title: Investigating the modality specificity of response selection using a temporal flanker task.
abstract: The neurocognitive architecture for response selection is uncertain. Some theorists suggest that it is mediated by an amodal central mechanism, whereas others propose a set of independent control mechanisms. In a functional neuroimaging experiment, we investigated the nature of response selection by examining how its underlying brain mechanisms are affected by stimulus modality. To do this, we used a modified flanker task, in which the target and flanker (distractor) stimuli differed in time rather than space, making it accessible for both visual and auditory stimuli. As in the traditional flanker task, larger reaction times were observed for incongruent than congruent trials (i.e., a congruency effect) for both modalities. Congruency affected brain activation for both modalities in prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and the putamen. Modality-dependent activation was found in additional prefrontal and parietal regions for the visual modality and in left inferior prefrontal cortex for the auditory modality. Modality-dependent activity specifically related to response congruency was also found in sensory cortical regions. These data suggest that modality affects the brain regions throughout the cortex mediating response selection even for conceptually identical stimuli and tasks. They are consistent with the hypothesis that (at least partially) independent brain networks mediate response selection and that input modality may be a powerful factor for organizing neural activity to support task performance.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 654 Cherry Street, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. eschu@gatech.edu
authors.forename: Eric H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.forename: Hillary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schwarb
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lightman
authors.forename: Eliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hazeltine
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult