Development of response activation and inhibition in a selective stop-signal task

• Published in: Biological psychology Vol. 102; pp. 54 - 67
• Main Authors: van de Laar, Maria C., van den Wildenberg, Wery P.M., van Boxtel, Geert J.M., van der Molen, Maurits W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.10.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Development - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping; Child; Child Development - physiology; Choice Behavior; Development; Electromyography; EMG; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Inhibition (Psychology); Laplacian ERPs; Male; Motor Cortex - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time - physiology; Response activation; Response inhibition; Selective inhibition; Young Adult; Development; Response activation; Laplacian ERPs; Selective inhibition; Response inhibition; EMG; Choice reaction time; Electrophysiology; Activation; Electromyography; Inhibition; Event evoked potential
• ISSN: 0301-0511; 1873-6246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.06.003

•Disproportional developmental gains in choice reaction and inhibition time of the selective stop-signal task.•Children show more partial inhibits suggesting that they resort more frequently to a late operating ‘emergency brake’.•Children are less able to reduce primary motor cortex activation to increase the chance of response inhibition when required.•Young children, unlike adults, do not inhibit primary motor cortex activation to suppress the incorrect response.•The results reveal multiple developmental trends in the dynamics of response activation and inhibition. To gain more insight into the development of action control, the current brain potential study examined response selection, activation, and selective inhibition during choice- and stop-signal processing in three age groups (8-, 12-, and 21-year-olds). Results revealed that age groups differed in the implementation of proactive control; children slowed their go response and showed reduced cortical motor output compared to adults. On failed inhibition trials, children were less able than adults to suppress muscle output resulting in increased partial-inhibition rates. On invalid stop trials, all age groups initially activated, subsequently inhibited, and then reactivated the go response. Yet, children were less efficient in implementing this strategy. Then, older children recruit motor responses to a greater extent than younger children and adults, which reduced the efficiency of implementing response inhibition and proactive control. The results are discussed in relation to current notions of developmental change in proactive and reactive action control.