The Binding and Retrieval in Action Control (BRAC) framework provides an important perspective on how past experiences influence future actions through event-file binding and retrieval. This symposium brings together EEG and fNIRS research to explore the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying action control. Bernhard Pastötter examines the oscillatory correlates of event-file binding, showing that posterior alpha/beta desynchronization is linked to the integration of event-files, while alpha synchronization supports the maintenance of event files. Roula Jamous extends the BRAC framework by investigating how predictive processes influence both binding and retrieval, highlighting the role of sensory expectations in action control. Paul Wendiggensen explores the temporal dynamics of preparatory brain states, demonstrating that neurophysiological activity between trials affects subsequent event-file operations and providing insight into the time scales of binding effects. Christoph Geißler presents findings from combined fNIRS-EEG research on the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in action control, showing that binding effects depend on cognitive demands and task difficulty. Finally, Bernhard Hommel introduces a metacontrol framework, proposing that action control involves a dynamic balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility, regulated by cortical variability and neural noise. Together, these talks refine the BRAC framework by integrating neural oscillations, predictive coding, preparatory states, and metacontrol principles, offering a comprehensive perspective on how binding and retrieval shape adaptive behavior.

Stimulus-response bindings – temporary links between perception and action – are crucial for action control and adaptive behavior. In four experiments, we explored how brain activity supports the formation and short-term persistence of these bindings. Using EEG, we focused on alpha and beta oscillations around and after movement execution. Three experiments varied whether the stimulus was relevant or irrelevant, and how noticeable it was, to test when and how these bindings form and persist. The results suggest that alpha/beta activity before and after a response plays different roles: activity around movement execution (desynchronization) helps create the link, while post-response activity (synchronization) helps maintain it briefly. In a fourth study with patients with functional movement disorders, we found that overly persistent synchronization was linked to excessive, hard-to-break stimulus-response bindings, which interfered with flexible behavior. These findings offer new insights into how the brain balances persistence and flexibility on a moment-to-moment basis - and what happens when that balance is disrupted.

Brains are prediction machines, continuously generating and evaluating predictions as an essential aspect of human cognition and behavior. Prediction processes are integral to perception-action integration frameworks, such as BRAC, emphasizing the prediction of action outcomes in response to sensory inputs. However, less attention has been given to predicting sensory inputs themselves before they are encountered. This raises critical questions: Do such predictions influence binding processes in anticipation of the input, and do they affect retrieval when the predicted input actually occurs or fails? Behaviorally, increased predictability is known to enhance performance, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. Our research addresses this gap by examining theta and alpha band activity and the associated cortical structures. We demonstrate that distinct patterns of neural oscillations and connectivity support the facilitation of performance under highly predictable conditions. These findings shed light on the proactive role of sensory prediction in shaping cognitive processes and neural dynamics.

The Binding and Retrieval in Action Control (BRAC) framework emphasizes how past actions or experiences influence current behavior. While the conceptual importance of the "immediate past" is central to the framework, the neurophysiological underpinnings of how these previous states influence binding and retrieval are poorly understood. The task-switching paradigm is a prominent example of how past actions influence current behavior. We have recently shown that pre-stimulus oscillations in the theta and alpha frequency ranges are associated with preparatory processes that subsequently influence binding and retrieval processes during action control. In a new EEG study with N = 50 participants, we varied the time frame available for preparatory processes between trials to delineate the time scales and neurophysiological patterns of recurrent brain states preceding action control. These findings advance our understanding of both perception-action integration and recurrent brain states.

In action control research it is assumed that actions and surrounding features have to be temporarily bound together to form action plans. Repeating any component of an event file retrieves all previously bound information, leading to performance costs for partial repetitions measured in so-called binding effects. Notably, although generally robust and stable, previous research has shown that binding effects are often reduced or completely absent in very easy or overlearned tasks. In a previous distractor-response binding study (Geissler et al. 2024) we employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy and could show that this reduction in binding effects is correlated to task-related processing in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That is, stronger task-related processing went along with larger binding effects. However, due to temporal limitations in the distractor-response binding paradigm, we could not further pinpoint which component of task-related processing led to stronger binding effects. In a previous functional near-infrared response-response binding study (Geissler et al. 2021), we were able to clearly show neural binding effects in probe related dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation. In the current study, we measured neural activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalogram during a response-response binding paradigm with an easy target response mapping and a response-response binding paradigm with difficult target response mapping. Binding effects increased with task difficulty. This was reflected both in behavioral and neural measurements and confirms that task-difficulty directly influences how strongly bindings shape our behavior.

Traditional approaches to decision-making and action control assume the existence of a
unitary control system that struggles with and serves to overcome misleading action
tendencies. I present a metacontrol model that considers control as envisioned by the
traditional model as only one side of the coin (the persistence side) that is useful for
some tasks, whereas other tasks call for flexibility—the other side of the control coin.
Here, I shall focus on the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the balancing and
implementation of metacontrol policies and discuss evidence from our lab suggesting
that metacontrol operates by up- or down-regulating cortical variability and noise (as
indicated by aperiodic EEG activity) to bias processing and response selection in
particular towards flexibility and persistence, respectively.