Neural Representation of Response Inhibition and Attentional Capture in the Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus

Inhibitory control requires individuals to suppress inappropriate behaviors while also engaging in attentional capture of response signals. Previous research has identified the right inferior frontal gyrus as a critical brain region for implementing inhibitory control; however, evidence regarding its role in attentional capture remains limited. Since the Stop trials in the stop signal task involve both attentional capture of salient stimuli and response inhibition, it is challenging to isolate the attentional capture process from inhibitory control. To address this issue, the present study modified the stop signal task by introducing Continue signals, allowing participants to execute Go responses upon seeing a Continue signal. Consequently, the processing of Continue signals involved attentional capture without engaging in response inhibition. Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that the right inferior frontal gyrus is capable of representing both Stop and Continue signals, with a stronger neural representation for Stop signals compared to Continue signals. Thus, this study demonstrates that the right inferior frontal gyrus is involved in both attentional capture of stimulus signals and behavioral inhibition during the process of inhibitory control. This finding enhances our understanding of the specific functions of the right inferior frontal gyrus in the context of inhibitory control processing.