Task-specific theta enhancement and domain-general alpha/beta suppression as oscillatory signatures of cognitive flexibility.
- 1Department of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. [email protected].
- 2Department of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility-the ability to adapt to changing situational or task demands-is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and a potential source of individual differences in higher-order cognitive abilities. To further understand the neural mechanisms underlying this ability, we examined event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP) in three cued switching tasks (parity/magnitude, global/local, number/letter) in a sample of 148 adults. Employing a data-driven approach that combined mass-univariate time-frequency analysis, cluster-based permutation testing, and latent change structural equation modeling, we identified two robust neural signatures: a transient frontal theta increase and a sustained alpha/beta suppression. Both effects were more pronounced in switch compared to repeat trials. Frontal theta reflected task-specific control processes, whereas parietal alpha/beta indexed domain-general attentional processes that persisted from cue onset through target processing-consistent with two-stage models of task switching. Notably, flexibility-related alpha/beta dynamics did not correlate with measures of intelligence or working memory capacity. However, stronger cue-elicited alpha/beta suppression correlated with reduced non-decision-time switch costs, indicating more effective task preparation, underscoring that alpha/beta suppression captures a neurally coherent but behaviorally distinct dimension of cognitive flexibility. These findings provide evidence that alpha/beta suppression constitutes a reliable, cross-task generalizable neural signature of attentional reconfiguration during task switching, while highlighting the multi-component nature of individual differences in cognitive flexibility.
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BibTeX
@article{hulsemann2026taskspecific,
title = {{Task-specific theta enhancement and domain-general alpha/beta suppression as oscillatory signatures of cognitive flexibility.}},
author = {Mareike Hülsemann and Christoph Löffler and Anna-Lena Schubert},
journal = {Communications psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s44271-026-00521-9},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881249},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Task-specific theta enhancement and domain-general alpha/beta suppression as oscillatory signatures of cognitive flexibility.
AU - Mareike Hülsemann
AU - Christoph Löffler
AU - Anna-Lena Schubert
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Communications psychology
DO - 10.1038/s44271-026-00521-9
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42881249
AB - Cognitive flexibility-the ability to adapt to changing situational or task demands-is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and a potential source of individual differences in higher-order cognitive abilities. To further understand the neural mechanisms underlying this ability, we examined event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP) in three cued switching tasks (parity/magnitude, global/local, number/letter) in a sample of 148 adults. Employing a data-driven approach that combined mass-univariate time-frequency analysis, cluster-based permutation testing, and latent change structural equation modeling, we identified two robust neural signatures: a transient frontal theta increase and a sustained alpha/beta suppression. Both effects were more pronounced in switch compared to repeat trials. Frontal theta reflected task-specific control processes, whereas parietal alpha/beta indexed domain-general attentional processes that persisted from cue onset through target processing-consistent with two-stage models of task switching. Notably, flexibility-related alpha/beta dynamics did not correlate with measures of intelligence or working memory capacity. However, stronger cue-elicited alpha/beta suppression correlated with reduced non-decision-time switch costs, indicating more effective task preparation, underscoring that alpha/beta suppression captures a neurally coherent but behaviorally distinct dimension of cognitive flexibility. These findings provide evidence that alpha/beta suppression constitutes a reliable, cross-task generalizable neural signature of attentional reconfiguration during task switching, while highlighting the multi-component nature of individual differences in cognitive flexibility.
SN - 2731-9121
ER -