Logo image
Back
Adaptive behavior is guided by integrated representations of controlled and non-controlled information
Preprint   Open access

Adaptive behavior is guided by integrated representations of controlled and non-controlled information

Bingfang Huang, Harrison Ritz and Jiefeng Jiang
bioRxiv
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
08/11/2025
DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.07.669231
PMCID: PMC12363798
PMID: 40832359
url
https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.07.669231View
Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

Understanding how task knowledge is encoded neurally is crucial for uncovering the mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior. Here, we test the theory that all task information is integrated into a conjunctive task representation by investigating whether this representation simultaneously includes two types of associations that can guide behavior: stimulus-response (non-controlled) associations and stimulus-control (controlled) associations that inform how task focus should be adjusted to achieve goal-directed behavior. We extended the classic item-specific proportion congruency paradigm to dissociate the electroencephalographic (EEG) representations of controlled and non-controlled associations. Behavioral data replicated previous findings of association-driven adaptive behaviors. Decoding analyses of EEG data further showed that associations of controlled and non-controlled information were represented concurrently and differentially. Brain-behavioral analyses also showed that the strength of both associations was associated with faster responses. These findings support the idea that controlled and non-controlled associations are governed by an integrated task representation to guide adaptive behaviors simultaneously.Understanding how task knowledge is encoded neurally is crucial for uncovering the mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior. Here, we test the theory that all task information is integrated into a conjunctive task representation by investigating whether this representation simultaneously includes two types of associations that can guide behavior: stimulus-response (non-controlled) associations and stimulus-control (controlled) associations that inform how task focus should be adjusted to achieve goal-directed behavior. We extended the classic item-specific proportion congruency paradigm to dissociate the electroencephalographic (EEG) representations of controlled and non-controlled associations. Behavioral data replicated previous findings of association-driven adaptive behaviors. Decoding analyses of EEG data further showed that associations of controlled and non-controlled information were represented concurrently and differentially. Brain-behavioral analyses also showed that the strength of both associations was associated with faster responses. These findings support the idea that controlled and non-controlled associations are governed by an integrated task representation to guide adaptive behaviors simultaneously.

Details

Metrics

31 Record Views
Logo image