Cognitive control of response inhibition and switching: Hemispheric lateralization and hand preference

• The EEG study assesses response inhibition and switching in left- and right-handers.
• Strengthening of coherence in the alpha band following NoGo and Switch target cues.
• Brain-behavioral correlations show superiority of left-sided circuitry.
• Lateralization pattern is independent of hand preference.

Changing environmental constraints often make already prepared responses unnecessary or inappropriate. Under such circumstances, cognitive control enables to suppress the response or switch to alternative behavior. Here, we examine the neural dynamics of both functions in left- and right-handers who performed two variants of a paradigm that required either inhibition of the response or switching the response between hands. The EEG coherence data showed strengthening of interregional coupling in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) following the target cues with an essential contribution of fronto-medial circuitry and a specific involvement of parietal areas in response switching. Brain-behavioral correlations revealed the functional significance of left-sided regions for successful response inhibition and switching, underlining the significant role of the left hemisphere for the organization of goal-directed activities. This lateralization pattern was observed for both left- and right-handers and suggests dominance of higher-order aspects of action planning in the left hemisphere.