Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, Department of Psychology, Ostenstraße 25, 85072 Eichstätt, Germany.
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, Department of Psychology, Ostenstraße 25, 85072 Eichstätt, Germany.
Neuropsychologia. 2018 Jun;114:32-40. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.04.014. Epub 2018 Apr 20.
Task preparation in dual-tasking is more complex than preparation for single tasks and involves additional factors such as task prioritization. Utilizing event-related potentials, we sought to disentangle preparatory processes involving preparation on the subtask level and the superordinate dual-task level. Participants worked on a psychological refractory period paradigm in which two temporally overlapping tasks have to be completed in a specified order. Whereas dual-task-related preparation was measured by comparing task-order switches and repetitions, subtask preparation was isolated through error precursors for the individual subtasks. We found that a switch-related posterior positivity was linked to the preparation of the superordinate dual-task set. In contrast, an early frontal modulation and a stimulus-preceding negativity were markers of subtask preparation of Task 1 and Task 2, respectively. Our study provides neural evidence for a hierarchical system of control processes in dual-tasking and confirms assumptions from earlier behavioral and computational studies on strategic task prioritization.
双任务中的任务准备比单一任务的准备更为复杂，涉及到任务优先级等额外因素。我们利用事件相关电位，试图厘清涉及子任务层面和总体双任务层面准备的预备过程。参与者在心理不应期范式中工作，在该范式中，两个时间上重叠的任务必须按照规定的顺序完成。虽然双任务相关的准备是通过比较任务顺序的切换和重复来衡量的，但通过单独的子任务的错误前兆来隔离子任务的准备。我们发现，与切换相关的后正波与上级双任务集的准备有关。相比之下，早期的额部调制和刺激前负波分别是任务 1 和任务 2 的子任务准备的标志。我们的研究为双任务中的分层控制过程提供了神经证据，并证实了早期关于策略性任务优先级的行为和计算研究的假设。
