Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Psychophysiology. 2018 Feb;55(2). doi: 10.1111/psyp.12980. Epub 2017 Aug 28.
In many published studies, various modifications of the flanker task have been used. Regardless of the flanker task version, the conflict N2 component has been consistently reported and interpreted as evidence for the resolution of conflict introduced by incongruent flankers. However, ERP studies that used the most basic flanker task (i.e., a version with equiprobable congruent and incongruent conditions in which only congruency between the target and flankers is manipulated) have not provided compelling evidence for the conflict N2 component. We report the results of a large-sample ERP study employing a basic flanker task that allowed us to revisit the mechanism underlying the resolution of conflict introduced by incongruent flankers. In the behavioral data, we observed the classic effect of congruency. In the ERP data, we found three conflict-sensitive components: (a) an early frontal component, presumably corresponding to P2, (b) P300 for congruent trials, followed by (c) P300 for incongruent trials. We did not find evidence for the conflict N2 component. Based on a review of literature, we propose that the conflict N2 component observed in a basic flanker task might be a frontal aspect of the P300 component. Given previous attempts to attribute the functional role of the ERP components, the absence of the conflict N2 in the basic flanker task suggests that response inhibition may not be crucial for the resolution of conflict induced by incongruent flankers. Instead, the P2 component appears to indicate that selective attention might play an important role in resolving the flanker conflict.
在许多已发表的研究中，已经使用了各种变体的侧抑制任务。无论使用哪种侧抑制任务版本，冲突 N2 成分都被一致报道，并被解释为解决由不一致的侧抑制引起的冲突的证据。然而，使用最基本的侧抑制任务（即，具有相同概率的一致和不一致条件的版本，其中仅操纵目标和侧抑制之间的一致性）的 ERP 研究并没有为冲突 N2 成分提供令人信服的证据。我们报告了一项大型 ERP 研究的结果，该研究采用了基本的侧抑制任务，使我们能够重新审视解决不一致的侧抑制引起的冲突的机制。在行为数据中，我们观察到了一致性的经典效应。在 ERP 数据中，我们发现了三个冲突敏感成分：（a）一个早期的额部成分，大概对应于 P2；（b）一致条件下的 P300，随后是（c）不一致条件下的 P300。我们没有发现冲突 N2 成分的证据。基于对文献的回顾，我们提出在基本的侧抑制任务中观察到的冲突 N2 成分可能是 P300 成分的额部方面。鉴于先前尝试归因于 ERP 成分的功能作用，在基本的侧抑制任务中没有冲突 N2 表明反应抑制可能不是解决不一致的侧抑制引起的冲突的关键。相反，P2 成分似乎表明选择性注意可能在解决侧抑制冲突中发挥重要作用。
