Inhibition and the control of information in language, memory, and other cognitive domains

Abstract

As individuals, we have to adjust our cognition and behavior to adapt to the environment. This adjustment involves, among other things, the functioning of a set of executive/control processes like flexibility to switch from one activity to another, monitoring and updating the information we are processing, and the inhibition of unnecessary contents that may hinder the performance of a task. In this paper, we focus on the latter mechanism, inhibition. We evaluate how inhibition is a tool that enables the control of our behavior, like avoiding making a response when it is not needed, resolving conflict situations and suppressing contents that interfere with our thoughts and behaviors. We argue for a domain-free inhibitory mechanism that would apply across different areas of human neurocognition. In this paper, we review some of these areas, in which inhibition plays an essential role when people process language and remember information. As a whole, we want to highlight the functional role of inhibition as a critical component for people to develop successfully in their daily lives.

Keywords

• inhibition
• inhibitory control
• inhibition in language
• inhibition in cognition