated cortical source activity to compute right–left hemispheric asymmetry scores for the beta/alpha (β/α) power ratio across 150 anatomical regions of interest. Behavioral data were collected using shortened versions of color–word (verbal) and spatial Stroop tasks. The Stroop effect was calculated as the difference in reaction times between incongruent and congruent trials. The authors employed robust statistical methods, including skipped correlations and bootstrap tests, to identify regions where β/α asymmetry significantly correlated with Stroop performance in both domains. Behavioral results confirmed significant verbal and spatial Stroop effects, though the spatial effect was larger and the two did not share significant variance, suggesting some domain specificity. However, intersection analyses revealed that stronger left-lateralized β/α power in specific pFC regions—namely the mid-posterior superior frontal gyrus (mpSFG), middle middle frontal gyrus (mMFG), posterior middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal junction—was significantly associated with smaller Stroop effects in both verbal and spatial tasks. Participants with more negative β/α asymmetry scores (indicating left-lateralized activity) demonstrated superior interference resistance regardless of the task domain. In contrast, asymmetries in other frequency bands (β/θ, γ/α) or relative power did not show these domain-general correlations. These findings support the hypothesis that left-lateralized pFC activity serves as a stable individual difference factor mediating domain-general phasic cognitive control. The results extend the ROBBIA model of executive functions, which posits a specialization of the left pFC for criterion-setting processes. By demonstrating that the same neurophysiological marker predicts performance in both verbal and spatial interference tasks, the study provides evidence that interference resistance relies on domain-general mechanisms rooted in left pFC dynamics, rather than being strictly tied to verbal or spatial processing networks.

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• executive function