Maturation of distinct neural components of the cognitive control network support early development of inhibitory control

Abstract

AbstractCrucial for goal-directed behavior is the capacity to suppress impulses and predominant behavioral responses, called inhibitory control (IC). This ability emerges in early childhood, and a distinction according to neutral (‘cold’) and emotional (‘hot’) contexts has been suggested. Here, we ask which maturational changes in the child’s brain underlie the emergence of this critical ability. We relate behavioral changes in 3-and 4-year-olds’ ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ IC to brain maturation, using a multimodal approach that combines cortical and subcortical grey matter structure with white matter connectivity. Our results show that the maturation of distinct parts of the cognitive control brain network support early development of the different IC domains: Whereas ‘cold’ IC is related to frontoparietal regions and the left thalamus, ‘hot’ IC is associated with the left supramarginal gyrus and right thalamus. This dissociation of brain networks involved in ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ IC is confirmed by independent patterns of thalamocortical connectivity, supporting that IC in neutral and emotional settings relies on independent processes.