Shared neural correlates of interference control and response inhibition in adolescence and young adulthood

Inhibitory control (IC) is the ability to inhibit dominant or automatic behaviours, responses or thoughts, to allow for the selection of appropriate goal-directed responses. IC is a core executive function and has been associated with specific brain regions, such as the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) but also with a broader fronto-parietal network similar to the multiple demand network, which is thought to support the elaboration and maintenance of structured mental programs across a range of tasks. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from different IC tasks within the same participants to investigate similarities and differences in brain activation between tasks and age groups. Adolescents (11-15 years-old, n = 34) and adults (18-26, n = 33) completed block-design numerical Stroop and simple and complex Go/No-go (GNG) tasks. Univariate analyses showed large overlapping fronto-parietal activation in the Stroop and complex GNG tasks, with more limited activation in the simple GNG task. When compared to adolescents, adults showed greater increases in activation in the right IFG in the Stroop task and in temporo-parietal and precentral clusters in the complex GNG task. High multivariate similarity was observed across fronto-parietal regions between complex GNG and Stroop tasks, and between simple and complex GNG tasks, but was much lower between Stroop and simple GNG tasks. Adults showed greater similarity between complex GNG and Stroop tasks, suggesting increased reliance on shared neural processes across tasks, rather than increased specialisation of brain networks to specific aspects of IC over development.