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The Stroop effect involves an excitatory-inhibitory fronto-cerebellar loop.

ABSTRACT: The Stroop effect is a classical, well-known behavioral phenomenon in humans that refers to robust interference between language and color information. It remains unclear, however, when the interference occurs and how it is resolved in the brain. Here we show that the Stroop effect occurs during perception of color-word stimuli and involves a cross-hemispheric, excitatory-inhibitory loop functionally connecting the lateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum. Participants performed a Stroop task and a non-verbal control task (which we term the Swimmy task), and made a response vocally or manually. The Stroop effect involved the lateral prefrontal cortex in the left hemisphere and the cerebellum in the right hemisphere, independently of the response type; such lateralization was absent during the Swimmy task, however. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex amplified cerebellar activity, whereas the cerebellum suppressed prefrontal activity. This fronto-cerebellar loop may implement language and cognitive systems that enable goal-directed behavior during perceptual conflicts.

SUBMITTER: Okayasu M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9834394 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Stroop effect involves an excitatory-inhibitory fronto-cerebellar loop.

Okayasu Moe M Inukai Tensei T Tanaka Daiki D Tsumura Kaho K Shintaki Reiko R Takeda Masaki M Nakahara Kiyoshi K Jimura Koji K

Nature communications 20230111 1

The Stroop effect is a classical, well-known behavioral phenomenon in humans that refers to robust interference between language and color information. It remains unclear, however, when the interference occurs and how it is resolved in the brain. Here we show that the Stroop effect occurs during perception of color-word stimuli and involves a cross-hemispheric, excitatory-inhibitory loop functionally connecting the lateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum. Participants performed a Stroop task an ...[more]

PMID: 36631460

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Dataset Information

The Stroop effect involves an excitatory-inhibitory fronto-cerebellar loop.

Publications

The Stroop effect involves an excitatory-inhibitory fronto-cerebellar loop.

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