Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
Neuroimage. 2021 May 15;232:117870. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117870. Epub 2021 Feb 16.
Humans are capable of flexibly converting symbolic instructions into novel behaviors. Previous evidence and theoretical models suggest that the implementation of a novel instruction requires the reformatting of its declarative content into an action-oriented code optimized for the execution of the instructed behavior. While neuroimaging research focused on identifying the brain areas involved in such a process, the temporal and electrophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. These mechanisms, however, can provide information about the specific cognitive processes that characterize the proceduralization of information. In the present study, we recorded EEG activity while we asked participants to either simply maintain declaratively the content of novel S-R mappings or to proactively prepare for their implementation. By means of time-frequency analyses, we isolated the oscillatory features specific to the proceduralization of instructions. Implementation of the instructed mappings elicited stronger theta activity over frontal electrodes and suppression in mu and beta activity over central electrodes. On the contrary, activity in the alpha band, which has been shown to track the attentional deployment to task-relevant items, showed no differences between tasks. Together, these results support the idea that proceduralization of information is characterized by specific component processes such as orchestrating complex task settings and configuring the motor system that are not observed when instructions are held in a declarative format.
人类能够灵活地将符号指令转化为新的行为。先前的证据和理论模型表明，执行新指令需要将其陈述性内容重新格式化为面向行动的代码，以优化所指示行为的执行。虽然神经影像学研究侧重于确定涉及该过程的大脑区域，但时间和电生理机制仍知之甚少。然而，这些机制可以提供有关信息程序化的具体认知过程的信息。在本研究中，我们在参与者被要求简单地保持新的 S-R 映射的陈述性内容或主动准备执行该内容时记录了 EEG 活动。通过时频分析，我们分离了特定于指令程序化的振荡特征。所指示的映射的执行在额叶电极上引起更强的θ活动，并在中央电极上抑制μ和β活动。相反，已经表明与任务相关项目的注意力部署相关的α波段的活动在任务之间没有差异。总的来说，这些结果支持了这样一种观点，即信息的程序化是以特定的组成过程为特征的，例如协调复杂的任务设置和配置运动系统，而当指令以陈述性格式保持时则不会观察到这些过程。
