scholarly journals Time-based task expectancy: perceptual task indicator expectancy or expectancy of post-perceptual task components?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Monno ◽  
Stefanie Aufschnaiter ◽  
Sonja Ehret ◽  
Andrea Kiesel ◽  
Edita Poljac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Target Interval ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Temporal Predictability ◽  
Neutral Colour ◽  
And Task

AbstractThe temporal predictability of upcoming events plays a crucial role in the adjustment of anticipatory cognitive control in multitasking. Previous research has demonstrated that task switching performance improved if tasks were validly predictable by a pre-target interval. Hence, far, the underlying cognitive processes of time-based task expectancy in task switching have not been clearly defined. The present study investigated whether the effect of time-based expectancy is due to expectancy of post-perceptual task components or rather due to facilitation of perceptual visual processing of the coloured task indicator. Participants performed two numeric judgment tasks (parity vs. magnitude), which were each indicated by two different colours. Each task was either more or less frequently preceded by one of two intervals (500 ms or 1500 ms). Tasks were indicated either by colours that were each more frequently (or in Exp. 1 also less frequently) paired with the interval or by colours that were equally frequent for each interval. Participants only responded faster when colour and task were predictable by time (expected colour), not when the task alone was predictable (neutral colour). Hence, our results speak in favour of perceptual time-based task indicator expectancy being the underlying cognitive mechanism of time-based expectancy in the task switching paradigm.

scholarly journals Effect of Acute Exercise Mode on Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Task Switching Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiao-Ling Hung ◽  
Jun-Wei Tseng ◽  
Hsiao-Han Chao ◽  
Tsung-Min Hung ◽  
Ho-Seng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Acute Exercise ◽  
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Exercise Session ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Serum Bdnf ◽  
And Task

Previous studies have consistently reported a positive effect of acute exercise on cognition, particularly on executive function. However, most studies have focused on aerobic and resistant forms of exercise. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of ‘open-skill’ with ‘closed-skill’ exercise (defined in terms of the predictability of the performing environment) on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production and task switching performance. Twenty young adult males participated in both closed (running) and open (badminton) skill exercise sessions in a counterbalanced order on separate days. The exercise sessions consisted of 5 min of warm up exercises followed by 30 min of running or badminton. The exercise intensity was set at 60% (±5%) of the heart rate reserve level (HRR) with HR being monitored by a wireless heart rate monitor. Blood samples were taken and participation in a task-switching paradigm occurred before and after each exercise session. Results showed no differences in serum BDNF or task-switching performance at the pre-test stage, however, badminton exercise resulted in significantly higher serum BDNF levels (a proxy for levels of BDNF in the brain) and near significant smaller global switching costs relative to running. This study has provided preliminary evidence in support the relative benefits of open-skills exercises on BDNF and executive function.

scholarly journals Language and Task Switching in Polish-English Bilinguals

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Klecha
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Mixing Efficiency ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Equivalent Control ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Switching Efficiency ◽  
And Task

The study investigated the relationship between the efficiency of switching languages and non-linguistic tasks in non-proficient Polish-English bilinguals. The participants performed picture naming that involved switching between L1 and L2 in both directions and a shape or color decision on visually presented figures, which required switching and mixing two different tasks. No relationship between the efficiency in switching languages and non-linguistic tasks was observed. However, increased language switching efficiency was related to high task mixing efficiency, indicating that maintaining two languages and two non-linguistic tasks active is mediated by equivalent control processes. Also, switching from L2 to L1 was more time-consuming than in the opposite direction and participants with the greatest L1 switching disadvantage were the fastest task switchers. These findings suggest that nonproficient bilinguals inhibit their stronger language while switching between L1 and L2 and equivalent inhibitory mechanisms can be responsible for the facilitation of their task switching performance.

scholarly journals Low rank mechanisms underlying flexible visual representations

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (47) ◽  
pp. 29321-29329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Ruff ◽  
Cheng Xue ◽  
Lily E. Kramer ◽  
Faisal Baqai ◽  
Marlene R. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Neuronal Population ◽  
Low Rank ◽  
Visual Neurons ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Wide Range

Neuronal population responses to sensory stimuli are remarkably flexible. The responses of neurons in visual cortex have heterogeneous dependence on stimulus properties (e.g., contrast), processes that affect all stages of visual processing (e.g., adaptation), and cognitive processes (e.g., attention or task switching). Understanding whether these processes affect similar neuronal populations and whether they have similar effects on entire populations can provide insight into whether they utilize analogous mechanisms. In particular, it has recently been demonstrated that attention has low rank effects on the covariability of populations of visual neurons, which impacts perception and strongly constrains mechanistic models. We hypothesized that measuring changes in population covariability associated with other sensory and cognitive processes could clarify whether they utilize similar mechanisms or computations. Our experimental design included measurements in multiple visual areas using four distinct sensory and cognitive processes. We found that contrast, adaptation, attention, and task switching affect the variability of responses of populations of neurons in primate visual cortex in a similarly low rank way. These results suggest that a given circuit may use similar mechanisms to perform many forms of modulation and likely reflects a general principle that applies to a wide range of brain areas and sensory, cognitive, and motor processes.

scholarly journals Enhancement of task-switching performance with transcranial direct current stimulation over the right lateral prefrontal cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Prehn ◽  
Anja Skoglund ◽  
Tilo Strobach
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Lateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Task

AbstractSwitching between two or more tasks is a key component in our modern world. Task switching, however, requires time-consuming executive control processes and thus produces performance costs when compared to task repetitions. While executive control during task switching has been associated with activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC), only few studies so far have investigated the causal relation between lPFC activation and task-switching performance by modulating lPFC activation. In these studies, the results of lPFC modulation were not conclusive or limited to the left lPFC. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation [tDCS; anodal tDCS (1 mA, 20 min) vs. cathodal tDCS (1 mA, 20 min) vs. sham tDCS (1 mA, 30 s)] over the right inferior frontal junction on task-switching performance in a well-established task-switching paradigm. In response times, we found a significant effect of tDCS Condition (atDCS, ctDCS vs. sham) on task-switching costs, indicating the modulation of task-switching performance by tDCS. In addition, we found a task-unspecific tDCS Condition effect in the first experimental session, in which participants were least familiar with the task, indicating a general enhancement of task performance in both task repetitions and task-switching trials. Taken together, our study provides evidence that the right lPFC is involved in task switching as well as in general task processing. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these findings can be translated into clinically relevant improvement in older subjects or populations with executive function impairment.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Mind-Wandering Tendencies Linked to Cognitive Flexibility in Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Sheng Wong ◽  
Adrian R. Willoughby ◽  
Liana Machado
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Voluntary Task Switching ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Despite that previous studies have investigated mind wandering using task-switching paradigms, the association between the tendency to mind wander and cognitive flexibility remains largely unexplored. The present study investigated the relationship between self-reported spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies and task-switching performance in young adults. Seventy-nine university students performed a forced task-switching and a voluntary task-switching paradigm and then completed a battery of questionnaires. The results showed that compared to participants with lower spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies, participants with higher spontaneous mind-wandering tendencies demonstrated better performance (evidenced by smaller switch cost reaction times) in the forced task-switching paradigm despite indicating more mind wandering during task performance. Performance on the voluntary task-switching paradigm, on the other hand, did not differ between the two groups. The findings in the forced task-switching paradigm indicate a link between mind wandering and cognitive flexibility, thus providing initial evidence in favor of a role for switching in mind wandering.

The Relationship Between Individual Differences in Switching Performance and Task Engagement

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-297
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Clegg ◽  
Christopher D. Wickens
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Real World ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Concurrent Tasks ◽  
High Workload ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Strategic task switching is demanded in many real-world situations where effective simultaneous performance of concurrent tasks is not possible. Building from a model of strategic task overload management, the current study explored the influence of task load on the relationship between an individual’s task switching capability and task engagement. Only when high workload was present in both tasks was there a correlation between the capability to switch and subsequent action within tasks. In contrast, no relationships between task switching and later task engagement were seen when demands were not high enough in both tasks to require strategic switching.

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