Murphy Peter R, van Moort Marianne L, Nieuwenhuis Sander
Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Department of Educational Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2016 Mar 24;11(3):e0151763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151763. eCollection 2016.
Reaction time (RT) is commonly observed to slow down after an error. This post-error slowing (PES) has been thought to arise from the strategic adoption of a more cautious response mode following deployment of cognitive control. Recently, an alternative account has suggested that PES results from interference due to an error-evoked orienting response. We investigated whether error-related orienting may in fact be a pre-cursor to adaptive post-error behavioral adjustment when the orienting response resolves before subsequent trial onset. We measured pupil dilation, a prototypical measure of autonomic orienting, during performance of a choice RT task with long inter-stimulus intervals, and found that the trial-by-trial magnitude of the error-evoked pupil response positively predicted both PES magnitude and the likelihood that the following response would be correct. These combined findings suggest that the magnitude of the error-related orienting response predicts an adaptive change of response strategy following errors, and thereby promote a reconciliation of the orienting and adaptive control accounts of PES.
人们普遍观察到，反应时间（RT）在出现错误后会变慢。这种错误后变慢（PES）被认为是在认知控制发挥作用后，策略性地采用更谨慎的反应模式所致。最近，另一种观点认为，PES是由错误引发的定向反应所导致的干扰引起的。我们研究了在定向反应在随后的试验开始前得到解决时，与错误相关的定向是否实际上是适应性错误后行为调整的先兆。我们在一个具有长刺激间隔的选择反应时任务中测量了瞳孔扩张，这是自主定向的典型指标，并发现错误诱发的瞳孔反应的逐次试验幅度正向预测了PES幅度以及随后反应正确的可能性。这些综合发现表明，与错误相关的定向反应幅度预测了错误后反应策略的适应性变化，从而促进了对PES的定向和适应性控制解释的调和。
