Topic: set-shifting

A key component of cognition is set-shifting, which requires animals to update their knowledge of current rules or context, allowing flexible behaviour in a changing environment. This updating of rules or context relies on constantly evaluating and detecting mismatches between expectation and observed outcomes of events. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated in set-shifting behaviour, consistent with its well-established role in processing conflicts during cognitive tasks in primates and humans. However, the neural circuit

Older adults show deficits in tasks of set-shifting. Yet, many underlying cognitive functions are required during such tasks and it is currently unknown which of these mechanisms may be deficient in older age. Here, we investigated this question in a preliminary dataset of 45 young participants (age: 25.2 ± 4.3) and 26 older participants (age: 68.1 ± 5.0) in an EEG-compatible set-shifting paradigm. We were particularly interested in two posterior components: 1) The P300 is a positive component that appears approximately 300 ms to 500 ms after the cue and has a lower amplitude during set-shifti