Incompatible Flankers Research Articles

That's me in the spotlight: Self-relevance modulates attentional breadth.

A core prediction of models of social-cognitive functioning is that attention is preferentially tuned to self-relevant material. Surprisingly, however, evidence in support of this viewpoint is scant. Remedying this situation, here we demonstrated that self-relevance influences the distribution of attentional resources during decisional processing. In a flanker task (N = 60), participants reported if to-be-judged stimuli either denoted, or were owned by, the self or a friend. A consistent pattern of results emerged across both judgment tasks. Whereas the identification of friend-related targets was speeded when the items were flanked by compatible compared with incompatible flankers, responses to self-related targets were resistant to flanker interference. Probing the origin of these effects, a further computational analysis (i.e., Shrinking Spotlight Diffusion Model analysis) confirmed that self-relevance impacted the focusing of attention during decision-making. These findings highlight how self-relevance modulates attentional processing.

Dose-Response Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise Intensity on Inhibitory Control in Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

The present study aimed to examine whether the effect of acute aerobic exercise on inhibitory control of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is moderated by exercise intensity. Using a within-subjects design, 25 children with ADHD completed a flanker task with concurrent collection of electroencephalography (EEG) data after three different intensities of treadmill running. The results showed that low- and moderate-intensity exercises resulted in shorter reaction times (RTs) relative to vigorous-intensity exercise during the incompatible condition of the flanker task regardless of task congruency. A P3 congruency effect was observed following low- and vigorous-intensity exercises but not after moderate-intensity exercise. The mean alpha power, a measure of cortical arousal, increased following low- and moderate-intensity exercises but decreased following vigorous-intensity exercise. In addition, the change in arousal level after moderate-intensity exercise was negatively correlated with RT during incompatible flanker tasks. The current findings suggest that children with ADHD have better inhibitory control following both low- and moderate-intensity exercises relative to vigorous aerobic exercise, which could be characterized by an optimal state of cortical arousal.

Response Preparation With Reliable Cues Decreases Response Competition in the Flanker Task.

We tested the hypothesis that selective response preparation, based on reliable response cues, reduces response conflict in an Eriksen flanker task. Previous studies of this issue produced inconclusive results because presenting an always valid response cue before the stimulus display turns a choice-response task into a simple-response task, in which full processing of the actual stimulus display is no longer necessary. We conducted two experiments in which we matched stimulus processing in conditions without cues and with reliable cues as far as possible. In both experiments, we presented a nogo target stimulus in 25% of the trials. The different cueing conditions were presented in separate blocks in Experiment 1 but mixed within blocks in Experiment 2. The most important result was the reduction of response conflict as induced by incompatible flanker stimuli in both experiments with reliable response cues. This finding supports the notion of a negative preparation-interference relationship.

Cueing Effects in the Attentional Network Test: a Spotlight Diffusion Model Analysis

The attentional network test (ANT) uses flanker stimuli with different cue conditions to quantify differences in attentional processing. However, it is unclear precisely how the alerting and orienting cues in the task affect different decision processes. The present study leveraged computational modeling to identify the relationship between attentional cues and decision components. ANT data from a large sample of 156 participants were analyzed using the spotlight diffusion model, which quantifies decision components for response caution, motor/encoding time, perceptual processing, and attentional control. The spotlight analysis showed that the attentional cues had multiple effects on decision processing. Compared to the no cue condition, an alerting cue led to faster encoding/motor speed, improved perceptual processing, and increased attentional focusing. The orienting cue further led to a decrease in response caution and increased encoding/motor speed and attentional focusing to reduce interference from incompatible flankers. This analysis demonstrates that alerting and orienting cues have complex effects on decision processes that are not captured by simple differences in RTs, and that model-based analyses can delineate such effects to allow researchers to identify precisely how attentional processing varies across individuals or conditions in tasks like the ANT.

Neuronal Intra-Individual Variability Masks Response Selection Differences between ADHD Subtypes-A Need to Change Perspectives.

Due to the high intra-individual variability in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there may be considerable bias in knowledge about altered neurophysiological processes underlying executive dysfunctions in patients with different ADHD subtypes. When aiming to establish dimensional cognitive-neurophysiological constructs representing symptoms of ADHD as suggested by the initiative for Research Domain Criteria, it is crucial to consider such processes independent of variability. We examined patients with the predominantly inattentive subtype (attention deficit disorder, ADD) and the combined subtype of ADHD (ADHD-C) in a flanker task measuring conflict control. Groups were matched for task performance. Besides using classic event-related potential (ERP) techniques and source localization, neurophysiological data was also analyzed using residue iteration decomposition (RIDE) to statistically account for intra-individual variability and S-LORETA to estimate the sources of the activations. The analysis of classic ERPs related to conflict monitoring revealed no differences between patients with ADD and ADHD-C. When individual variability was accounted for, clear differences became apparent in the RIDE C-cluster (analog to the P3 ERP-component). While patients with ADD distinguished between compatible and incompatible flanker trials early on, patients with ADHD-C seemed to employ more cognitive resources overall. These differences are reflected in inferior parietal areas. The study demonstrates differences in neuronal mechanisms related to response selection processes between ADD and ADHD-C which, according to source localization, arise from the inferior parietal cortex. Importantly, these differences could only be detected when accounting for intra-individual variability. The results imply that it is very likely that differences in neurophysiological processes between ADHD subtypes are underestimated and have not been recognized because intra-individual variability in neurophysiological data has not sufficiently been taken into account.

Competing with visible and invisible competitors in flanker tasks

We conducted 2 studies to investigate whether or not individuals consider a task to be competitive even when their competitors are imagined. We used a 2-choice reaction time task with compatible and incompatible flankers, which was completed by 64 university undergraduates (Mage = 21.4 years; range: 19–23 years). In Study 1, participants completed their task in both individual and competitive conditions. In Study 2, participants took turns to compete with the experimenter side by side and then in a different room. Results indicated that the joint flanker effect occurred, whether or not the competitor was visible or invisible. These findings confirm earlier results that interdependency affects people's behavior even in a competitive context, and promote understanding of the basic mechanism underlying competitive action.

Spatial attention and reading ability: ERP correlates of flanker and cue-size effects in good and poor adult phonological decoders

To investigate facilitatory and inhibitory processes during selective attention among adults with good (n=17) and poor (n=14) phonological decoding skills, a go/nogo flanker task was completed while EEG was recorded. Participants responded to a middle target letter flanked by compatible or incompatible flankers. The target was surrounded by a small or large circular cue which was presented simultaneously or 500ms prior. Poor decoders showed a greater RT cost for incompatible stimuli preceded by large cues and less RT benefit for compatible stimuli. Poor decoders also showed reduced modulation of ERPs by cue-size at left hemisphere posterior sites (N1) and by flanker compatibility at right hemisphere posterior sites (N1) and frontal sites (N2), consistent with processing differences in fronto-parietal attention networks. These findings have potential implications for understanding the relationship between spatial attention and phonological decoding in dyslexia.

Evaluative priming in a semantic flanker task: ERP evidence for a mutual facilitation explanation

In semantic flanker tasks, target categorization response times are affected by the semantic compatibility of the flanker and target. With positive and negative category exemplars, we investigated the influence of evaluative congruency (whether flanker and target share evaluative valence) on the flanker effect, using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. We hypothesized a moderation of the flanker effect by evaluative congruency on the basis of the assumption that evaluatively congruent concepts mutually facilitate each other's activation (see Schmitz & Wentura in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 38:984-1000, 2012). Applying an onset delay of 50ms for the flanker, we aimed to decrease the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent flanker on target encoding and, at the same time, increase the facilitative effect of an evaluatively congruent target on flanker encoding. As a consequence of increased flanker activation in the case of evaluative congruency, we expected a semantically incompatible flanker to interfere with the target categorization to a larger extent (as compared with an evaluatively incongruent pairing). Confirming our hypotheses, the flanker effect significantly depended on evaluative congruency, in both mean response times and N2 mean amplitudes. Thus, the present study provided behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for the mutual facilitation of evaluatively congruent concepts. Implications for the representation of evaluative connotations of semantic concepts are discussed.

No difference in flanker effects for sad and happy schematic faces: A parametric study of temporal parameters

Flanker effects with schematic faces have been reported to be larger for happy than for sad faces, allegedly because sad faces restrict the focus of spatial attention. We report a parametric study that fails to replicate this effect. Participants performed speeded identifications of happy or sad faces accompanied by compatible or incompatible flanker faces. We varied the temporal interval between presentation of central target and flanker faces because differential attentional effects of happy and sad faces should critically depend on this variable. In contradiction to the literature, we found large compatibility effects that were modulated by temporal parameters, but not by the emotional valence of the faces, and not in the way consistent with differential attentional modulation. We conclude that previously reported asymmetries in flanker tasks with schematic faces are not due to changes in attentional scope (mediated by emotion or otherwise), but rather to perceptual low-level differences.

Doubts about actions and flanker incongruity-related potentials and performance

The brain networks that are involved in flanker incongruity and error processing are also consistently implicated in mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that feature increased “Doubts about Actions” (DaA) scores. In the present study we investigated whether DaA scores, similar to what has been found for its positive correlate, OCD symptom severity scores, predict less interference from incompatible flankers during an Eriksen flanker task. Sixteen healthy right-handed female participants performed the flanker task and event-related potentials to the stimuli were recorded. DaA, but not other trait measures such as concern over mistakes and punishment sensitivity, related to less interference from incompatible flankers on performance and a smaller increase in N2 amplitude on incongruent compared to congruent flanker trials. This seems to point to a strategy or focused attention capacity to minimize flanker interference effects. The present results suggest that specific attentional capacities or strategies that appear to characterize disorders such as OCD, are related to disorder-associated traits in healthy populations as well.

Childhood aerobic fitness predicts cognitive performance one year later

Aerobically fit children outperform less fit peers on cognitive control challenges that involve inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. The aim of this study was to determine whether, compared with less fit children, more fit 9- and 10-year-old pre-adolescents exhibit superior performance on a modified compatible and incompatible flanker task of cognitive control at the initial time of fitness testing and approximately one year later. We found that more fit children demonstrated increased flanker accuracy at both test sessions, coupled with a superior ability to flexibly allocate strategies during task conditions that required different amounts of cognitive control, relative to less fit children. More fit children also gained a speed benefit at follow-up testing. Structural MRI data were also collected to investigate the relationship between basal ganglia volume and task performance. Bilateral putamen volumes of the dorsal striatum and globus pallidus volumes predicted flanker performance at initial and follow-up testing one year later. The present findings suggest that childhood aerobic fitness and basal ganglia volumes relate to cognitive control at the time of fitness testing and may play a role in cognitive performance in the future. We hope that this research will encourage public health and educational changes that will promote a physically active lifestyle in children.

On the relationship between flanker interference and localized attentional interference

The flanker interference (FI) effect suggests that visual attention operates like a mental spotlight, enhancing all stimuli within a selected region. In contrast, other data suggest difficulty dividing attention between objects near one another in the visual field, an effect termed localized attentional interference (LAI). The present experiment examined the relationship between these phenomena. Observers made speeded identity judgments of a colored target letter embedded among gray fillers. A response-compatible or -incompatible flanker of a non-target color appeared at varying distances from the target. Data gave evidence of LAI and spatially-graded FI, with mean RTs and flanker effects both decreasing with target-flanker separation. Both effects were reduced when target location was pre-cued and when the target was of higher salience than the flanker. Results suggest that the distribution of spatial attention modulates the strength of objects competing for selection, with this competition underlying both the FI and LAI effects.

Responsiveness to distracting stimuli, though increased in Parkinson's disease, is decreased in asymptomatic PINK1 and Parkin mutation carriers

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are more sensitive than healthy controls to response-triggering by irrelevant flanking stimuli in speeded choice-response tasks. This increased responsiveness may either indicate a lack of executive control or reflect compensatory efforts to cope with the reduced internal motor drive. Of interest in this context is whether responsiveness is already enhanced in the presymptomatic stage of PD. To address these questions, we studied a group of non-manifesting carriers of heterozygous Parkin and PINK1 mutations while they performed a choice-response task with response-compatible or incompatible flankers. These mutation carriers may be considered a model for pre-clinical PD because the mutant allele leads to a latent nigrostriatal dysfunction and may increase the risk for PD. For comparison, we studied groups of medicated patients with idiopathic PD and of healthy persons age-matched to the mutation carriers and to the patients.Measurements of reaction time, error rate, and the lateralized readiness potential of the EEG provided converging evidence that the mutation carriers were less responsive to distracting flankers than their healthy control group. In contrast, PD patients were more distractible by flankers than their control group, which replicated previous results. Mutation carriers also showed a smaller N2 component of the event-related EEG potential in trials with incompatible flankers relative to their control group, which might indicate reduced inhibitory control.We hypothesize that faulty executive control is the primary deficit, reflected by the reduced N2 component in the mutation carriers. To compensate for this deficit, mutation carriers change their strategy of speed-accuracy trade-off, in order to dampen the excitability of their lateral motor system. Disease progression might prevent symptomatic PD patients from using this compensatory mechanism, leading to increased disinhibition of their lateral motor system.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex modulates response interference in a flanker task

In a typical flanker task, responses to a central target (“S” or “N”) are modulated by whether the flankers are compatible (“SSSSS”) or incompatible (“NNSNN”), with increased reaction times and decreased accuracy on incompatible trials. The role of the motor system in response interference under these conditions remains unclear, however. Here we show that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left primary motor cortex modulates the amount of flanker interference depending on the hand used for the response. Left motor TMS delivered at 200 ms after the onset of the array increased interference from incompatible flankers (“SSNSS”) when the target response was associated with the contralateral motor response (i.e. for “N” responses with the right hand), relative to when responses were to targets using the (left) hand ipsilateral to the site of TMS. Interestingly, under identical conditions, the degree of flanker interference was reduced when the TMS pulse was applied later in time. The analyses of the TMS-induced motor evoked potentials pointed to motor activity varying in the same conditions. We discuss the implications for understanding response interference and the role of the primary motor cortex in response selection.

The effect of mental load on attention: an ERP study

Event Abstract Back to Event The effect of mental load on attention: an ERP study Livia Gabriella Pató1* and I Czigler1 1 Institute for Psychology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary In this study we examined the effect of mental load on the processing of novel stimuli using the method of event related potentials (ERPs). A Go/no-go match/mismatch variant of the flanker task was introduced on two levels of mental load. For the high mental load participants performed a concurrent memory-scanning task. Novel stimuli (butterflies) replaced the distractor or they were presented without task relevant stimuli (go or no-go). Reaction time (RT) was slower in the dual task (a behavioral effect of mental load). RT increased in the presence of incompatible flanker and also in case of the presentation of novel as distractor. Unexpectedly, P3b amplitude increased in the higher mental load condition, irrespective of the type of irrelevant stimuli (compatible or incompatible flanker or novel). Mental load had no effect on the amplitude and latency of the P3a component. However P3a amplitude was sensitive to the task-relevance of the stimuli it was presented with: as the task relevance decreased, the amplitude became smaller. Conference: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience, Bodrum, Turkey, 1 Sep - 5 Sep, 2008. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Attention Citation: Pató L and Czigler I (2008). The effect of mental load on attention: an ERP study. Conference Abstract: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.103 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 03 Dec 2008; Published Online: 03 Dec 2008. * Correspondence: Livia Gabriella Pató, Institute for Psychology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary, livia@cogpsyphy.hu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Livia Gabriella Pató I Czigler Google Livia Gabriella Pató I Czigler Google Scholar Livia Gabriella Pató I Czigler PubMed Livia Gabriella Pató I Czigler Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

On the relationship between flanker interference and localized attentional interference

The flanker interference (FI) effect suggests that visual attention operates like a mental spotlight, enhancing all stimuli within a selected region. In contrast, other data suggest difficulty dividing attention between objects near one another in the visual field, an effect termed localized attentional interference (LAI). The present experiment examined the relationship between these phenomena. Observers made speeded identity judgments of a colored target letter embedded among gray fillers. A response-compatible or -incompatible flanker of a non-target color appeared at varying distances from the target. Data gave evidence of LAI and spatially-graded FI, with mean RTs and flanker effects both decreasing with target–flanker separation. Both effects were reduced when target location was pre-cued and when the target was of higher salience than the flanker. Results suggest that the distribution of spatial attention modulates the strength of objects competing for selection, with this competition underlying both the FI and LAI effects.

Tourette's syndrome: performance on tests of behavioural inhibition, working memory and gambling

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with fronto-striatal dysfunction. There is debate as to the extent to which TS is associated with cognitive impairment. Some authors argue that any impairments seen are attributable to comorbid psychiatric symptomatology, whilst others have suggested that uncomplicated TS is associated with mild deficits limited primarily to inhibitory processes. The present study was designed to examine this issue using carefully screened participants with TS and experimental measures thought to involve different areas of the frontal lobes. Adolescents with TS who were screened for comorbid psychiatric disorder were compared with a healthy control group on a set of executive measures. Two tasks involving behavioural inhibition were used: a Sentence Completion task in which sentences had to be completed first with straightforward and then with nonsensical endings, and a Flanker task in which a central stimulus was surrounded by either compatible or incompatible flankers. Working memory was assessed using an N-back task, and reward learning was assessed using a Gambling task. Both accuracy and reaction times were measured for each task. The TS group differed significantly from the control group on both the Sentence Completion task and on the Flanker task. On the Sentence Completion task, they were slower to make both sensible and nonsensical completions, and they had higher error scores on the nonsensical completions. On the Flanker task, the TS participants were less accurate than the control group, since they were poorer on the incompatible but not the compatible trials. A similar interaction with trial type was found for speed, where the TS participants were slowed more by the incompatible versus compatible trials, although overall their performance tended to be faster than the controls. The TS group did not differ significantly from the control group on measures of working memory or reward learning. The findings provide further evidence that uncomplicated TS is not associated with widespread executive impairments. However, it was not clear that any differences between the groups could be attributed solely to selective inhibitory impairment.

Facilitation and inhibition mechanisms of human visuospatial attention in a non-search task

This study investigated both facilitation and inhibition mechanisms of attentional orienting. Orienting consists in shifting the attentional focus in the visual field. To study the distribution of attentional resources, a two-choice-reaction time task with compatible and incompatible flankers was used. When an irrelevant flanker is presented adjacent to a target stimulus, interference is observed when the two stimuli are associated with conflicting responses (flanker effect). Orienting of attention, at cued and uncued flanker locations, was manipulated by an exogenous cueing paradigm (automatic capture following a peripheral visual transient). Results showed that orienting of attention at cued distractor location produces an increased flanker effect as compared to the no-cue condition. In contrast, the flanker effect was absent when the attentional focus shifted to the uncued distractor location. These effects were interpreted in terms of facilitation and inhibition processes of visuospatial selection by early attentional competition models.

Is attentional focusing an inhibitory process at distractor location?

This study investigated whether attentional focusing is an inhibitory mechanism of lateral distractor stimuli. Attentional focusing is defined as the visual system capacity to vary the spatial extent of the attended area without shifting attention. A two-choice-reaction time task with compatible and incompatible flankers was used. Results were interpreted on the basis of the time course of attentional focusing.

Response channel activation and the lateral prefrontal cortex

The role of lateral prefrontal cortex in transducing perception into action was studied in 10 patients with chronic, unilateral lesions. They identified colors in the center of a visual display, while a flanking, distractor color was presented simultaneously in either the ipsilesional or contralesional field. The flanker could be either the same color as the target, or incompatible with the correct response. The effects of compatible and incompatible flankers on reaction time (RT) served as a measure of response channel activation by the flanker. Flankers in the contralesional field influenced RT less than did those in the ipsilesional field. These results suggest that the lateral prefrontal cortex is involved in maintaining stimulus-response channels.