Conflict- and error-related theta activities are coupled to BOLD signals in different brain regions

Ewa Beldzik; Markus Ullsperger; Aleksandra Domagalik; Tadeusz Marek

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119264

Conflict- and error-related theta activities are coupled to BOLD signals in different brain regions

Neuroimage. 2022 Aug 1:256:119264. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119264. Epub 2022 May 1.

Authors

Ewa Beldzik¹, Markus Ullsperger², Aleksandra Domagalik³, Tadeusz Marek⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: ewa.beldzik@uj.edu.pl.
² Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany.
³ NeuroImaging Research Group, Neurobiology Department, Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
⁴ Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.

PMID: 35508215
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119264

Abstract

Both conflict and error processing have been linked to the midfrontal theta power (4-8 Hz) increase as indicated by EEG studies and greater hemodynamic activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) as indicated by fMRI studies. Conveniently, the source of the midfrontal theta power was estimated in or nearby aMCC. However, previous studies using concurrent EEG and fMRI recordings in resting-state or other cognitive tasks observed only a negative relationship between theta power and BOLD signal in the brain regions typically showing task-related deactivations. In this study, we used a simultaneous EEG-fMRI technique to investigate a trial-by-trial coupling between theta power and hemodynamic activity during the performance of two conflict tasks. Independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to denoise the EEG signal and select individual midfrontal EEG components, whereas group ICA was applied to fMRI data to obtain a functional parcellation of the frontal cortex. Using a linear mixed-effect model, theta power was coupled with the peak of hemodynamic responses from various frontal, cingulate, and insular cortical sites to unravel the potential brain sources that contribute to conflict- and error-related theta variability. Although several brain regions exhibited conflict-related increases in hemodynamic activity, the conflict pre-response theta showed only a negative correlation to BOLD signal in the midline area 9 (MA9), a region exhibiting conflict-sensitive deactivation. Conversely, and more expectedly, error-related theta showed a positive relationship to activity in the aMCC. Our results provide novel evidence suggesting that the amplitude of pre-response theta reflects the process of active inhibition that suppresses the MA9 activity. This process is affected independently by the stimulus congruency, reaction times variance, and is susceptible to the time-on-task effect. Finally, it predicts the commitment of an omission error. Together, our findings highlight that conflict- and error-related theta oscillations represent fundamentally different processes.

Keywords: Cognitive control; Conflict; Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; EEG-fMRI; Error; Theta.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain* / diagnostic imaging
Brain* / physiology
Electroencephalography
Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
Frontal Lobe / physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Theta Rhythm* / physiology