Division of Attention: The Single-Channel Hypothesis Revisited

1989 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Gladstones ◽  
Michael A. Regan ◽  
Robert B. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Information Load ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Serial Reaction ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Two experiments are reported in which subjects performed two forced-paced serial reaction time tasks separately and together at their maximum sustainable rates of information processing. Experiment 1 investigated the effects on the relationship between single- and dual-task performance of using tasks with the same or different input and output modality characteristics; an additional condition tested the effects on this relationship of using tasks with higher S–R compatibility. Experiment 2 investigated the effects on the relationship between single- and dual-task performance of varying information load (number of S–R alternatives). No significant differences were found in subjects’ capacities to process information in single- and dual-task conditions. This finding was unaffected by: (a) the absolute information levels of the tasks, (b) whether inputs and/or outputs involved the same or different modalities, or (c) the level of S–R compatibility. The data from both experiments provide strong support for the single-channel hypothesis.

Cortical Thinning following Sports-Related mTBI: The Relationship between MRI Findings and Dual-Task Performance in Youth

2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (10) ◽  
pp. e68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Keightley ◽  
Katia J. Sinopoli ◽  
Jen-Kai Chen ◽  
Alain Ptito ◽  
Tim Taha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Mri Findings ◽  
Cortical Thinning ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Localization of Executive Functions in Dual-Task Performance with fMRI

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1184-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
André J. Szameitat ◽  
Torsten Schubert ◽  
Karsten Müller ◽  
D. Yves von Cramon
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
Subtraction Method ◽  
Dual Task Condition ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Task Conditions

We report a study that investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of executive functions in dual-task performance with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants performed an auditory and a visual three-choice reaction task either separately as single tasks or concurrently as dual tasks. In the dual-task condition, two stimuli were presented in rapid succession to ensure interference between the component tasks (psychological refractory period). The behavioral data showed considerable performance decrements in the dual-task compared to the single-task condition. Dual-task-related activation was detected with two different neuroimaging methods. First, we determined dual-task-related activation according to the method of cognitive subtraction. For that purpose, activation in the dual-task was compared directly with activation in the single-task conditions. This analysis revealed that cortical areas along the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS), the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) are involved in dual-task performance. The results of the subtraction method were validated with the method of parametric manipulation. For this purpose, a second dual-task condition was introduced, where the difficulty of the dual-task coordination was increased compared with the first dual-task condition. As expected, behavioral dual-task performance decreased with increased dual-task difficulty. Furthermore, the increased dual-task difficulty led to an increase of activation in those cortical regions that proved to be dual-task related with the subtraction method, that is, the IFS, the MFG, and the IPS. These results support the conclusion that dorsolateral prefrontal and superior parietal cortices are involved in the coordination of concurrent and interfering task processing.

Dual Task Performance in Children With Tourette Syndrome: Controlling for Comorbid ADHD

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica E. De Monte ◽  
Gina Geffen ◽  
Annemaree Carroll ◽  
Maggie Bailey ◽  
Naomi Campling
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Comorbid Adhd ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
And Control

AbstractDual task performance in children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) was studied. The participants were children with TS (N = 48, 40 male, 8 female), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; mixed types N = 44, 34 male, 10 female) and unaffected controls (N = 48, 34 male, 14 female). Eleven of the TS participants had no comorbidities (TS only) and they were compared to matched groups of participants with TS plus comorbidities (TS+), ADHD, and controls. Each participant was administered screening measures of behaviour, intelligence and verbal ability, as well as specific tests of dual task performance. Children with TS-only correctly recalled fewer digit span forward trials, and identified fewer spaceship pairs than controls under single task conditions in the SkySearch subtest of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children. However, the TS-only and control groups showed better counting performance while simultaneously searching for targets, than the TS+ and ADHD groups. Taken together, these results suggest that some previously reported cognitive deficits in children with TS are due to comorbidities, rather than to the syndrome itself.

Flexibility in Resource Allocation and the Performance of Time-Sharing Tasks

1988 ◽  
Vol 32 (19) ◽  
pp. 1466-1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Spitz
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Time Sharing ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Mental Resources

The extent and nature of the ability to control the allocation of mental resources between the components of a dual task was investigated in three separate experiments. Using a variable priority (demand) methodology it was found that subjects could manipulate their performance level, however their ability to meet specific demand levels was limited. Training subjects under single or dual-task conditions using a wide range of task demand significantly improved dual task performance and degree of control over resource allocation as compared to performance following practice under a narrow range of task demands or under single task fixed demand conditions. Single task performance among all groups improved to the same degree. It was concluded that training subjects under a wide range of task demands increases the range of performance levels over which mental resources can be flexibly allocated for those tasks and improves time sharing performance. Implications for the design of training for complex task performance are discussed.

Relationship of dual task performance ability and balance ability in community-dwelling elderly

Physiotherapy ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. e771 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kobayashi ◽  
W. Nakano ◽  
Y. Suzuki ◽  
O. Urayama ◽  
N. Arita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Balance Ability ◽  
Performance Ability ◽  
Relationship Of

The sensitivity of dual-task performance to cognitive status in aging

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROEE HOLTZER ◽  
RICHARD G. BURRIGHT ◽  
PETER J. DONOVICK
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Community Control ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Normal Controls

The present study examined dual-task performance in elders with cognitive impairments and normal controls. The participants (N = 60; M age = 84.6) were recruited from residential facilities and the community. They were assigned to one of three groups: (1) cognitive impairment; (2) residential facility control; (3) community control. Two different dual-task conditions were comprised of simple tests that are presumably processed via separate perceptual modalities: 1 visual–manual and 1 auditory–verbal. The first condition consisted of a visual cancellation test and an auditory digit span. The second condition was comprised of an alternate form of the visual cancellation test and letter fluency. MANOVA examined the effect of cognitive status (3-level independent variable) on 3 indices of dual-task performance (letter fluency, digit span, visual cancellation). Analyses controlled for age, education and performance on each test when performed alone. The results revealed that the cognitive impairment group incurred significantly greater dual-task costs compared to both control groups. Furthermore, as was evident from discriminant function analyses, the dual-task measures were very accurate and better than the traditional neuropsychological measures at discriminating elders with cognitive impairments from normal controls. (JINS, 2004, 10, 230–238.)

Chronometric Evidence for Central Postponement in Temporally Overlapping Tasks

1989 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Pashler ◽  
James C. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Dual Task Condition ◽  
Capacity Sharing ◽  
Bottleneck Capacity ◽  
Task Conditions

When the stimuli from two tasks arrive in rapid succession (the overlapping tasks paradigm), response delays are typically observed. Two general types of models have been proposed to account for these delays. Postponement models suppose that processing stages in the second task are delayed due to a single-channel bottleneck. Capacity-sharing models suppose that processing on both tasks occurs at reduced rates because of sharing of common resources. Postponement models make strong and distinctive predictions for the behaviour of variables slowing particular second-task stages, when assessed in single- and dual-task conditions. In Experiment 1, subjects were required to make manual classification responses to a tone (S1) and a letter (S2), presented at stimulus onset asynchronies of 50, 100, and 400 msec, making R1 responses to S1 as promptly as possible. The second response, R2, but not R1, was delayed in the dual task condition, and the effects of two S2 variables (degradation and repetition) on R2 response times in dual- and single-task conditions closely matched the predictions of a postponement model with a processing bottleneck at the decision/response-selection stage. In Experiment 2, subjects were encouraged to emit both responses close together in time. Use of this response grouping procedure had little effect on the magnitude of R2 response times, or on the pattern of stimulus factor effects on R2, supporting the hypothesis that the same underlying postponement process was operating. R1 response times were, however, dramatically delayed, and were now affected by S2 difficulty variables. The results provide strong support for postponement models of dual-task interference in the overlapping tasks paradigm, even when response times are delayed on both tasks.

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