Journal article
The Pause-then-Cancel model of human action-stopping: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, Vol.129, pp.17-34
07/19/2021
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.019
PMCID: PMC8574992
PMID: 34293402
Abstract
•Human action stopping research is marred by two ongoing controversies.•Inhibition occurs at two latencies; inhibition & attentional capture are confounded.•We formulate a 2-step model of stopping based on the rodent Pause-then-Cancel model.•An early-latency Pause process triggers global inhibition after all salient events.•Stop-signals then include an additional, slower and more specific Cancel process.
The ability to stop already-initiated actions is a key cognitive control ability. Recent work on human action-stopping has been dominated by two controversial debates. First, the contributions (and neural signatures) of attentional orienting and motor inhibition after stop-signals are near-impossible to disentangle. Second, the timing of purportedly inhibitory (neuro)physiological activity after stop-signals has called into question which neural signatures reflect processes that actually contribute to action-stopping. Here, we propose that a two-stage model of action-stopping – proposed by Schmidt and Berke (2017) based on subcortical rodent recordings – may resolve these controversies. Translating this model to humans, we first argue that attentional orienting and motor inhibition are inseparable because orienting to salient events like stop-signals automatically invokes broad motor inhibition, reflecting a fast-acting, ubiquitous Pause process. We then argue that inhibitory signatures after stop-signals differ in latency because they map onto two sequential stages: the salience-related Pause and a slower, stop-specific Cancel process. We formulate the model, discuss recent supporting evidence in humans, and interpret existing data within its context.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Pause-then-Cancel model of human action-stopping: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence
- Creators
- Darcy A Diesburg - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USAJan R Wessel - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, Vol.129, pp.17-34
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.019
- PMID
- 34293402
- PMCID
- PMC8574992
- NLM abbreviation
- Neurosci Biobehav Rev
- ISSN
- 0149-7634
- eISSN
- 1873-7528
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation, award: 1752355
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/19/2021
- Academic Unit
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984112334602771
Metrics
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