INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 04 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 12:00 pm - 01:15 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging \| Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation \| Teleneuropsychology/Technology Final Abstract #42 The Relationship Between Neural and Behavioral Indices of Cognitive Control: EEG N2 Amplitude Predicts Executive Functioning in a Nonclinical Sample of Older Adults Jasmin Guevara, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States Tuan Cassim, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States Allie Geiger, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States Yana Suchy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States Matt Euler, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States Category: Neurophysiology/EEG/ERP/fMRI Keyword 1: aging (normal) Keyword 2: cognitive control Keyword 3: executive functions Objective: Individual differences in cognitive control—processes necessary for implementing and maintaining task performance—may reveal mild or subclinical deficits that may not be captured with traditional neuropsychological measures. Cognitive control processes may be represented by the N2 event-related potential component, which is thought to represent increased attention, conflict detection, and inhibition. Cognitive control appears to particularly overlap with the neuropsychological domain of executive functioning (EF), which is comprised of higher-order cognitive processes that initiate and maintain adaptive behavior. In contrast, the memory domain may draw less obviously from cognitive control processes and have a lesser degree of correspondence to associated neural measures. Although the N2 component shows promise for distinguishing individuals on the basis of cognitive control, it is critical to understand how it relates to individual differences in neuropsychological performance before it could be recommended as a clinical tool. Accordingly, the current study aimed to investigate the relationships between the N2 and performance on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised (HVLT-R). It was hypothesized that higher N2 amplitude and faster peak latency would predict better EF performance, but would be unrelated to memory performance. Participants and Methods: Sixty-one community-dwelling older adults (Age M = 69.56, SD = 6.56, 65% female, predominantly non-Hispanic White) completed a Flanker task during EEG recording to induce cognitive control. The stimulus-locked N2 component was calculated by averaging potentials from 150-300 ms at electrode FCz from correct incongruent trials. Participants also completed the D-KEFS and HVLT-R. Consistent with prior research, a composite score of EF was created by averaging the scaled scores from select conditions of four timed D-KEFS subtests: Color-Word Interference Test, Verbal Fluency, Design Fluency, and Trail Making Test. A memory composite score was created by averaging the following raw scores from the HVLT-R: Total Recall, Delayed Recall, and number of True Positives. Results: Regression analyses with EF as a dependent variable indicated that even after controlling for age, N2 amplitude significantly predicted EF (β = -.28, p = .02). Specifically, greater amplitude during target conditions predicted a decreased level of EF performance. Without reaching statistical significance, an inverse association between N2 amplitude and cognitive performance was also observed in the model with memory as a dependent variable (β = -.05, p = .71). N2 peak latency was unrelated neuropsychological performance or age. Conclusions: N2 amplitude was negatively related to EF performance, which contrasts with previous research indicating that engagement of cognitive control evidenced by greater mid-frontal EEG activity is correlated with better task performance. However, the observed findings in this sample of older adults may be consistent with an alternative line of research showing that there is a compensatory increase of frontal activity in older adults for whom cognitive control processes may be more variable. Overall, the current study represents an important step towards establishing the relationships between individual differences in neural and behavioral measures of cognitive control.

Poster

02/15/2024
12:00 pm - 01:15 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging | Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation | Teleneuropsychology/Technology

Final Abstract #42

The Relationship Between Neural and Behavioral Indices of Cognitive Control: EEG N2 Amplitude Predicts Executive Functioning in a Nonclinical Sample of Older Adults

Jasmin Guevara, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
Tuan Cassim, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
Allie Geiger, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
Yana Suchy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
Matt Euler, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States

Category: Neurophysiology/EEG/ERP/fMRI

Keyword 1: aging (normal)
Keyword 2: cognitive control
Keyword 3: executive functions

Objective:

Individual differences in cognitive control—processes necessary for implementing and maintaining task performance—may reveal mild or subclinical deficits that may not be captured with traditional neuropsychological measures. Cognitive control processes may be represented by the N2 event-related potential component, which is thought to represent increased attention, conflict detection, and inhibition. Cognitive control appears to particularly overlap with the neuropsychological domain of executive functioning (EF), which is comprised of higher-order cognitive processes that initiate and maintain adaptive behavior. In contrast, the memory domain may draw less obviously from cognitive control processes and have a lesser degree of correspondence to associated neural measures. Although the N2 component shows promise for distinguishing individuals on the basis of cognitive control, it is critical to understand how it relates to individual differences in neuropsychological performance before it could be recommended as a clinical tool. Accordingly, the current study aimed to investigate the relationships between the N2 and performance on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised (HVLT-R). It was hypothesized that higher N2 amplitude and faster peak latency would predict better EF performance, but would be unrelated to memory performance.

Participants and Methods:

Sixty-one community-dwelling older adults (Age M = 69.56, SD = 6.56, 65% female, predominantly non-Hispanic White) completed a Flanker task during EEG recording to induce cognitive control. The stimulus-locked N2 component was calculated by averaging potentials from 150-300 ms at electrode FCz from correct incongruent trials. Participants also completed the D-KEFS and HVLT-R. Consistent with prior research, a composite score of EF was created by averaging the scaled scores from select conditions of four timed D-KEFS subtests: Color-Word Interference Test, Verbal Fluency, Design Fluency, and Trail Making Test. A memory composite score was created by averaging the following raw scores from the HVLT-R: Total Recall, Delayed Recall, and number of True Positives.

Results:

Regression analyses with EF as a dependent variable indicated that even after controlling for age, N2 amplitude significantly predicted EF (β = -.28, p = .02). Specifically, greater amplitude during target conditions predicted a decreased level of EF performance. Without reaching statistical significance, an inverse association between N2 amplitude and cognitive performance was also observed in the model with memory as a dependent variable (β = -.05, p = .71). N2 peak latency was unrelated neuropsychological performance or age.

Conclusions:

N2 amplitude was negatively related to EF performance, which contrasts with previous research indicating that engagement of cognitive control evidenced by greater mid-frontal EEG activity is correlated with better task performance. However, the observed findings in this sample of older adults may be consistent with an alternative line of research showing that there is a compensatory increase of frontal activity in older adults for whom cognitive control processes may be more variable. Overall, the current study represents an important step towards establishing the relationships between individual differences in neural and behavioral measures of cognitive control.