title: Functional connectivity patterns reflect individual differences in conflict adaptation.
abstract: Individuals differ in the ability to utilize previous conflict information to optimize current conflict resolution, which is termed the conflict adaptation effect. Previous studies have linked individual differences in conflict adaptation to distinct brain regions. However, the network-based neural mechanisms subserving the individual differences of the conflict adaptation effect have not been studied. The present study employed a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis with a color-naming Stroop task to examine this issue. The main results were as follows: (1) the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-seeded PPI revealed the involvement of the salience network (SN) in conflict adaptation, while the posterior parietal cortex (PPC)-seeded PPI revealed the engagement of the central executive network (CEN). (2) Participants with high conflict adaptation effect showed higher intra-CEN connectivity and lower intra-SN connectivity; while those with low conflict adaptation effect showed higher intra-SN connectivity and lower intra-CEN connectivity. (3) The PPC-centered intra-CEN connectivity positively predicted the conflict adaptation effect; while the ACC-centered intra-SN connectivity had a negative correlation with this effect. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that conflict adaptation is likely supported by the CEN and the SN, providing a new perspective on studying individual differences in conflict adaptation on the basis of large-scale networks.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Xiangpeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Laboratory of Cognition and Mental Health, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Zhencai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hitchman
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. Electronic address: xscat@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Antao
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007206:Individuality; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011601:Psychophysics; D057190:Stroop Test; D014825:Vocabulary
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Central executive network (CEN); Conflict adaptation effect; Individual differences; Proactive control; Psychophysiological interaction (PPI); Salience network (SN)