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Response Inhibition

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Neurophenotypes

Part of the book series: Innovations in Cognitive Neuroscience ((Innovations Cogn.Neuroscience))

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Abstract

In our everyday lives, we continuously select actions from plenty of possible options. To perform the chosen action correctly, the remaining unchosen actions must be inhibited. The importance of response inhibition is especially appreciated when one considers the outcomes when it does not work correctly. Malfunction of the inhibition process can lead to an impairment in decision-making (resulting, for example, in the inability to appropriately select steering direction when driving) or deficient motor control (resulting, for example, in an accident). Studies have proposed that the impaired ability of response inhibition may contribute to the symptoms in several psychiatric and developmental disorders, such as ADHD (Barkley in Psychol Bull 121(1):65–94 1997). In this review, we first explain the experimental definition of response inhibition and how it can be assessed by cognitive tasks. Next, we briefly summarize the neural mechanism of response inhibition and our current knowledge about its relationship to psychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss the validity of response inhibition as a behavioral phenotype, and suggest future directions for clinical and experimental studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kindai University, Osaka, Japan

    Kei Mochizuki

  2. Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Shintaro Funahashi

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  1. Kei Mochizuki
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  2. Shintaro Funahashi
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Correspondence to Shintaro Funahashi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Communication science & Disorders/Behavioral Neuroscience , Emerson College; Boston University school of Medicine, BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA

    Vinoth Jagaroo

  2. Marine medical centre and Marine Medical Research, Chan School of Public Health , Tufts University School of medicine and Harvard TH, BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA

    Susan L. Santangelo

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Mochizuki, K., Funahashi, S. (2016). Response Inhibition. In: Jagaroo, V., Santangelo, S. (eds) Neurophenotypes. Innovations in Cognitive Neuroscience. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3846-5_7

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