1
Return

Trait Characteristics of Midfrontal Theta Connectivity as a Neurocognitive Measure of Cognitive Control and Its Relation to General Cognitive Abilities

delete2025-05-22
delete0
delete
OA
AI
A
Anna‐Lena Schubert *
C
Christoph Löffler
H
Henrike Maria Jungeblut
M
Mareike Hülsemann
DOI:10.1037/xge0001780delete
deleteOriginal
deleteOriginal request for help
deleteShare
deleteSave
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Understanding the neurocognitive basis of cognitive control and its relationship with general cognitive ability is a key challenge in individual differences research. This study investigates midfrontal theta connectivity as a neurocognitive marker for individual differences in cognitive control. Using electroencephalography, we examined midfrontal global theta connectivity across three distinct cognitive control tasks in 148 participants. Our findings reveal that midfrontal theta connectivity can be modeled as a trait-like latent variable, indicating its consistency across tasks and stability over time. However, the reliability of the observed measures was found to be low to moderate, suggesting substantial measurement error. We also replicated previous results, finding a strong correlation (r = 0.64) between midfrontal theta connectivity and cognitive abilities, especially during higher order stages of information processing. We disentangled the specific cognitive processes contributing to this relationship by employing a task-cueing paradigm with distinct cue and target intervals. The results indicated that only theta connectivity during response-related processes, not during cue-evoked task-set reconfiguration, correlated with cognitive abilities. These insights significantly advance theoretical models of intelligence, highlighting the critical role of specific aspects of cognitive control in cognitive abilities.
Keywords:
individual differences
cognitive control
cognitive abilities
midfrontal theta connectivity
electroencephalography

Journal

J
Journal of Experimental Psychology-General
IF:
3.5
Papers:
2.9K
Citations:
1.6W

Organization

J
Johannes Gutenberg Univ Mainz
Scholars:
814
Papers: 373
Citations: 124
H
Heidelberg Univ
Scholars:
1.7K
Papers: 757
Citations: 352
Cited Papers

Cited Papers

Citing Papers

Citing Papers