title: Temporal and spectral dynamics underlying cognitive control modulated by task-irrelevant stimulus-response learning.
abstract: Behavioral and recent neuroimaging findings have shown reversal of interference effects due to manipulating proportion congruency (PC), which suggests that task-irrelevant stimulus-response (S-R) associations are strengthened and applied to predict responses. However, it is unclear how the strengthened S-R associations are represented and applied in the brain. We investigated with a between-subjects PC paradigm of the Hedge and Marsh task using electroencephalography (EEG). The behavioral results showed the reversal of the conflict effects, suggesting that task-irrelevant S-R associations were strengthened and used to prepare responses. The EEG results revealed the PC-related reversal of the conflict effects in the frontocentral N2 and parietal P3b amplitudes. Time-frequency analyses showed more pronounced PC-related reversal of the conflict effects in theta band (4-8 Hz) activity in frontocentral sites. These results suggest that the strengthened S-R associations due to PC manipulation modulated cognitive control. Importantly, the amplitude of lateralized readiness potential was higher in the high-PC condition than in the low-PC condition, suggesting that the strengthened short-term-memory spatial S-R associations that modulated cognitive control were applied similarly to long-term-memory spatial S-R associations.
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yanan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China. yuezhenzhu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhenzhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China. lingwang@m.scnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004569:Electroencephalography; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011897:Random Allocation; D011930:Reaction Time; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Lateralized readiness potential; Proportion congruency effect; Stimulus-response associations; Theta band activity