An Integrative View of Conflict Adaptation and Active Maintenance

The conflict adaptation (CA) effect refers to the reduction in the interference effect observed in conflict tasks that follow incongruent compared to congruent trials. It has been suggested that CA is caused by the exertion of flexible cognitive control, supported by many behavioral and neuroimaging studies; however, it remains unclear how conflict-related features of the preceding trial are conveyed to subsequent trials for following adaptation. This review aims to summarize evidence supporting the top-down modulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and passive short-term maintenance in the posterior brain areas as mechanisms underlying CA, respectively, and to suggest a new integrated view of CA, including active maintenance in working memory. We review empirical evidences suggesting that both dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior brain regions play critical roles in CA, rather than either top-down modulation or passive maintenance alone. Although the active maintenance view of CA appears to explain many existing findings, empirical studies are required to directly test this view.