Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2011 Mar;108(3):484-503. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.10.004. Epub 2010 Nov 18.
This study set out to investigate developmental differences in the ability to switch between choice tasks and to shift between Go/NoGo and choice tasks. Three age groups (7-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and young adults) were asked to consider the shape or color of a bivalued target stimulus. The participants performed a switch task in which a cue signaled the task to be performed (i.e., respond to shape vs. respond to color) and a shift task in which a cue instructed them to make a choice reaction to the shape of the stimulus or to respond (Go) versus inhibit (NoGo) to the color of the stimulus. The ability to switch was examined by considering choice-choice switches versus choice-choice repeats. The ability to shift was examined by considering NoGo-to-choice shifts versus choice-choice repeats and NoGo-to-Go shifts versus Go-Go repeats. The results showed that responding on Go trials was delayed following response inhibition on a NoGo trial. This delay did not discriminate between age groups. Responding on choice trials was considerably slowed when following response inhibition on NoGo trials. This slowing decreased with advancing age. Finally, responses on switch trials were slower compared with repeat trials, and this slowing was disproportionately large in young children compared with the other two age groups. This pattern of findings was interpreted in terms of a generic mechanism involving between-trial control adjustments in the setting of response thresholds that are likely to be mediated by a complex neural network implicating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the presupplementary motor cortex.
本研究旨在探究在转换任务和从 Go/NoGo 任务转换到选择任务的能力方面的发展差异。三个年龄组（7 岁、11 岁和成年早期）被要求考虑双值目标刺激的形状或颜色。参与者执行切换任务，其中一个提示信号指示要执行的任务（即，对形状做出反应与对颜色做出反应），以及一个转换任务，其中一个提示指示他们对刺激的形状做出选择反应，或者对刺激的颜色做出反应（Go）与抑制（NoGo）。通过考虑选择-选择切换与选择-选择重复来检查切换能力。通过考虑 NoGo 到选择转换与选择-选择重复以及 NoGo 到 Go 转换与 Go-Go 重复来检查转换能力。结果表明，在 NoGo 试验中进行反应抑制后，Go 试验的反应延迟。这种延迟在年龄组之间没有差异。在 NoGo 试验中进行反应抑制后，选择试验的反应明显减慢。这种减慢随着年龄的增长而降低。最后，与重复试验相比，切换试验的反应较慢，与其他两个年龄组相比，幼儿的这种减慢幅度较大。这种发现模式可以用一种涉及在反应阈值设置中进行试验间控制调整的通用机制来解释，这种调整可能由涉及背外侧前额叶皮层和补充运动前皮层的复杂神经网络介导。
