AX Continuous Performance Test Research Articles

Longitudinal relations among temperament, cognitive control, and anxiety: From toddlerhood to late adolescence.

Children with a history of behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament face a heightened risk for anxiety disorders and often use control strategies that are less planful. Although these relations have been observed concurrently in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, few studies leverage longitudinal data to examine long-term prospective relations between cognitive control and anxiety. Using longitudinal data from 149 adolescents (55% female; from predominantly White middle-class families), we assessed temperament in toddlerhood and cognitive control and anxiety at 4, 12, 15, and 18 years of age. At age 4, separate measures of task switching and inhibitory control were obtained via the Dimensional Change Card Sort and Stroop tasks, respectively. At 12, 15, and 18 years of age, planful control was assessed with the AX-Continuous Performance Test, and anxiety symptoms were assessed via self-report. Growth curve models revealed that children with greater inhibitory control at age 4, regardless of BI status, experienced a sharper increase in anxiety symptoms across adolescence. Children with heightened BI during early childhood displayed lower levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a more rapid improvement in these skills across adolescence. Children with greater task switching ability at age 4 displayed higher levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a smaller increase in these skills across adolescence. Finally, children's growth rate for anxiety was unrelated to their growth rate for planful control. These findings reveal that early-life temperament, cognitive control, and anxiety remain interconnected across development, from toddlerhood to at least late adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of language proficiency on neuro-cognitive mechanisms supporting second-language spoken word recognition: an ERP study on Chinese-English bilinguals

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of proficiency in the second language (L2) on the neurocognitive processes that support the recognition of spoken words. Chinese native learners of English (N = 34) took part in the picture-word matching task and the AX Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT). In the picture-word matching task, the component amplitudes for P50, N120, and P200 were found to be lower in the low proficiency group compared to the high proficiency group. Regarding the AX-CPT, the high-proficiency group exhibited a more balanced utilisation of proactive and reactive control, whereas the low-proficiency group displayed a greater reliance on proactive control. Additionally, a correlation was observed between various ERP components from the picture-word matching task and behavioural indicators obtained from the AX-CPT, suggesting different strategies of cognitive control may reflect the influence of language proficiency on neurocognitive mechanisms in spoken word recognition.

The Effect of Mental Fatigue on the Spatial Ability of University Students

Spatial abilities are divided into two, namely spatial orientation and spatial visualization. In the field of engineering, especially Industrial Engineering, spatial abilities are usually used in the design process. The use of spatial orientation abilities is influenced by mental activity. Thus, mental fatigue will influence the application of spatial orientation abilities. Mental fatigue among students is usually influenced by academic workload. This research was conducted to determine the effect of academic workload and AX-CPT treatment on the spatial abilities of industrial engineering students. This research involved 40 respondents who were divided into two groups. The research was carried out with mental fatigue engineering using the AX-Continuous Performance Test for 20 minutes for one group of respondents before taking a spatial ability measurement test using the Spatial Orientation Test (SOT) while the other group was not given the AX-Continuous Performance Test. After taking the test, respondents will fill out a survey regarding academic workload. The test was carried out using multiple linear regression with a p-value of 0.814 so there was no influence from the academic workload and AX-CPT treatment on the spatial abilities of industrial engineering students

Cognitive control impairment in ax-continuous performance test in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot EEG study.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of cognitive control impairment in patients with schizophrenia (SPs) using electroencephalogram (EEG). A total of 17 SPs and 17 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. We measured the EEG activity, whereas they performed the AX-continuous performance test which consisted of the preparatory phase and the response phase. The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) was used for cognitive function, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used for clinical symptom assessment. A univariate linear regression model was used to explore the relationships among behavioral index, event-related potentials (ERPs), rhythmic oscillation power, and score of MCCB and PANSS. A significant difference was found in response accuracy and reaction time (RT) during the preparatory phase between patients and HCs (p<.05). During the response phase, the SPs exhibited longer RT than the HCs (p<.05). Analysis of the ERPs revealed that the amplitude of P3a on BX clues was significantly smaller in SPs than in HCs (p<.05). Additionally, the midline frontal theta power of neural oscillation was significantly lower in the SPs than in NCs both during the preparatory and response phases. The accuracies on BX clues (r=.694, p=.002) and d'context (r=.698, p=.002) were positively correlated with MCCB scores. The present study revealed that patients with schizophrenia have deficits both in proactive and reactive cognitive control, with a greater reliance on reactive control during conflict resolution. The neural mechanisms of the cognitive control impairment may involve the inability to engage additional neural resources for proactive control, and a reduction in frontal midline theta power during both proactive and reactive control. The severity of proactive control impairment is positively correlated with an increased tendency to rely on reactive control.

Investigating the Cognitive Control of Social Media-Anxious Users Using a Psychological Experimental Approach

Social media has become increasingly popular and is now a significant tool for daily communication for many people. The use of social media can cause anxiety and have detrimental impacts on mental health. Cognitive impairment is more likely to affect individuals with anxiety. Investigating the cognitive abilities and mental health of social media users requires the development of new methodologies. This study employed the AX-Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT) paradigm and the Stroop paradigm to study the cognitive control characteristics of trait anxiety, drawing on psychological experimental methods. Previous studies on whether trait anxiety impairs cognitive control remain controversial, possibly because cognitive control is viewed as a whole. It may also be due to the motivational effect of anxiety, which compensates for the impairment of cognitive control caused by anxiety through the recruitment of cognitive resources. Understanding the mental health and cognitive control traits of anxious social media users can be improved by using the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control Account, which divides cognitive control into proactive and reactive control. The findings demonstrate that trait anxiety has an impact on both proactive and reactive control, while working memory load did not modulate the effect of trait anxiety on cognitive control. These results support the attentional control theory and provide a new approach to studying the mental health of social media users.

Development of Proactive Control and Anxiety Among Behaviorally Inhibited Adolescents.

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is an infant temperament characterized by heightened reactivity and negative affect in response to novel people and situations. BI is among the earliest and strongest predictors of future anxiety problems. However, not all children with a history of BI will manifest anxiety problems. A growing body of evidence suggests that proactive control skills may help buffer youth with BI from future anxiety difficulties; yet, it remains unclear how temperament may interact with the development of cognitive control to influence anxiety risk. The present study tested whether enhancements in proactive control occurring during adolescence may reduce risk for anxiety among youth with a history of BI. Participants included 185 adolescents (56% female) whose temperament was assessed during toddlerhood. In adolescence, participants completed anxiety assessments and an AX Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT) to assess cognitive control strategy. Both assessments were administered at age 13 years and again at 15 years. Latent change score modeling revealed that, on average, participants increasingly used proactive control strategies and experienced worsening anxiety from age 13-15 years. Early BI was associated with a smaller anxiety increase from 13-15 years, but only among participants whose proactive control skills improved at mean or greater rates. The present findings suggest that greater proactive control development during adolescence protects youth with high BI from age-related increases in anxiety. Results support a framework that highlights cognitive control as a key moderator of anxiety risk among children with a history of high BI.

Event Segmentation Enhances Older Adults’ Reactive Cognitive Control Bias

ABSTRACT The present study examined the effect of event segmentation on cognitive control mode use in a sample of older adults (N = 30; Mage = 73, SDage = 4.75) using a modified AX-Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT). This task included a perceptual event boundary between each cue and its forthcoming probe by means of a spatial shift across the left and right side of the display. Past research showed that young adults’ existing proactive control bias could be enhanced in an event segmented AX-CPT relative to their performance on a standard AX-CPT. For older adults who adopt reactive control by default, the event boundary was expected to impede cue-reactivation during probe presentation, and thus further enhance their existing reactive control bias. To examine this, older adults were tested with a standard and an event segmented AX-CPT in two blocks, with error rates revealing a shift toward greater reactive control use in the event segmented relative to the standard AX-CPT. Findings supported our hypothesis that placing a spatial event boundary between each cue and forthcoming probe would further enhance older adults’ reactive control bias. This study contributes to the sparse but growing literature on the effects of task-specific manipulations on cognitive control use. The results are discussed in light of the dual mechanisms of control framework and the event horizon model.

Cognitive performance and electroencephalographic variations in air traffic controllers under various mental workload and time of day

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental workload (MWL) and time of day on cognitive performance and electroencephalographic (EEG) parameters of air traffic controllers. EEG signals recorded while 20 professional air traffic controllers performed cognitive tasks [A-X Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT) and 3-back working memory task] after they were exposed to two levels of task difficulty (high and low MWL) in the morning and afternoon. Significant decreases in cognitive performance were found when the levels of task difficulty increased in both tasks. The results confirmed the sensitivity of the theta and beta activities to levels of task difficulty in the 3-back task, while they were not affected in the AX-CPT. Theta and beta activities were influenced by time of day in the AX-CPT. The findings provide guidance for application of changes in EEG parameters when MWL level is manipulated during the day that could be implemented in future for the development of real-time monitoring systems to improve aviation safety.

Do Overweight People Have Worse Cognitive Flexibility? Cues-Triggered Food Craving May Have a Greater Impact.

Background: Overweight people have been revealed to have poor cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility reflects proactive and reactive control abilities. However, the impairment had not been explicitly positioned at the cognitive stage. Therefore, this study provides increased support for impairment of cognitive flexibility due to overweight. Method: The study included 34 overweight and 35 normal-weight participants. They were required to complete the food and flower target AX-continuous performance test (AX–CPT), including the resting-state fMRI and cue-triggered food craving subscales. We compared the performance difference between the two tasks. Furthermore, we investigated whether the cue-triggered food cravings and the corresponding brain regions mediated the effect of overweight on the two control mechanisms. Result: Significant differences were found only in the food target AX-CPT task, where overweight participants performed worse. Cue-triggered food cravings mediated this relationship. Additionally, we found that the brain regions associated with cue-triggered food cravings (bilateral SFG) can completely mediate the relationship between BMI and the z-value of the fat mass index and sensitivity to proactive control. Conclusion: In the food target task, overweight participants performed worse in both control mechanisms. Moreover, we also revealed the potential mechanism by which being overweight might affect the two control mechanisms through cue-triggered food cravings.

Behavioral inhibition and dual mechanisms of anxiety risk: Disentangling neural correlates of proactive and reactive control.

Background:Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament style characterized by heightened reactivity and negative affect in response to novel people and situations, and it predicts anxiety problems later in life. However, not all BI children develop anxiety problems, and mounting evidence suggests that how one manages their cognitive resources (cognitive control) influences anxiety risk. The present study tests whether more (proactive control) or less (reactive control) planful cognitive strategies moderate relations between early BI and later anxiety.Methods:Participants included 112 adolescents (55% female; Mage = 15.4 years) whose temperament was assessed during toddlerhood. In adolescence, participants completed an AX Continuous Performance Test while electroencephalography was recorded to disentangle neural activity related to proactive (cue-locked P3b) and reactive (probe-locked N2) control.Results:Greater BI was associated with greater total anxiety scores only among adolescents with smaller ΔP3bs and larger ΔN2s—a pattern consistent with decreased reliance on proactive strategies and increased reliance on reactive strategies. Additionally, a larger ΔP3b was associated with greater total anxiety scores; however, this effect was largely explained by the fact that females tended to have larger ΔP3bs and greater anxiety than males.Conclusions:Early BI relates to risk for later anxiety specifically among adolescents who rely less on proactive strategies and more on reactive control strategies. Thus, cognitive control strategy moderates the association between developmental context (i.e., temperament) and later anxiety. The present study is the first to characterize how proactive and reactive control uniquely relate to pathways toward anxiety risk.

Relationship between the level of mental fatigue induced by a prolonged cognitive task and the degree of balance disturbance.

This study investigated the effects of mental fatigue (MF) induced by a 90-min AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT) on balance control by addressing the issue of the heterogeneity of individuals' responses. Twenty healthy young active participants were recruited. They had to carry out two balance tasks (sway as little as possible on a stable support with the eyes open and closed) when standing on a force platform before and after performing a 90-min AX-CPT. The NASA-TLX test was used to assess the subjective manifestations of MF. Objective cognitive performance was measured using results from the AX-CPT. Inter-individual differences in behavioral deterioration due to MF were analyzed with a hierarchical cluster analysis, which categorizes participants' behaviors into subgroups with similar characteristics. The cluster analysis revealed that the achievement of the AX-CPT induced various levels of MF and balance impairments within the whole sample. A significant relationship between the level of MF and the degree of balance disturbance was observed only when participants stood with the eyes open, thus suggesting that inter-individual differences in vulnerability to MF could stem from differences between subjects in the level of engagement of visual attention and/or from differences in field dependency for balance control. These findings show that the completion of the same prolonged demanding cognitive task induces a strong heterogeneity in subjects' responses, with marked individual differences in MF vulnerability that affect balance control differently according to the sensory context.

Subjective stress and proactive and reactive cognitive control strategies.

Acute stress likely impacts cognitive control. Little is known, however, about the effects that acute stress may have on specific cognitive control strategies. The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of acute stress on proactive and reactive control strategies. Participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test or control tasks. Use of proactive and reactive control strategies was measured with the AX-Continuous Performance Test. The Trier Social Stress Test was effective at producing subjective, cortisol, and heart rate stress responses, but there was no significant effect of stress on use of proactive or reactive control strategies in between-group analyses. However, higher subjective stress responses during performance of the AX-Continuous Performance Test were associated with less frequent use of a proactive control strategy and more frequent use of a reactive control strategy within the stress group.

Acute Effects of Mental Recovery Strategies After a Mentally Fatiguing Task.

Both daily demands as well as training and competition characteristics in sports can result in a psychobiological state of mental fatigue leading to feelings of tiredness, lack of energy, an increased perception of effort, and performance decrements. Moreover, optimal performance will only be achievable if the balance between recovery and stress states is re-established. Consequently, recovery strategies are needed aiming at mental aspects of recovery. The aim of the study was to examine acute effects of potential mental recovery strategies (MR) on subjective-psychological and on cognitive performance outcomes after a mentally fatiguing task. A laboratory-based randomized cross-over study with twenty-four students (22.8 ± 3.6 years) was applied. Participants were run through a powernap intervention (PN), a systematic breathing intervention (SB), a systematic breathing plus mental imagery intervention (SB+), and a control condition (CC) with one trial a week over four consecutive weeks. Mental fatigue was induced by completion of the 60-min version of the AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT). The Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS) and Visual Analog Scales (VAS) were assessed to measure effects on perceptual outcomes. Cognitive performance was measured with a reaction time test of the Vienna Test System (VTS). During all three recovery interventions and CC portable polysomnography was applied. Results showed a significant increase from pre-AX-CPT to pre-MR on fatigue states and recovery-stress states indicating that the induction of mental fatigue was effective. Moreover, results underlined that analysis yielded no significant differences between recovery interventions and the control condition but they revealed significant time effects for VAS, SRSS items, and cognitive performance. However, it could be derived that the application of a rest break with 20 min of mental recovery strategies appears to enhance recovery on a mainly mental and emotional level and to reduce perceived mental fatigue.

0332 Effect of Prior Sleep Duration on Distinct Measures of Daytime Cognitive Performance in Late Adolescence

Abstract Introduction A recent longitudinal study of sleep need changes across adolescence reported how prior sleep duration affects daytime sleepiness and vigilant attention in children ages 10-16 years. In a follow-up study, we extend the age range in a new group of participants and add additional performance tests. Here we report year 1 data on the effect of systematically varied time in bed (TIB) on daytime vigilance, working memory, and decision making. Methods Data are for 52 participants aged 15.0-20.4 years (mean±SD: 17.7±1.8 years). Annually, participants keep each of three different TIB schedules: 7h, 8.5h or 10h TIB for 4 consecutive nights. The 4th night is followed by a laboratory day of performance testing. The day includes four 10-minute psychomotor vigilance tests (PVT); a serial position Sternberg working memory task; and an AX continuous performance test with switch (AX-CPTs) measuring cognitive flexibility in decision making. Results PVT performance evaluated by the log of the signal to noise ratio (LSNR) improved monotonically with increasing TIB (p&amp;lt;0.0001). TIB also affected serial position Sternberg task accuracy (p=0.008) but not the probe position effect (p=0.66), indicating that TIB did not affect working memory. TIB also affected AX-CPTs accuracy (p&amp;lt;0.0001), but TIB did not significantly affect decision making and cognitive flexibility measures extracted from this task (all p&amp;gt;0.09). Conclusion The initial data from this longitudinal study on older adolescents confirm what we observed for younger adolescents. Increasing TIB improves daytime vigilance but does not affect working memory. These initial results also do not indicate a TIB related improvement in decision making. Data from the entire three year longitudinal study will allow us to further investigate relations of performance to prior sleep duration and whether these relations change with age. Results from dose-response studies such as these can help guide sleep duration recommendations. Support PHS grant R01 HL116490 supported this work.

The Effects of Alcohol Hangover on Executive Functions.

Recent research has suggested that processes reliant on executive functions are impaired by an alcohol hangover, yet few studies have investigated the effect of hangovers on core executive function processes. Therefore, the current study investigated the effect of hangovers on the three core components of the unity/diversity model of executive functions: the ability to switch attention, update information in working memory, and maintain goals. Thirty-five 18-to-30-year-old non-smoking individuals who reported experiencing a hangover at least once in the previous month participated in this study. They completed tasks measuring switching (number-switching task), updating (n-back task), and goal maintenance (AX Continuous Performance Test, AX-CPT) whilst experiencing a hangover and without a hangover in a ‘naturalistic’ within-subjects crossover design. Participants made more errors in the switching task (p = 0.019), more errors in both the 1- (p < 0.001) and 2-back (p < 0.001) versions of the n-back, and more errors in the AX-CPT (p = 0.007) tasks when experiencing a hangover, compared to the no-hangover condition. These results suggest that an alcohol hangover impairs core executive function processes that are important for everyday behaviours, such as decision-making, planning, and mental flexibility.

Balance control is impaired by mental fatigue due to the fulfilment of a continuous cognitive task or by the watching of a documentary.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of mental fatigue (MF) induced by a 90-min continuous demanding cognitive task on balance control. Twenty healthy young participants were recruited. They had to perform three postural tasks (on a stable support with eyes open, with eyes closed and on a wobble board) while standing on a force platform before and after watching a documentary in a control condition or carrying out a prolonged continuous demanding cognitive task (AX-continuous performance test-AX-CPT) in a MF condition. Results showed that performing the AX-CPT generated MF since participants felt a higher subjective workload from the NASA Task Load Index after the AX-CPT than after viewing the documentary. Both the AX-CPT and the viewing of the documentary impaired balance control, mainly by affecting postural regulatory mechanisms which evolved towards a less automatic and less complex regulation mode with an increased participation of cognitive resources. MF generated by the AX-CPT affected balance control by compromising the attentional processing, while the deleterious influence of watching a documentary on postural control could stem from an adverse effect of prolonged sitting on balance control during subsequent standing.

A comparison of methods used for inducing mental fatigue in performance research: individualised, dual-task and short duration cognitive tests are most effective

Despite research indicating the negative impact that mental fatigue has on physical and cognitive performance, whether this is a result of mental fatigue or a state of under-arousal remains unclear. The current research aimed to explore the effectiveness of the methods being used to induce mental fatigue. Twelve participants attended six sessions in which two cognitive tests, the AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT) and the TloadDback test, were compared for their effectiveness in inducing mental fatigue. Both tests were set at a standard processing speed (1.2 ms) for two conditions, and a further condition involved the individualisation of the TloadDback test. Participants presented significantly higher physiological and psychological arousal (p < 0.05) in the individualised dual-task test compared to the AX-CPT. The individualised TloadDback test is a more effective method of inducing mental fatigue compared to the AX-CPT, as it sustains physiological arousal whilst inducing measurable reductions in mental resources. Practitioner summary: Mental fatigue negatively impacts physical and cognitive performance. It is unclear whether the current methods being used to induce mental fatigue are effective. This study compared different methods and confirmed that short, individualised and dual-task tests are most effective for inducing mental fatigue whilst maintaining arousal.

The role of proactive control on subcomponents of language control: Evidence from trilinguals

Language control in bilingual individuals has been the source of thorough study in the last decade. However, the characterization of the subcomponents of this cognitive process remains shallow. In this experiment we tested Chinese, English, and Japanese trilinguals who completed a modified language-switching task. Participants named pictures in one of three conditions: Repeat language, Switch-away from a language (target language undetermined) and Switch-to a particular language (target language determined). Brain activity was recorded by electroencephalogram (EEG) and general proactive control ability was measured independently by the AX-Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT). Switch-to and Switch-away processes elicited distinct neural signatures. Both at the cue and stimulus stage, Switching away elicited more negative activity at an early time window (N2); and less positive activity at the later time window (LPC). Further, at the cue stage this amplitude was negatively correlated with the proactive control index. These results show that the different subcomponents of cued-switching are dissociable and that there is a direct relation between the online signatures elicited by some of these processes and the general proactive control abilities of individuals.

Comparing the Effects of Three Cognitive Tasks on Indicators of Mental Fatigue

This investigation assessed the impact of three cognitively demanding tasks on cognitive performance, subjective, and physiological indicators of mental fatigue. Following familiarization, participants completed four testing sessions, separated by 48 h. During each session, participants watched a 45-min emotionally neutral documentary (control) or completed one of the following computer tasks: Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT); AX-Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT); or Stroop Task. Mental fatigue was assessed before and at regular periods for 60 min following the 45-min treatments. Cognitive performance was assessed using 3-min PVT, and task performance. Subjective assessments were conducted using the Brunel Mood Scale, and visual analog scales (VAS). Physiological indicators of mental fatigue included electroencephalography (EEG), and heart rate variability (HRV). Subjective ratings of mental fatigue increased from pre to 0-min post in all-treatments, but not the documentary (p < 0.05). Subjective fatigue (VAS) remained higher (p < 0.05) than pretreatment values for 20-, 50-, and 60-min following the PVT, Stroop, and AX-CPT respectively. The cognitively demanding tasks had unclear effects on 3-min PVT, EEG, and HRV assessments. Tasks requiring response inhibition appear to induce fatigue for longer durations than a simple vigilance task. Simple VAS appear to be the most practical method for assessing mental fatigue.

Proactive and reactive cognitive control rely on flexible use of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

The role of ventral versus dorsolateral prefrontal regions in instantiating proactive and reactive cognitive control remains actively debated, with few studies parsing cue versus probe-related activity. Rapid sampling (460 ms), long cue-probe delays, and advanced analytic techniques (deconvolution) were therefore used to quantify the magnitude and variability of neural responses during the AX Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT; N = 46) in humans. Behavioral results indicated slower reaction times during reactive cognitive control (AY trials) in conjunction with decreased accuracy and increased variability for proactive cognitive control (BX trials). The anterior insula/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (aI/VLPFC) was commonly activated across comparisons of both proactive and reactive cognitive control. In contrast, activity within the dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was limited to reactive cognitive control. The instantiation of proactive cognitive control during the probe period was also associated with sparse neural activation relative to baseline, potentially as a result of the high degree of neural and behavioral variability observed across individuals. Specifically, the variability of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) within motor circuitry increased after the presentation of B relative to A cues (i.e., late in HRF) and persisted throughout the B probe period. Finally, increased activation of right aI/VLPFC during the cue period was associated with decreased motor circuit activity during BX probes, suggesting a possible role for the aI/VLPFC in proactive suppression of neural responses. Considered collectively, current results highlight the flexible role of the VLPFC in implementing cognitive control during the AX-CPT task but suggest large individual differences in proactive cognitive control strategies.