Stimulus-Related Inhibition of Task Set During Task Switching

2008 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 322-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Sdoia ◽  
Fabio Ferlazzo
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Level ◽  
Processing Stage ◽  
Stimulus Processing ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Task Sequences

Performance after a shifting of task is supported by the inhibition of the executed task, as revealed by slower reaction times (RTs) on alternating compared to nonalternating task sequences (ABA vs CBA). In the present study we investigated the role of stimulus processing in the establishment of task inhibition during task switching, irrespective of the response selection process. Comparing performance on AbA and CbA task sequences within a procedure in which the b-task only involved stimulus encoding processes for later comparison but response selection did not occur, we found slower RTs on AbA compared to CbA task sequences. This revealed that inhibition of the executed task can be triggered at the stimulus processing stage of the new task. In accordance, inhibition only emerged when interference between tasks occurred at the stimulus level, due to stimuli having features relevant for both the executed and the upcoming task.

A Review of the Role of Cue Processing in Task Switching

2013 ◽  
Vol 221 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Jost ◽  
Wouter De Baene ◽  
Iring Koch ◽  
Marcel Brass
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Task Switch ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Set Switching ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Cue Encoding ◽  
Cue Processing

The role of cue processing has become a controversial topic in research on cognitive control using task-switching procedures. Some authors suggested a priming account to explain switch costs as a form of encoding benefit when the cue from the previous trial is repeated and hence challenged theories that attribute task-switch costs to task-set (re)configuration. A rich body of empirical evidence has evolved that indeed shows that cue-encoding repetition priming is an important component in task switching. However, these studies also demonstrate that there are usually substantial “true” task-switch costs. Here, we review this behavioral, electrophysiological, and brain imaging evidence. Moreover, we describe alternative approaches to the explicit task-cuing procedure, such as the usage of transition cues or the task-span procedure. In addition, we address issues related to the type of cue, such as cue transparency. We also discuss methodological and theoretical implications and argue that the explicit task-cuing procedure is suitable to address issues of cognitive control and task-set switching.

Age-related differences in task switching and task preparation: Exploring the role of task-set competition

2016 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Hirsch ◽  
Tina Schwarzkopp ◽  
Mathieu Declerck ◽  
Stefanie Reese ◽  
Iring Koch
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Task Preparation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
And Task

Selective Stopping in Task Switching

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Verbruggen ◽  
Baptist Liefooghe ◽  
André Vandierendonck
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Switch Cost ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Response Execution ◽  
Distinct Role

Recently, several studies stressed the role of response selection in cued task switching. The present study tried to investigate directly the hypothesis that no switch cost can be found when there was no response selection. In two experiments, we combined a cued task switching paradigm with the selective stopping paradigm. Results of the experiments demonstrated that a switch cost was found when participants selected a response, even without response execution. Alternatively, when the response was inhibited without the need of response selection, no switch cost was found. These results provide direct evidence for the distinct role of response selection in cued task switching and suggest that response execution is not a necessary factor to obtain a switch cost.

scholarly journals On the Role of Dissipating Inhibition in Task Switching

2013 ◽  
Vol 221 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Vandierendonck
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Switch Cost ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Task Set ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

The n-2 repetition cost has been explained by persisting inhibition of a previously valid task set which dissipates over time. This account has two implications, namely that the switch cost decreases with the number of tasks involved in switching and that the cost should also be observed in switching between two tasks. Neither of these implications is supported by empirical evidence. An alternative view is briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Accessory Stimulus Effects on Response Selection: Does Arousal Speed Decision Making?

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Hackley ◽  
Fernando Valle-Inclán
Keyword(s):  
Response Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Late Phase ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Dependent Measure ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Stimulus Effects ◽  
Accessory Stimulus ◽  
Alternative Responses

When an intense but task-irrelevant “accessory” stimulus accompanies the imperative stimulus in a choice reaction task, reaction times (RTs) are facilitated. In a similar previous study (Hackley & Valle-Inclán, 1998), we showed that this effect is not due to a reduction of the interval from onset of the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) until movement onset. In the present study, the RT task was modified to move a portion of the response selection stage into this time interval. The interval remained invariant, indicating that this late phase of the response selection process is not speeded by accessory stimulation. However, we observed amplitude modulation of the LRP on no-go trials in a condition with three alternative responses. This finding suggests that an earlier phase of response selection is influenced by accessory stimulation. In addition, a novel dependent measure was introduced to event-related potential research—the latency of spontaneous, posttrial blinking.

Role of the Human Medial Frontal Cortex in Task Switching: A Combined fMRI and TMS Study

2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 2577-2592 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F.S. Rushworth ◽  
K. A. Hadland ◽  
T. Paus ◽  
P. K. Sipila
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex ◽  
Stimulus Selection ◽  
Task Set ◽  
Fmri Session

We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity when subjects were performing identical tasks in the context of either a task-set switch or a continuation of earlier performance. The context, i.e., switching or staying with the current task, influenced medial frontal cortical activation; the medial frontal cortex is transiently activated at the time that subjects switch from one way of performing a task to another. Two types of task-set-switching paradigms were investigated. In the response-switching (RS) paradigm, subjects switched between different rules for response selection and had to choose between competing responses. In the visual-switching (VS) paradigm, subjects switched between different rules for stimulus selection and had to choose between competing visual stimuli. The type of conflict, sensory (VS) or motor (RS), involved in switching was critical in determining medial frontal activation. Switching in the RS paradigm was associated with clear blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signal increases (“activations”) in three medial frontal areas: the rostral cingulate zone, the caudal cingulate zone, and the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA). Switching in the VS task was associated with definite activation in just one medial frontal area, a region on the border between the pre-SMA and the SMA. Subsequent to the fMRI session, we used MRI-guided frameless stereotaxic procedures and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test the importance of the medial frontal activations for task switching. Applying rTMS over the pre-SMA disrupted subsequent RS performance but only when it was applied in the context of a switch. This result shows, first, that the pre-SMA is essential for task switching and second that its essential role is transient and limited to just the time of behavioral switching. The results are consistent with a role for the pre-SMA in selecting between response sets at a superordinate level rather than in selecting individual responses. The effect of the rTMS was not simply due to the tactile and auditory artifacts associated with each pulse; rTMS over several control regions did not selectively disrupt switching. Applying rTMS over the SMA/pre-SMA area activated in the VS paradigm did not disrupt switching. This result, first, confirms the limited importance of the medial frontal cortex for sensory attentional switching. Second, the VS rTMS results suggest that just because an area is activated in two paradigms does not mean that it plays the same essentialrole in both cases.

scholarly journals On the difficulty of task switching: Assessing the role of task-set inhibition

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 530-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Ching Lien ◽  
Eric Ruthruff ◽  
Dacid Kuhns
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Task Set

Faster Choice-Reaction Times to Positive than to Negative Facial Expressions

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka M. Leppänen ◽  
Mirja Tenhunen ◽  
Jari K. Hietanen
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Happy Face ◽  
Response Onset ◽  
Response Execution ◽  
Onset Response ◽  
Positive Stimuli ◽  
Choice Reaction Times

Abstract Several studies have shown faster choice-reaction times to positive than to negative facial expressions. The present study examined whether this effect is exclusively due to faster cognitive processing of positive stimuli (i.e., processes leading up to, and including, response selection), or whether it also involves faster motor execution of the selected response. In two experiments, response selection (onset of the lateralized readiness potential, LRP) and response execution (LRP onset-response onset) times for positive (happy) and negative (disgusted/angry) faces were examined. Shorter response selection times for positive than for negative faces were found in both experiments but there was no difference in response execution times. Together, these results suggest that the happy-face advantage occurs primarily at premotoric processing stages. Implications that the happy-face advantage may reflect an interaction between emotional and cognitive factors are discussed.

Two Short Tests Fail to Detect Vigilance Decrements

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Botella ◽  
María José Contreras ◽  
Pei-Chun Shih ◽  
Víctor Rubio
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Vigilance Task ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Job Selection ◽  
Performance Deterioration ◽  
Short Test ◽  
Psychological Dimensions

Summary: Deterioration in performance associated with decreased ability to sustain attention may be found in long and tedious task sessions. The necessity for assessing a number of psychological dimensions in a single session often demands “short” tests capable of assessing individual differences in abilities such as vigilance and maintenance of high performance levels. In the present paper two tasks were selected as candidates for playing this role, the Abbreviated Vigilance Task (AVT) by Temple, Warm, Dember, LaGrange and Matthews (1996) and the Continuous Attention Test (CAT) by Tiplady (1992) . However, when applied to a sample of 829 candidates in a job-selection process for air-traffic controllers, neither of them showed discriminative capacity. In a second study, an extended version of the CAT was applied to a similar sample of 667 subjects, but also proved incapable of properly detecting individual differences. In short, at least in a selection context such as that studied here, neither of the tasks appeared appropriate for playing the role of a “short” test for discriminating individual differences in performance deterioration in sustained attention.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document