Biology subjects

Brezoczki, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Brezoczki, B..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

No sex differences in predictive processing

Statistical learning, defined as the implicit extraction of environmental regularities, is considered a fundamental cognitive mechanism that supports predictive processing across individuals, domains, and species. However, whether it is modulated by gender remains unclear. This study investigated potential gender-related differences in statistical learning using an age-matched sample of 129 women and 129 men (N = 258) who completed a well-established visuomotor probabilistic learning task. Statistical learning was revealed in both reaction time and accuracy measures, with participants responding faster and more accurately to high-probability than to low-probability trials. Critically, neither the magnitude nor the trajectory of statistical learning differed between women and men. Furthermore, no baseline differences in visuomotor performance interacted with learning metrics. Overall, these findings suggest that implicit statistical learning is a robust cognitive mechanism that is highly resilient to gender-related variation. Highlights Implicit statistical learning was robust in both women and men, with no evidence for gender differences in the magnitude or trajectory of learning. Although a minor baseline difference in general response speed was observed, this effect did not interact with or influence statistical learning. Statistical learning was robust across menstrual cycle phases and hormonal contraceptive use groups. The findings suggest that the "predictive brain" relies on fundamental, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that are largely resilient to gender-based variation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

ADHD-like traits reshape the balance between inhibitory control and predictive processes

Adaptive behavior relies on a dynamic balance between flexible, goal-directed control and efficient, automatic processes. This equilibrium is often disrupted in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a condition understood to exist along a continuum of traits in the general population. While ADHD is consistently linked to response inhibition deficits, its relationship with statistical learning (a mechanism for habit learning) and, crucially, the interaction between these functions, remains underexplored. Here, using a novel paradigm in a non-clinical sample of university students (n = 226), we investigated how ADHD-like traits modulate the interplay between response inhibition and statistical learning. We found that higher ADHD-like traits were associated with poorer response inhibition, confirming previous research. Importantly, we uncovered an antagonistic relationship between inhibition and statistical learning, where weaker inhibitory control typically led to enhanced learning of environmental regularities. However, this learning advantage progressively diminished across the ADHD trait continuum, becoming markedly reduced in individuals with high symptom prevalence. These findings provide novel evidence that ADHD-like traits influence not only isolated neurocognitive processes but also their dynamic interaction, highlighting a spectrum-based mechanism that may underlie the transition from adaptive variability to maladaptive behavioral patterns. This work advocates for a dimensional approach to ADHD, emphasizing early detection and targeted interventions for individuals with varying levels of symptomatic expression, broadening support beyond traditional diagnostic boundaries.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Faster adult implicit probabilistic statistical learning following childhood adversity

According to deficit models, early life adversity disrupts normal development, leading to long-term emotional, behavioural, and cognitive difficulties. However, some evidence suggests that certain psychological skills may be preserved or even enhanced by early adversity. We hypothesised that implicit learning and memory would be equally effective in individuals exposed to childhood adversity and those from more favourable backgrounds, and compared the effects of childhood versus adult adversity. To this aim, retrospective childhood harshness and unpredictability measurements and current perceived socio-economic status were collected in a sample of 325 participants at a Hungarian university taking part in an online experiment. They also completed a task allowing the assessment of multiple components of implicit statistical learning, including initial acquisition of regularities, consolidation of established regularities, resistance of established regularities against interference, and acquisition of novel regularities. Results showed that although statistical learning reached the same eventual level, its pace was quicker in individuals with relatively greater early life adversity exposure. Conversely, lower current socio-economic status was linked to reduced learning performance. These findings partially support the hidden talents framework, suggesting that early adversity may promote certain adaptive cognitive skills.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies Shift the Balance Between Competitive Neurocognitive Processes

Theoretical models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) emphasize that symptoms may arise from an imbalance between habitual and goal-directed processes, characterized by increased reliance on habitual behavior and reduced efficiency of goal-directed control. However, it remains unclear whether similar alterations appear at a more general functional level, beyond reward-driven mechanisms. The present study, therefore, investigated the relationship between statistical learning (SL), an implicit, reward-independent mechanism that supports the detection of environmental regularities and the formation of habitual behaviour, and cognitive flexibility, defined as the capacity to adapt behaviour and cognitive strategies to changing environmental demands. By adopting a dimensional approach to obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies in a university student sample, we aimed to clarify how continuous symptom variability relates to the interaction of these neurocognitive functions. A total of 404 participants completed an online experiment, including a probabilistic sequence learning task assessing SL and a card-sorting task measuring cognitive flexibility. Results revealed an antagonistic relationship between SL and cognitive flexibility. Importantly, this inverse association weakened as OC tendencies increased, suggesting that OC tendencies may alter the balance between automatic and goal-directed functions. HighlightsO_LICD theories propose an imbalance between automatic and goal-directed control systems. C_LIO_LItested whether this imbalance emerges at a functional level, beyond reward-based learning. C_LIO_LIlearning and cognitive flexibility showed an antagonistic relationship in a university student sample. C_LIO_LIinverse association weakened as obsessive-compulsive tendencies increased. C_LIO_LIC tendencies alter the interaction between automatic learning and executive control. C_LI Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=174 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/669948v4_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (41K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9f700corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1752b54org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16f9a98org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e99e6_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

A functional trade-off between executive control and implicit statistical learning is dynamically gated by mind wandering

Human cognition must balance goal-directed behavior with the need to learn from environmental regularities. Mind wandering (MW), a state of attentional decoupling from the task at hand, is paradoxically associated with both executive failures and enhanced implicit statistical learning, yet the direct relationship between these phenomena remains unclear. Here, we provide direct behavioral evidence for a functional trade-off between these competing demands. Using a task that concurrently measured response inhibition, statistical learning, and self-reported task focus, we show that MW is associated with impaired inhibitory control but enhanced learning of probabilistic sequences. Critically, we reveal that these effects are related: the magnitude of the learning enhancement during MW depends on the efficacy of response inhibition. These findings demonstrate that transient lapses in top-down executive control are associated with the enhanced implicit extraction of environmental statistics, supporting neurocompetition models, and framing MW as a cognitive state that may be evolutionarily preserved to promote the unsupervised acquisition of predictive models.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Individual differences in probabilistic learning and updating predictive representations in individuals with obsessive-compulsive tendencies

Obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies involve intrusive thoughts and rigid, repetitive behaviours that also manifest at the subclinical level in the general population. The neurocognitive factors driving the development and persistence of the excessive presence of these tendencies remain highly elusive, though emerging theories emphasize the role of implicit information processing. Despite various empirical studies on distinct neurocognitive processes, the incidental retrieval of environmental structures in dynamic and noisy environments, such as probabilistic learning, has received relatively little attention. In this study, we aimed to unravel potential individual differences in implicit probabilistic learning and the updating of predictive representations related to OC tendencies in the general population. We conducted two independent online experiments (NStudy1 = 164, NStudy2 = 257) with young adults. Probabilistic learning was assessed using a reliable implicit visuomotor probabilistic learning task, which involved sequences with second-order non-adjacent dependencies. Our findings revealed that even among individuals displaying a broad spectrum of OC tendencies within a non-clinical population, implicit probabilistic learning remained remarkably robust. Furthermore, the results highlighted effective updating capabilities of predictive representations, which were not influenced by OC tendencies. These results offer new insights into individual differences in probabilistic learning and updating in relation to OC tendencies, contributing to theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches for understanding the maladaptive behavioural manifestations of OC disorder and subclinical tendencies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

MIND WANDERING DURING IMPLICIT LEARNING IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED PERIODIC EEG ACTIVITY AND IMPROVED EXTRACTION OF HIDDEN PROBABILISTIC PATTERNS

Mind wandering, occupying 30-50% of our waking time, remains an enigmatic phenomenon in cognitive neuroscience. Predominantly viewed negatively, mind wandering is often associated with detrimental impacts on attention-demanding (model-based) tasks in both natural settings and laboratory conditions. Mind wandering however, might not be detrimental for all cognitive domains. We proposed that mind wandering may facilitate model-free processes, such as probabilistic learning, which relies on the automatic acquisition of statistical regularities with minimal attentional demands. We administered a well-established implicit probabilistic learning task combined with mind wandering thought probes in healthy adults (N = 37, 30 females). To explore the neural correlates of mind wandering and probabilistic learning, participants were fitted with high-density electroencephalography. Our findings indicate that probabilistic learning was not only immune to periods of mind wandering, but was positively associated with it. Spontaneous, as opposed to deliberate mind wandering, was particularly beneficial for extracting the probabilistic patterns hidden in the visual stream. Additionally, cortical oscillatory activity in the low-frequency (slow and delta) range, indicative of covert sleep-like states, was associated with both mind wandering and improved probabilistic learning, particularly in the early stages of the task. Given the importance of probabilistic implicit learning in predictive processing, our findings provide novel insights into the potential cognitive benefits of task-unrelated thoughts in addition to shedding light on its neural mechanisms. This surprising benefit challenges the predominant view of mind wandering as solely detrimental and highlights its complex role in human cognition, especially in memory consolidation. Statement of significanceMind wandering poses an unresolved puzzle for cognitive neuroscience: it is associated with poor performance in various cognitive domains, yet humans spend 30-50% of their waking time mind wandering. We proposed that mind wandering may be beneficial for less attention-demanding cognitive processes requiring automatic, habitual learning. We assessed an implicit probabilistic learning task measuring the ability to extract (without awareness) hidden regularities from the information stream. Participants showed superior performance in probabilistic learning during periods of mind wandering, especially when such task-unrelated thoughts occurred spontaneously without intention. Moreover, mind wandering and probabilistic learning were both associated with slow frequency neural activity, suggesting that mind wandering may reflect a transient, offline state facilitating rapid learning and memory consolidation.

neuroscience↗