title: Reach tracking reveals dissociable processes underlying cognitive control.
abstract: The current study uses reach tracking to investigate how cognitive control is implemented during online performance of the Stroop task (Experiment 1) and the Eriksen flanker task (Experiment 2). We demonstrate that two of the measures afforded by reach tracking, initiation time and reach curvature, capture distinct patterns of effects that have been linked to dissociable processes underlying cognitive control in electrophysiology and functional neuroimaging research. Our results suggest that initiation time reflects a response threshold adjustment process involving the inhibition of motor output, while reach curvature reflects the degree of co-activation between response alternatives registered by a monitoring process over the course of a trial. In addition to shedding new light on fundamental questions concerning how these processes contribute to the cognitive control of behavior, these results present a framework for future research to investigate how these processes function across different tasks, develop across the lifespan, and differ among individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 296 Eberhart Building, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA. Electronic address: Christopher.D.Erb@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Erb
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Williams College, 18 Hoxsey Street, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA; Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moher
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Joo-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D057190:Stroop Test; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Flanker task; Reach tracking; Stroop task; Trial sequence effect