title: The time course of cognitive control implementation.
abstract: Optimally recruiting cognitive control is a key factor in efficient task performance. In line with influential cognitive control theories, earlier work assumed that control is relatively slow. We challenge this notion and test whether control also can be implemented more rapidly by investigating the time course of cognitive control. In two experiments, a visual discrimination paradigm was applied. A reward cue was presented with variable intervals to target onset. The results showed that reward cues can rapidly improve performance. Importantly, the reward manipulation was orthogonal to the response, ensuring that the reward effect was due to fast cognitive control implementation rather than to automatic activation of rewarded S-R associations. We also empirically specify the temporal limits of cognitive control, because the reward cue had no effect when it was presented shortly after target onset, during task execution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. Clio.Janssens@Ugent.be.
authors.forename: Clio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Janssens
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Loof
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pourtois
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Verguts
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D003463:Cues; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time; D012201:Reward; D012858:Size Perception; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Reward; Visual attention