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Response conflict evoked by a distractor stimulus object in interference tasks is associated with longer reaction times and a pronounced ERP component referred to as the fronto‐central N2. Increasing the proportion congruency (PC, i.e., the proportion of trials in which target and distractor are associated with the same response) is assumed to enhance distractor‐evoked conflict via defocusing of attention. Findings concerning the effect of the PC on the N2 in Eriksen flanker task experiments have been inconsistent, however, lending little support to the notion that the N2 reflects a conflict monitoring process. Here, we analyze the N2 in a temporal flanker task, in which the distractor stimuli, presented in advance of the target, elicit pronounced activation of the associated responses (as inferred from the lateralized readiness potential) when the PC is high. Consistent with result pattern obtained in other tasks involving successive presentation of the distractor and the target, conflict trials in a high‐PC condition evoked a particularly large N2. These findings accord with the assumption that the N2 reflects either conflict monitoring or conflict‐induced regulatory measures (i.e., reactive control). In light of the discrepancy of results obtained under conditions of simultaneous and successive distractor–target presentation, we speculate that the N2 is pronounced in situations that offer strong hints for classifying dominating response activation as incorrect, possibly reflecting particular control to counter this activation. Additional properties of the temporal flanker task, related to ERP investigations, are discussed. We present novel evidence concerning the role of the fronto‐central N2 in conflict tasks. Although our results meet the predictions of a conflict monitoring account, they suggest particular sensitivity of the N2 to dominance of (discernibly) incorrect response activation. This may be helpful in reconciling discrepant findings of proportion congruency modulations obtained with different types of conflict tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patch foraging tasks, animals must decide whether to remain with a depleting resource or to leave it in search of a potentially better source of reward. In such tasks, animals consistently follow the general predictions of optimal foraging theory (the marginal value theorem; MVT): to leave a patch when the reward rate in the current patch depletes to the average reward rate across patches. Prior studies implicate an important role for the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in foraging decisions based on MVT: within single trials, ACC activity increases immediately preceding foraging decisions, and across trials, these dynamics are modulated as the value of staying in the patch depletes to the average reward rate. Here, we test whether these activity patterns reflect dynamic encoding of decision-variables and whether these signals are directly involved in decision-making. We developed a leaky accumulator model based on the MVT that generates estimates of decision variables within and across trials, and tested model predictions against ACC activity recorded from male rats performing a patch foraging task. Model predicted changes in MVT decision variables closely matched rat ACC activity. Next, we pharmacologically inactivated ACC in male rats to test the contribution of these signals to decision-making. ACC inactivation had a profound effect on rats' foraging decisions and response times (RTs) yet rats still followed the MVT decision rule. These findings indicate that the ACC encodes foraging-related variables for reasons unrelated to patch-leaving decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The color-word reverse Stroop (RS) effect still represents an interesting puzzle for cognitive researchers as an interference between incongruent ink colors and the meaning of the words is not always found. Here, we examined whether an unfamiliar and complex visuomotor task would produce a RS effect. Forty inexperienced shooters carried out a simulated shooting task. To test if the RS effect is related to the stimuli processing or to a late processing of the color (early and late time-windows), electroencephalographic global field power (GFP) variations were recorded with a high-impedance system (32 channels configuration in a standard monopolar montage, referenced to FCz and grounded to FPz). The color-word RS effect was reflected in the performance of 32 participants, suggesting that the strength of the association between the target and the specific response requested might be central to the RS interference. This behavioral result was paralleled by GFP modulations in 20 participants. A significant increase of the GFP for the congruent trials (e.g., the word "red" written in red ink) was recorded after stimulus presentation (conflict detection), followed by an increase for the incongruent trials (e.g., the word "red" written in green ink) just before the shooting (conflict resolution). Despite the limitations of the study, such as the inclusion of a low number of channels in the GFP analyses, the results suggest that the RS interference is easily elicited in tasks requiring an unfamiliar response, which supports the strength of association hypothesis. Moreover, as implied by the GFP modulations, the interference might occur early in time, but also in a later stage, closer to the response. • The reverse Stroop (RS) effect is an interesting puzzle for cognitive researchers. • Participants performed an unfamiliar and complex simulated handgun task. • Shooting performance and participants' electroencephalographic GFP were collected. • RS effect modulated both variables. • RS effect would occur at the stimulus processing stage and closer to the response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data comprise intracranial EEG (iEEG) brain activity represented by stereo EEG (sEEG) signals, recorded from over 100 electrode channels implanted in any one patient across various brain regions. The iEEG signals were recorded in epilepsy patients (N = 10) undergoing invasive monitoring and localization of seizures when they were performing a battery of four memory tasks lasting approx. 1 hour in total. Gaze tracking on the task computer screen with estimating the pupil size was also recorded together with behavioral performance. Each dataset comes from one patient with anatomical localization of each electrode contact. Metadata contains labels for the recording channels with behavioral events marked from all tasks, including timing of correct and incorrect vocalization of the remembered stimuli. The iEEG and the pupillometric signals are saved in BIDS data structure to facilitate efficient data sharing and analysis. Measurement(s) intracranial electroencephalogram measurement • gaze • pupil size trait Technology Type(s) intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) • gaze tracking • Pupillometry Factor Type(s) patient • task Sample Characteristic - Organism Homo sapiens Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16847566 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of elements in a small set of items is appraised in a fast and exact manner, a phenomenon called subitizing. In contrast, humans provide imprecise responses when comparing larger numerosities, with decreasing precision as the number of elements increases. Estimation is thought to rely on a dedicated system for the approximate representation of numerosity. While previous behavioral and neuroimaging studies associate subitizing to a domain-general system related to object tracking and identification, the nature of small numerosity processing is still debated. We investigated the neural processing of numerosity across subitizing and estimation ranges by examining electrophysiological activity during the memory retention period in a delayed numerical match-to-sample task. We also assessed potential differences in the neural signature of numerical magnitude in a fully non-symbolic or cross-format comparison. In line with behavioral performance, we observed modulation of parietal-occipital neural activity as a function of numerosity that differed in two ranges, with distinctive neural signatures of small numerosities showing clear similarities with those observed in visuospatial working memory tasks. We also found differences in neural activity related to numerical information in anticipation of single vs. cross-format comparison, suggesting a top-down modulation of numerical processing. Finally, behavioral results revealed enhanced performance in the mixed-format conditions and a significant correlation between task performance and symbolic mathematical skills. Overall, we provide evidence for distinct mechanisms related to small and large numerosity and differences in numerical encoding based on task demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romantic relationships involve a range of positive and negative experiences, from supportive and security-enhancing behaviors to unsupportive interactions involving criticism and dismissiveness. The present study aimed to examine the functional impact of these experiences on reactivity to mistakes, as error salience has key implications for adaptive functioning in areas such as goal-striving and appropriate risk-taking. To this end, a study was conducted in which participants completed the Eriksen Flanker Task (EFT) alone and under romantic partner observation while electrophysiological brain activity related to error salience (the error-related negativity (ERN)) was recorded. Findings indicated that unsupportive, but not supportive, partner behaviors were associated with changes in error salience, furthering the notion that negative relationship experiences have a stronger effect on functioning than do positive ones and highlighting the impact of relationship context on reactivity to mistakes. • Examined impact of supportive and unsupportive romantic partner behaviors on error salience • Error salience was measured via error-related negativity (ERN) difference amplitudes. • Unsupportive partner behaviors were associated with increased ERNs. • Positive partner support was unrelated to ERN amplitudes. • Reactivity to mistakes is impacted by unsupportive behaviors in romantic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of self-other differences in decision-making has gained considerable attention in recent years. Despite a broad range of behavior studies that have shown self-other discrepancy in decision-making, few neuroimaging studies with event-related potentials (ERPs) have directly compared decisions made for oneself with those made for others. It remains controversial whether self-other differences of outcome evaluations in gambling tasks can also be shown in brain potentials. In this study, we used event-related potentials with a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) paradigm, a sequential, dynamic decision-making task to examine the effects of self-other differences on evaluation outcome in brain activity. Feedback Related Negativity (FRN) and P300 components were analyzed with respect to feedback valence (win vs. loss) and beneficiary (self vs. stranger). The ERP results showed that when making decisions for oneself, the negative outcome feedback evoked a larger P300 compared to making decisions for a stranger. However, there was no significant effect of self-other differences when the outcome feedback was positive. In contrast, regardless of whether the feedback was positive or negative, the FRN amplitude was insensitive to the self-other manipulation. Furthermore, we found that both components were modulated by the valence of the feedback. More pronounced FRN and P300 were induced when the feedback was negative, relative to when the feedback was positive. Our findings indicate that brain responses to outcome evaluation on the BART may be divided into an early semi-automatic processing stage and a later cognitive appraisal stage and that the self-other differences in sequential, dynamic decision-making tasks under uncertainty mainly affect the allocation of attention resources in the late cognitive processing stage. • Self–other discrepancies of brain response to outcome evaluation were studied. • Self–other discrepancies modulated P300 response after negative feedback in the BART. • The FRN was insensitive to self-other discrepancies in the BART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined behavioral and electrophysiological indices of self-referential and valence processing during a Self-Referential Encoding Task in 9- to 12-year-old children, followed by surprise memory tasks for self- and other-referential trait adjectives. Participants endorsed more positive than negative self-referential information but equally endorsed positive and negative information about the other character. Children demonstrated enhanced parietal LPP amplitudes in response to self- compared to other-referential trait adjectives. Positive and negative information was differentially remembered depending on the order of the referent cues presented, suggesting that social information undergoes differential consolidation processes depending on the referent and the order of presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to use event-related potentials with the stop-signal task to investigate the effects of trait anxiety on inhibitory control, error monitoring, and post-error adjustments. The stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) was used to evaluate the behavioral competence of inhibitory control. Electrophysiological signals of error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) were used to study error perception and error awareness, respectively. Post-error slowing (PES) was applied to examine the behavioral adjustments after making errors. The results showed that SSRT and PES did not differ significantly between individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA) and those with low trait anxiety (LTA). However, individuals with HTA demonstrated reduced ERN amplitudes and prolonged Pe latencies than those with LTA. Prolonged Pe latencies were also significantly associated with poorer post-error adjustments. In conclusion, HTA led to reduced cortical responses to error monitoring. Furthermore, inefficient conscious awareness of errors might lead to maladaptive post-error adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is the first to measure event-related potentials associated with the processing of the emotional Stroop task (EST) with the use of an orthogonal factorial manipulation for emotional valence, arousal, and subjective significance (the importance of the current experience for goals and plans for the future). The current study aimed to investigate concurrently the role of the three dimensions describing the emotion-laden words for interference control measured in the classical version of the EST paradigm. The results showed that reaction times were affected by the emotional valence of presented words and the interactive effect of valence and arousal. The expected emotional arousal effect was only found in behavioral results for neutrally valenced words. Electrophysiological results showed valence and subjective significance correlated with the amplitude differences in the P2 component. Moreover, the amplitude of the N450 component varied with the level of subjective significance. This study also demonstrated that exploratory event-related potential analysis provides additional information beyond the classical component-based analysis. The obtained results show that cognitive control effects in the EST may be altered by manipulation in the subjective significance dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor inhibitory control (IC), the ability to suppress unwanted actions, has been previously shown to rely on domain-general IC processes that are involved in a wide range of IC tasks. Nevertheless, the existence of effector-specific regions and activation patterns that would differentiate manual vs. oculomotor response inhibition remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the brain dynamics supporting these two response effectors with the same IC task paradigm. We examined the behavioral performance and electrophysiological activity in a group of healthy young people (n = 25) with a Go/NoGo task using the index finger for the manual modality and the eyes for the oculomotor modality. By computing topographic analysis of variance, we found significant differences between topographies of scalp recorded potentials of the two response effectors between 250 and 325 ms post-stimulus onset. The source estimations localized this effect within the left precuneus, a part of the superior parietal lobule, showing stronger activity in the oculomotor modality than in the manual modality. Behaviorally, we found a significant positive correlation in response time between the two modalities. Our collective results revealed that while domain-general IC processes would be engaged across different response effectors in the same IC task, effector-specific activation patterns exist. In this case, the stronger activation of the left precuneus likely accounts for the increased demand for visual attentional processes in the oculomotor Go/NoGo task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotional properties of words, such as valence and arousal, influence the way we perceive and process verbal stimuli. Recently, subjective significance was found to be an additional factor describing the activational aspect of emotional reactions, which is vital for the cognitive consequences of emotional stimuli processing. Subjective significance represents the form of mental activation specific to reflective mind processing. The Lexical Decision Task (LDT) is a paradigm allowing the investigation of the involuntary processing of meaning and differentiating this processing from the formal processing of the perceptual features of words. In this study, we wanted to search for the consequences of valence, arousal, and subjective significance for the involuntary processing of verbal stimuli meaning indexed by both behavioral measures (reaction latencies) and electrophysiological measures (Event-Related Potentials: ERPs). We expected subjective significance, as the reflective form of activation, to shorten response latencies in LDT. We also expected subjective significance to modulate the amplitude of the ERP FN400 component, reducing the negative-going deflection of the potential. We expected valence to shape the LPC component amplitude, differentiating between negative and positive valences, since the LPC indexes the meaning processing. Indeed, the results confirmed our expectations and showed that subjective significance is a factor independent from the arousal and valence that shapes the involuntary processing of verbal stimuli, especially the detection of a link between stimulus and meaning indexed by the FN400. Moreover, we found that the LPC amplitude was differentiated by valence level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic reversal anomalies (SRAs)—sentences where an implausibility is created by reversing participant roles—have attracted much attention in the literature on the electrophysiology of language. In spite of being syntactically well formed but semantically implausible, these sentences unexpectedly elicited a monophasic P600 effect in English and Dutch rather than an N400 effect. Subsequent research revealed variability in the presence/absence of an N400 effect to SRAs depending on the language examined and the choice of verb type in English. However, most previous studies employed the same presentation modality (visual) and task (acceptability judgement). Here, we conducted two experiments and three statistical analyses to investigate the influence of stimulus modality, task demand and statistical choices on event‐related potential (ERP) response patterns to SRAs in English. We reproduced a previous study's procedure and analysis (N. Bourguignon et al. (2012) Brain and Language, 122, 179–189) and further introduced between‐subjects factors of task type and modality, using mixed‐effects modelling to analyse the data. We observed an N400 effect to typical English SRAs (agent subject verbs, e.g. "the fries will eat the boys"), which contrasts existing literature and was not predicted by existing theories that account for SRA processing. Task demand modulated the ERPs elicited by SRAs, while auditory presentation led to increased comprehension accuracy and a more broadly distributed ERP. Finally, the statistical methods used influenced the presence/absence of ERP effects. Our results suggest a sensitivity of language‐related ERP patterns to methodological parameters, and we conclude that future experiments should take this into careful consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent event‐related potential (ERP) studies have suggested that the N140cc component reflects target selection mechanisms in tactile search tasks in which the target is presented simultaneously with homogeneous distractors. To investigate if and how the attentional selection of the tactile target is affected by the presence of a singleton distractor, we presented a four‐item search array (two stimuli to the middle and index fingers of the left and right hand) which included a singleton distractor in addition to the target and two other homogenous distractors. Participants had to localize the target (top or bottom finger on either hand), while ignoring all distractors. Behavioral results revealed that the target localization was hindered by the presence of the singleton distractor as demonstrated by distractor‐presence costs for both speed and accuracy. ERP results confirmed that attention was directed to the singleton distractor when this was the only singleton item in the array as suggested by the presence of a distractor‐related N140cc component on distractor only trials. Furthermore, when target and singleton distractor were presented to opposite hands (contralateral distractor trials) the target‐related N140cc amplitude was reduced as compared to target only trials, suggesting reduced attentional resources to the target. However, when target and singleton distractor were presented to the same hand (ipsilateral distractor trials), the N140cc amplitude was comparable to that observed on target only trials. These findings suggest that the N140cc reflects the attentional selection of the target side rather than the competition between stimuli presented to the same hand. The N140cc component has been recently characterized as the electrophysiological correlate of target selection in tactile search tasks and the functional equivalent of the visual N2pc. Our results provide initial evidence that, unlike the N2pc, the N140cc components reflects primarily the allocation of attention to the side of relevant stimuli, rather than the resolution of competitive target‐distractor interactions within that side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind wandering during ongoing tasks can impede task performance and increase the risk of failure in the laboratory as well as in daily‐life tasks and work environments. Neurocognitive measures like the electroencephalography (EEG) offer the opportunity to assess mind wandering non‐invasively without interfering with the primary task. However, the literature on electrophysiological correlates of mind wandering is rather inconsistent. The present study aims toward clarifying this picture by breaking down the temporal dynamics of mind wandering encounters using a cluster‐based permutation approach. Participants performed a switching task during which mind wandering was occasionally assessed via thought probes applied after trial completion at random time points. In line with previous studies, response accuracy was reduced during mind wandering. Moreover, alpha power during the inter‐trial interval was a significantly increased on those trials on which participants reported that they had been mind‐wandering. This spatially widely distributed effect is theoretically well in line with recent findings linking an increased alpha power to an internally oriented state of attention. Measurements of alpha power may, therefore, be used to detect mind wandering online during critical tasks in traffic and industry in order to prevent failures. Mind wandering is highly prevalent in our daily lives and may impede task performance. In this EEG study, participants performed a switching task during which mind wandering was assessed via thought probes. A cluster‐based permutation test revealed a spatially distributed effect in terms of an increased alpha power during the inter‐trial interval when mind wandering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proactive control reflects a sustained, top-down maintenance of a goal representation prior to task-related events, whereas reactive control reflects a transient, bottom-up goal reactivation in response to them. We designed a manual stop-signal task to isolate electrophysiological signals specifically involved in proactive control. Participants performed a simple choice reaction time task but had to withhold their response to an infrequent stop signal, resulting in go- and stop-signal trials. We manipulated the stop-signal probability (30% vs. 10%) over different blocks of trials so that different proactive control levels were sustained within each block. The behavioral results indicated that most participants proactively changed their behaviors. The reaction times in the go trials increased and the number of response errors in the stop-signal trials decreased. However, those two behavioral measures did not correlate: individuals with an increased delayed reaction did not necessarily manifest a higher decrease in response errors in the stop-signal trials. To isolate the proactive control signal, we obtained event-related potentials (ERPs) locked to an uninformative fixation onset and compared the signals between the two stop-signal probability conditions. We found that the ERPs at the left hemisphere were more negatively shifted with the increasing stop-signal probability. Moreover, ERP differences obtained from a set of electrodes in the left hemisphere accounted for the changes in response errors in the stop-signal trials but did not explain the changes in reaction times of the go trials. Together, the behavioral and electrophysiological results suggest that proactive control mechanisms reducing erroneous responses of the stop-signal trials are different from mechanisms slowing reaction times of the go trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research findings supporting the advantages of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice in lexical decision task (LDT) have suggested that the go/no-go choice might require less cognitive resources in the non-decisional processes. This study aims to test such an idea using the event-related potential method. In this study, the tasks (yes/no LDT and go/no-go LDT) and word frequency (high and low) were manipulated, and the difference between the go/no-go choice and yes/no choice were examined with BP, pN, pN1, P200, N400, and P3 components that were assumed to be closely related with the various parameters in the diffusion model. The results showed that BP, pN and pN1 amplitudes reflecting the preparation stage were not differently affected by word frequency and the task type. However, ERPs after stimulus onset showed differences. The P200 amplitudes were smaller in the go/no-go task than in the yes/no task only for low-frequency words. N400 and P3 amplitudes were only affected by word frequency. The results suggest that the go/no-go task and the yes/no task differ in sub-lexical processes, which is indicated in the Tencoding parameter in the diffusion model. This study is important as it offers the first electrophysiological evidence supporting the assumption in the diffusion model that explains the advantage of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review addresses the new potentials opened up by the development of optogenetic methods and the advantages of combining these with conventional electrophysiological approaches in experimental studies to resolve a wide range of neurophysiological tasks. This review includes descriptions of the main difficulties and nuances in studies using optogenetic methods and examples of technical solutions to provide for simultaneous optostimulation and recording of neuron activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study a cross-modal oddball task was employed to study the effect that words spoken either non-urgently or urgently would have on a digit categorization task and if women would exhibit greater behavioral inhibitory control. The words were unrelated to the task itself, but related to the action required to complete the task. Forty participants (21 women) conducted a computerized categorization task while exposed to a sinewave tone as a standard stimulus (75% of the trials) or a to-be ignored word (press, stop) spoken either non-urgently or urgently as unexpected auditory deviant stimulus (6.25% trials for each category). Urgent words had sharp intonation and an average fundamental frequency (F0) ranging from 191.9 (stop) to 204.6 (press) Hz. Non-urgent words had low intonation with average F0 ranging from 103.9.9 (stop) to 120.3 (press) Hz. As expected, deviant distraction and longer response times were found by exposure to the word stop, but deviant distraction was not found to be significant with the word press or due to intonation. While the results showed that women had in general longer reaction times, there were no gender differences found related to the deviant distraction caused by word or intonation. The present results do not support the hypothesis that women have greater behavioral inhibitory control, but there was evidence that the meaning of the word could influence response times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely held view is that top-down modulation of sensory information relies on an amodal control network that acts through the thalamus to regulate incoming signals. Olfaction lacks a direct thalamic projection, which suggests that it may differ from other modalities in this regard. We investigated the late positive complex (LPC) amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERP) from 28 participants, elicited by intensity-matched olfactory, auditory and visual stimuli, during a condition of focused attention, a neutral condition, and a condition in which stimuli were to be actively ignored. Amplitudes were largest during the attend condition, lowest during the ignore condition, with the neutral condition in between. A Bayesian analysis resulted in strong evidence for similar effects of task across sensory modalities. We conclude that olfaction, despite its unique neural projections, does not differ from audition and vision in terms of task-dependent neural modulation of the LPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cognitive and motor tasks can interfere when performed concurrently. • Dual-task interference increases in older adulthood. • This interference occurs at the level of task components. • Interference between tasks can be asymmetric and asynchronous. • Older adults become less effective at sharing resources between tasks. • The non-prioritized task has greater performance deficit as a result. Continuous sensorimotor coordinations (CSCs) such as driving, walking, using control interfaces or maintaining the body's balance are often performed alongside concurrent cognitive tasks involving attention and executive function. A range of these task combinations show interference, particularly in older adults, but the timing, direction and reciprocity of interference is not yet understood at the level of the tasks' information-processing operations. This paper compares the chronometry of dual task interference between a visual oddball task and a continuous visuomanual tracking task performed by young and older adults. The oddball task's constituent operations were identified using electrophysiological correlates, and deviations in the tracking task reflected perturbations to state monitoring and adjustment characteristics of CSC tasks. Despite instructions to give equal priority to both tasks, older participants maintained a high level of resourcing of the oddball task when dual tasking whereas young participants reduced resourcing to accommodate the demands of the tracking task. Older participants had a longer period of tracking inaccuracy during the executive function component of the oddball task, and unlike in young participants, this decrement was also observed when the stimulus was not a target and the executive function of updating the target tally was not required. These detailed chronometric results clarify that age-related amplification of CSC-cognitive interference are largely due to greater inflexibility in task prioritization. Prioritization of the cognitive task over the CSC in this type of dual tasking may have safety implications in everyday task settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In semantic flanker tasks, target categorization response times are affected by the semantic compatibility of the flanker and target. With positive and negative category exemplars, we investigated the influence of evaluative congruency (whether flanker and target share evaluative valence) on the flanker effect, using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. We hypothesized a moderation of the flanker effect by evaluative congruency on the basis of the assumption that evaluatively congruent concepts mutually facilitate each other's activation (see Schmitz & Wentura in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 38:984-1000, ). Applying an onset delay of 50 ms for the flanker, we aimed to decrease the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent flanker on target encoding and, at the same time, increase the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent target on flanker encoding. As a consequence of increased flanker activation in the case of evaluative congruency, we expected a semantically incompatible flanker to interfere with the target categorization to a larger extent (as compared with an evaluatively incongruent pairing). Confirming our hypotheses, the flanker effect significantly depended on evaluative congruency, in both mean response times and N2 mean amplitudes. Thus, the present study provided behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for the mutual facilitation of evaluatively congruent concepts. Implications for the representation of evaluative connotations of semantic concepts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable correlations between correction task characteristics and components of visual evoked potentials in response to light flash have been revealed. Faster task performance in males in comparison with females was established to be attained due to effective tuning and attuning of visual-motor system at the levels of specific and nonspecific systems related to visual analyzer. This determines potential for monotonous activity requiring constant visual attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to compare processing across operations, we recorded event-related potentials ( ERPs) elicited by both problems and solutions in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division conditions in a delayed answer verification task. Amplitudes of an early negativity, P300, and late positive component ( LPC) elicited by solutions were sensitive to the correctness of the presented answers within operations and differed across operations only for incorrect solutions. The early negativity resembled an N270 rather than an N400. The amplitude of an N300 elicited by problem presentations also differed across operations. Our results indicate that ERPs are sensitive to differences in processing across arithmetic operations in an answer verification task both during presentation of the problems, when production/retrieval processes occur, and during comparison of incorrect presented solutions with expected solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study examined the specific action-sentence compatibility effect. We examined the action representation and semantic processes indexed by event-related potentials (ERPs, N400 effect) when plausible or implausible actions were performed within a dynamic context (video tapes showing a sequence of four action frames). Two different semantic anomalies were reproduced in the final action frame, which consisted of an object that did not have the semantic properties required (functionally unusual) for the action goal (Experiment 1) or an object that was incorrectly used with regard to the instrumental properties required for the target action (Experiment 2). Fifteen participants performed an explicit task to distinguish congruous from incongruous actions for the final action frame. The ERP analysis showed a significant N400-like effect that was frontally distributed in response to incongruous conditions for both Experiment 1 and 2. Similarly, response times (RTs) increased in response to incongruous actions. Nevertheless, a temporo-parietal cortical distribution was more prevalent in the unusual object-action representation (Experiment 1) than in the incorrect object-action representation (Experiment 2). These results may be explained by assuming that in Experiment 1, the relationship between the action and its intentional goals was violated, with a cortical-specific temporo-parietal response, whereas in Experiment 2 the intentional goal to perform the action was not violated. It can be argued that the N400-like effect was similar to the N400, which is generally evoked by linguistic stimuli, and these results suggest that N400 increases as the difficulty in accessing the semantic memory increases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Past research has demonstrated that the occurrence of unexpected task-irrelevant changes in the auditory or visual sensory channels captured attention in an obligatory fashion, hindering behavioral performance in ongoing auditory or visual categorization tasks and generating orientation and re-orientation electrophysiological responses. We report the first experiment extending the behavioral study of cross-modal distraction to tactile novelty. Using a vibrotactile-visual cross-modal oddball task and a bespoke hand-arm vibration device, we found that participants were significantly slower at categorizing the parity of visually presented digits following a rare and unexpected change in vibrotactile stimulation (novelty distraction), and that this effect extended to the subsequent trial (postnovelty distraction). These results are in line with past research on auditory and visual novelty and fit the proposition of common and amodal cognitive mechanisms for the involuntary detection of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In task-switching paradigms, reaction time (RT) switch cost is eliminated on trials after a no-go trial (no-go/go sequence effect). We examined the locus of no-go interference on task-switching performance by comparing the event-related potential (ERP) time course of go/go and no-go/go sequences from cue onset to response execution. We also examined whether noninformative trials (i.e., delayed reconfiguration, no response inhibition) produce similar sequence effects. Participants switched using informative and noninformative cues ( Experiment 2 ) intermixed with no-go trials ( Experiment 1 ). Repeat RT was slower for both no-go/informative (pNG/I) and noninformative/informative (pNI/I) than informative/informative sequences. ERPs linked to anticipatory preparation showed no effect of trial sequence. ERPs indicated that pNG/I sequences reduce response readiness whereas pNI/I sequences reduce repetition benefit for repeat trials. Implications for task-switching models are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigated the electrophysiological correlates of the processes involved in task switching. A pair-wise task-switching paradigm was used where each trial comprised two tasks that were either the same (task repeat) or different (task switch). In the paradigm, task-switch and repeat trials are compared in conditions of foreknowledge and non-foreknowledge of the forthcoming task type and during different response–stimulus intervals (RSIs). The results of this study show that, before the second task began in a task-pair trial, i.e., during the RSI, there was a CNV-like negativity for all trials. This indicates a general anticipatory effect. In foreknowledge conditions, there is an additional switch-specific reconfiguration process followed by a task-specific (including both switch- and repeat-related) preparatory process. During the post-task 2 stage, P3b was found to be smaller in switch trials than in repeat trials. Such differential P3b between switch and repeat trials appeared earlier and larger in foreknowledge than in non-foreknowledge conditions. The results of this study support the existence of advance preparation and uphold the role of carryover effects in task switching. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined age differences in event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with attentional control of task-set selection and response interference by means of a cue-based switching paradigm in which participants performed the color or word Stroop task. The results of ERPs in the cue interval indicated that P3 latencies were slowed for older adults, suggesting age-related slowing in updating currently relevant task sets. Older adults also showed a larger CNV under switching than nonswitching conditions, indicating age differences in maintaining task sets over longer periods of time. The results of target-locked ERPs revealed a negativity to incompatible Stroop trials (Ni) that was prolonged for older adults, suggesting age differences in early conflict processing. Response-locked ERPs showed a negative deflection to incompatible Stroop trials (CRN) only for younger adults, suggesting age differences also in response-related conflict processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the nature of the processing of visual stimulus changes, ERPs were recorded while 12 participants performed an S1–S2 matching task with multifeature stimuli. Each trial consisted of two sequentially presented stimuli (S1–S2), where S2 was either the same as S1, different from S1 only in color, different only in shape, or different in both color and shape. The four trial types were presented in random order with equal probability, and participants responded to one of these types in separate blocks. Relative to the no-change stimuli, the change stimuli elicited posterior positivity with different topography according to changing features ranging from 100 to 180 ms in all tasks. The amplitude and topography of the positivity in response to the both changes were the respective sums of those to changes in the corresponding single features. These results suggest that a feature-specific change detection system exists in the human visual system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We ran two experiments to investigate whether peripheral arterial tone reflects changes in mental effort. Finger pulse wave amplitude, interpulse interval, and pulse variability in the mid- and high-frequency bands were recorded by means of a newly developed finger plethysmograph during both rest and cognitive performance. Using a modified version of the Sternberg memory task, we selectively manipulated either the difficulty of the task (Experiment 1) or the subjects' level of engagement in the task (Experiment 2). We found a significant difference in finger pulse wave amplitude between rest and task periods, suggesting that the measure reflects changes in sympathetic activity due to task engagement. In addition, our results suggest that reduced pulse wave amplitude, signaling vasoconstriction, occurs when subjects are investing effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dealing with strong motor automatisms often requires interference control. • Prepotent response inhibition is suggested to be associated with successful control of interference from procedural skills. • Interference was intentionally created within a typing paradigm and was able to disrupt participants in their automatized typing behavior. • Stimulus-locked ERPs suggest an involvement of response inhibition in trials of successful interference control (reflected by larger P3 components). • Results corroborate a crucial role of response inhibition for successful interference control and the idea of inhibition representing a multidimensional construct. Changing pre-existing, automatized motor skills often requires interference control. Prepotent response inhibition – one subdimension of inhibition – has been theorized to be particularly associated with successful interference control in motor skills. Recent evidence suggests that different inhibition subdimensions elicit distinct ERP patterns (with larger P3 components for response inhibition). Therefore, we examined whether a similar ERP pattern would arise in a task demanding participants to overcome interference emerging from strong motor automatisms. This was realized within a typing paradigm involving a letter switch manipulation which is able to produce strong, immediate interference effects. Most importantly, stimulus-locked ERP analyses revealed an enhanced P3 component at frontal, central and most pronouncedly parietal sites for interference trials, in line with previous reported patterns for response inhibition. Together, different analyses provide first insights into the electrophysiological correlates of motor skill change, corroborating the pivotal role of response inhibition for successful interference control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have investigated sequence effect on task switching and found that increased cognitive control in preceding trials would transfer to the current trial. However, it remains unclear whether response variations during task repetition can enhance cognitive control and promote task switching. In the present study, we designed two sequence contexts, the response-change (r-change) and response-repeat (r-repeat) contexts, by adopting a classical task-switching paradigm in which participants were asked to make an odd-even or large-small judgment of the presented digit. The only difference between the two sequence contexts was whether responses varied frequently during task repetition. Behavioral results showed that the r-change context induced smaller switch costs and higher accuracy for task switching than the r-repeat context. Event-related potential (ERP) results revealed (1) the effect of context on N2 amplitudes, with greater N2 in the r-change context than the r-repeat context at frontal-central regions; (2) the interaction between context and transition type during the stimulus-locked P3 component, with a marked context effect for the task-switch trials; (3) non-significant context effect on task switching during the response-locked P3 component. These findings suggest that response variations during a sequence of task-repeat trials can trigger the increase in cognitive control that promotes the efficiency of followed task switching. • Smaller switch costs and higher accuracy for task switching in r-change context than in r-repeat context. • Greater frontal-central N2 in r-change context. • Larger stimulus-locked P3 for task-switch trials in r-change context. • Non-significant context effect on task switching during the response-locked P3 component. • Response variations during task repetition can promote the efficiency of followed task switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our perception of time varies with the degree of cognitive engagement in tasks. The perceived passage of time accelerates while working on demanding tasks, whereas time appears to drag during boring situations. Our experiment aimed at investigating whether this relationship is mutual: Can manipulated announcements of elapsed time systematically affect the attentional resources applied to a cognitive task? We measured behavioral performance and the EEG in a whole report working memory paradigm with six items of different colors that each had to be reported after a short delay period. The 32 participants were informed about the current time after each 20 trials, while the clock was running at either 100% (normal), 120% (fast), or 80% (slow) of normal clock speed depending on the experimental block. The mean number of correctly reported colors per trial was significantly increased in the fast as compared to the slow and normal clock conditions. In the EEG, we focused on neural oscillations during working memory encoding and storage. As an electrophysiological correlate of task engagement, frontal theta power during the storage interval was increased in the fast clock condition. Also, the power of frontal theta oscillations predicted the number of correctly reported colors on a single-trial basis. This shows that a covert manipulation of clock speed can lead to an improvement in cognitive performance, presumably mediated by a higher allocation of attentional resources resulting from an adaptation of the subjective passage of time during an experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How coherent neural oscillations are involved in task execution is a fundamental question in neuroscience. Although several electrophysiological studies have tackled this issue, the brain-wide task modulation of neural coherence remains uncharacterized. Here, with a fast fMRI technique, we studied shifts of brain-wide neural coherence across different task states in the ultraslow frequency range (0.01–0.7 Hz). First, we examined whether the shifts of the brain-wide neural coherence occur in a frequency-dependent manner. We quantified the shift of a region's average neural coherence by the inter-state variance of the mean coherence between the region and the rest of the brain. A clustering analysis based on the variance's spatial correlation between frequency components revealed four frequency bands (0.01–0.15 Hz, 0.15–0.37 Hz, 0.37–0.53 Hz, and 0.53–0.7 Hz) showing band-specific shifts of the brain-wide neural coherence. Next, we investigated the similarity of the inter-state variance's spectra between all pairs of regions. We found that regions showing similar spectra correspond to those forming functional modules of the brain network. Then, we investigated the relationship between identified frequency bands and modules' inter-state variances. We found that modules showing the highest variance are those made up of parieto-occipital regions at 0.01–0.15 Hz, while it is replaced with another consisting of frontal regions above 0.15 Hz. Furthermore, these modules showed specific shifting patterns of the mean coherence across states at 0.01–0.15 Hz and above 0.15 Hz, suggesting that identified frequency bands differentially contribute to neural interactions during task execution. Our results highlight that usage of the fast fMRI enables brain-wide investigation of neural coherence up to 0.7 Hz, which opens a promising track for assessment of the large-scale neural interactions in the ultraslow frequency range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two latency windows emerged being sensitive to ISI change (150–170 and 210–230 ms). • TOJ thresholds correlated with amplitude change 210–230 ms post stimulus. • The "high-threshold" (low performance) group showed pronounced amplitude change. The study investigated auditory temporal processing on a tens of milliseconds scale that is the interval when two consecutive stimuli are processed either together or as distinct events. Distinctiveness is defined by one's ability to make correct order judgments of the presented sounds and is measured via the spatial temporal order judgement task (TOJ). The study aimed to identify electrophysiological indices of the TOJ performance. Tone pairs were presented with inter-stimulus intervals (ISI) varying between 25 and 75 ms while EEG was recorded. A pronounced amplitude change in the P2 interval was found between the event-related potential (ERP) of tone pairs having ISI = 55 and 65 ms, but it was a characteristic only of the group having poor behavioral thresholds. With the two groups combined, the amplitude change between these ERPs in the P2 interval showed a medium-size correlation with the behavioral threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that variations in the accessibility of relevant information that stem from retrieval practice may impair analogical reasoning. In the present study, we sought to examine the neural signatures of inhibitory control during selective retrieval and its effects on a subsequent analogical reasoning task by employing electrophysiological measures. At a behavioral level, we found that selective retrieval of a subset of potential solutions led to impaired performance on the analogy test. ERPs analyses during selective retrieval revealed that (1) the repeated presentation of retrieval cues was associated with decreased amplitudes for the FN400 ERP effect, possibly reflecting reduced reactivation of competitor associates and interference across retrieval attempts; (2) this effect correlated positively with the retrieval-related impairment in analogical reasoning performance. During the analogy test, the production of control solutions (non-affected by prior retrieval practice) was characterized by more positive modulations of anterior frontal and parietal ERPs than the production of unstudied solutions, whereas inhibited solutions elicited similar amplitudes to unstudied solutions. This effect was restricted to the retrieval phase of the analogy where the actual solutions had to be retrieved, but it did not affect the mapping phase where the accessibility status of the possible solutions failed to reveal significant amplitude differences. These findings suggest that control during selective retrieval may lead to the downregulation of competing memory representations and advance our understanding of the neural correlates of analogical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lots of cognitive resources are employed in complex tasks such as driving. • The oddball paradigm can be employed as an index of available attentional resources. • Subjects drove a simulator during a passive auditory multi-feature oddball task. • Learning to drive safely leads to larger amplitudes in early ERP components. • Traffic-related sounds elicit higher P3a amplitude than other tones. Starting from the evidence that complex tasks (e.g., driving) require lots of cognitive resources, this research aims at assessing the change of attentional electrophysiological correlates during an oddball task performed while driving a simulator. Twenty-four participants drove along six courses on a moped simulator, preceded by a baseline condition (i.e., watching a video clip of one driving course). Throughout the task, an auditory passive multi-feature oddball with both traffic-related and unrelated stimuli was presented, and the EEG activity was recorded along with driving performance indexes. The main results point out that, as participants learn to drive safely, more attentional resources are available to process the deviant oddball stimuli, as shown by the increase in the amplitude of mismatch negativity (deviant pure tones) and P3a (traffic-related sounds) in the second block of driving. We interpreted these effects as dependent on stimuli complexity and salience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]