The Specificity and Reliability of Conflict Adaptation: A Mouse-Tracking Study

Researchers have recently begun to question the specificity and reliability of conflict adaptation effects, also known as sequential congruency effects (SCEs), a highly cited effect in cognitive psychology. Some have even used the lack of reliability across tasks (e.g., Flanker, and Stroop) to argue against models of cognitive control that have dominated the field for decades. The present study tested the possibility that domain-general processes across tasks might appear on more sensitive mouse-tracking metrics rather than overall reaction times. The relationship between SCE effects on the Stroop and Flanker tasks were examined for the first time using a mouse-tracking paradigm. Three main findings emerged: (1) Robust SCEs were observed for both the Stroop and Flanker tasks at the group level, (2) Within-task split-half reliabilities for the SCE across dependent variables were weak at best and non-existent in many cases, and (3) SCEs for the Flanker and Stroop tasks did not correlate with each other for overall reaction times, but did show significant correlations between tasks on more dynamic measures that captured processes before response execution. These findings contribute to the literature by highlighting how mouse-tracking may be a fruitful avenue by which future studies can examine the specificity and reliability of conflict adaptation and tease apart different theoretical models producing the effects.

Effect of Executive Dysfunction on Posture Control and Gait after Stroke

Objective. The purpose of the study was to observe the effects of executive dysfunction (ED) on gait and postural control during walking after stroke. Methods. In this study, 34 subjects with stroke and ED (8 women and 26 men; age, 55.41 ± 7.89 years; time since stroke onset, 1.3 ± 0.12 months) were recruited. Stroop color-word test (SCWT), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), timed-up-and-go test (TUGT), and gait analysis were evaluated. The correlation among the correct number of Stroop tasks (SCWT-C), the number of time-consuming tasks (SCWT-T), the amount of interference (SIE-M and SIE-T) and posture control, and gait-related parameters was analyzed. Results. The results indicated that SCWT-C was negatively correlated with 10MWT, TUGT, and bilateral symmetry ( P < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between SCWT-C and stride ( P > 0.05). A significant negative correlation was seen between SCWT-C and bilateral symmetry ( P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SCWT-T and stride ( P > 0.05). SCWT-T was positively correlated with TUGT, 10MWT, and bilateral symmetry ( P < 0.05). SIE-T was positively correlated with TUGT and bilateral symmetry ( P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SIE-T and 10MWT or stride ( P > 0.05). SIE-M was positively correlated with TUGT and bilateral symmetry ( P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SIE-T and 10MWT or stride ( P > 0.05). Conclusions. ED is closely related to the decline in postural control and the occurrence of falls. In the early phases of stroke rehabilitation, physiotherapists should focus on the patients’ executive function to accelerate the recovery of postural control.

Regulation of Mindfulness-Based Music Listening on Negative Emotions Related to COVID-19: An ERP Study

The current study aimed to explore the behavioral and neural correlates of mindfulness-based music listening regulation of induced negative emotions related to COVID-19 using the face–word Stroop task. Eighty-five young adults visited the laboratory and were randomly assigned to three groups: a calm music group (CMG: n = 28), a happy music group (HMG: n = 30), and a sad music group (SMG: n = 27). Negative emotions were induced in all participants using a COVID-19 video, followed by the music intervention condition. Participants underwent the face–word Stroop tasks during which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The N2, N3, P3, and late positive component (LPC) were investigated. The results showed that calm music and happy music effectively regulate young adults’ induced negative emotions, while young adults experienced more negative emotions when listening to sad music; the negative mood states at the post-induction phase inhibited the reaction of conflict control in face–word Stroop tasks, which manifested as lower accuracy (ACC) and slower reaction times (RTs). ERP results showed negative mood states elicited greater N2, N3, and LPC amplitudes and smaller P3 amplitudes. Further studies are needed to develop intervention strategies to enhance emotion regulation related to COVID-19 for other groups.

The association between media multitasking and executive function in Chinese adolescents: Evidence from self-reported, behavioral and fNIRS data

This study examined the association between media multitasking and executive function in Chinese adolescents by comparing heavy/high and light/low media multitaskers, i.e., HMMs and LMMs, with self-reports, behavioral measures and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The participants were 12 HMMs (media multitasking scores above the 75th percentile) and 10 LMMs (media multitasking scores below the 25th percentile) chosen from a sample of 61 adolescents. Each participant completed a self-reported questionnaire on executive function and three executive function cognitive tasks: 2-back, Color Stroop, and Number-letter Determination) while wearing the fNIRS. The results indicated that: (1) the HMMs showed more impairment in executive function than the LMMs based on questionnaire data analysis; (2) there were no significant differences between the HMMs and LMMs in their performance on the cognitive tasks; and (3) the HMMs showed greater prefrontal activation than the LMMs during the 2-back and Color Stroop tasks. These findings implied that media multitasking might be associated with the reduced effectiveness in the brain areas responsible for executive function. These findings provide evidence of the negative relationship between media multitasking and executive function; and indicated the benefits of using multiple assessment methods in studying this topic.

Resilience of The Hellenic Navy Seals Assessed by Heart Rate Variability During Cognitive Tasks

Background The interaction between high physical performance under extreme conditions and the simultaneous control of the cognitive executive functioning has been a subject of research in literature for the past few decades. Stroop test and Heart-rate variability (HRV), have been verified as a valuable clinical tool for the assessment of cerebral and autonomic/ cardiovascular stress responses respectively. Objective The investigation of HRV adaptive response to stress and cognitive stress resilience under strenuous conditions. Methods 34 subjects were enrolled (n = 34). Of them, 18 were candidates under intense preparation for their enlistment in the Hellenic Navy SEALs (H.N.S.) and 16 were healthy controls, matched for sex and similar in age and demographics. All subjects underwent standard Color Word Stroop Testing, arithmetic stroop testing and emotional stroop testing, along with mental state and personality examination with the use of Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90R) scl-90 and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), respectively. HRV variables in time and frequency domains recordings were acquired, during each aforementioned cognitive testing procedure. Results Our results showed that H.N.S.’s performance on both cognitive and emotion stroop tasks (p ≥ 0.054 for all cognitive and emotion stroop tasks’ features) was equivalent to controls even though they exhibited statistically significant lower levels of HRV in different time (ranged from p < 0.01 to p < 0.05) and frequency domain variables (ranged from p < 0.01 to p < 0.05). Finally, in a between group comparison of the psychometric tools, O.Y.K.s had significantly higher somatization, anxiety and neuroticism than controls. Conclusion In conclusion, these findings indicate flexible autonomic regulation (HRV) supports recovery following challenge during cognitive and emotional tasks (stroop tests), which in turn supports problem solving or adaptability skills. HRV measurement begins to be a sophisticated and relevant tool for both scientific and clinical insights, promising to be an index regarding the psychophysiological resilience especially in the neurovisceral integration (NVI) model. However further longitudinal research on the field is required.

Use of Stroop Test for Sports Psychology Study: Cross-Over Design Research

Background: In sports psychology research, the Stroop test and its derivations are commonly used to investigate the benefits of exercise on cognitive function. The measures of the Stroop test and the computed interference often have different interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). However, the ICC is never reported in cross-over designs involving multiple variances associated with individual differences.Objective: We investigated the ICC of the Stroop neutral and incongruent tests and interference (neutral test—incongruent test), and reverse Stroop task using the linear mixed model.Methods: Forty-eight young adults participated in a cross-over design experiment composed of 2 factors: exercise mode (walking, resistance exercise, badminton, and seated rest as control) and time (pre- and post-tests). Before and after each intervention, participants completed the Stroop neutral and incongruent, and the reverse-Stroop neutral and incongruent tests. We analyzed for each test performance and interference and calculated ICC using the linear mixed model.Results: The linear mixed model found a significant interaction of exercise mode and time for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks, suggesting that exercise mode influences the effect of acute exercise on inhibitory function. On the other hand, there was no significant effect of exercise mode for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference. The results also revealed that calculating both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference resulted in smaller ICCs than the ICCs of the neutral and incongruent tests for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks.Conclusion: The Stroop and reverse-Stroop interferences are known as valid measures of the inhibitory function for cross-sectional research design. However, to understand the benefits of acute exercise on inhibitory function comprehensively by cross-over design, comparing the incongruent test with the neutral test also seems superior because these tests have high reliability and statistical power.

Attentional bias to diabetes cues mediates disease management improvements in a pilot randomized controlled trial for adolescents with type 1 diabetes

For type 1 diabetes management, the role of attentional bias remains unclear. This secondary analysis examined type 1 diabetes attentional bias and adolescent type 1 diabetes management prior to and during a cognitive and behavioral intervention. Youth with type 1 diabetes and above target glycemic control were assigned to intervention or usual care control. Participants completed baseline and follow-up type 1 diabetes Stroop tasks, HbA1c tests, and blood glucose meter downloads. Intervention was associated with greater reductions in type 1 diabetes attentional bias than control, and these reductions partially mediated the effect of treatment on diabetes management behaviors. Type 1 diabetes attentional bias is a potential target to improve type 1 diabetes management.