Cognitive resource model for the information-processing of task-irrelevant visual stimuli.
In order to elucidate possible factors that effect P3s to task-irrelevant visual stimuli (non-target P3s), we made a normative visual event-related potential study with button-press tasks in four different conditions in which two factors (the number of colors of non-target stimuli, and the shape of the stimuli) were manipulated without any change in task nor target/non-target ratio. The peak distributions of non-target P3s (centrally peaking) were significantly different from those of task-relevant P3s (parietally peaking) in all conditions. The amplitude of non-target P3 decreased as the variety of colors of the non-target stimuli increased. The amplitude of non-target P3 to colored solid circles was larger than that of non-target P3 to colored Stroop stimuli. Between each condition, task- relevant P3 and reaction time showed no significant difference. Both the variety of non-target stimuli and the shape of the stimuli were shown to have effects on the amplitudes of non-target P3s without any alteration in task-relevant P3s. It is suggested that the amplitude behaviors of non-target P3s partly reflect the amount of cognitive resource allocated for each different kind of task-irrelevant visual stimuli.
Saito
Masanori
M
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. msaito@sc.itc.keio.ac.jp
Ishida
Tetsuhiro
T
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis