School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China; School of Business Administration, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang 330099, China.
School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China.
Behav Brain Res. 2022 Sep 26;434:114025. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114025. Epub 2022 Jul 25.
The study aimed to explore the effect of hierarchical complexity on task switching. The participants (n = 36) were asked to perform a magnitude or parity judgement on digits (1-9) in the hierarchical simple or complex block. In the simple block, participants made a numerical judgement on the presented digit (1-9) in each trial, whereas in the complex block, they had to first identify whether the digit in the current trial belonged to a predefined category (e.g., whether it was an even number), then perform a numerical judgement or not respond. The behavioural results revealed a significant interaction between hierarchical complexity and transition type (repeat vs. switch), with greater switch cost in the complex than in the simple block. Event-related potentials (ERPs) locked in the cue stage did not reveal this interaction, whereas the ERPs locked in the target stage revealed this interaction during the N2 and P3 time windows, with a larger switch negativity (switch minus repeat) in the complex than in the simple block. These findings demonstrate that an increase in hierarchical complexity triggers increased reactive control in the inhibition of the old task-set and reconfiguration of the new task-set during task switching.
这项研究旨在探讨层次复杂性对任务转换的影响。参与者（n=36）被要求在简单或复杂层次的数字（1-9）块上执行大小或奇偶判断。在简单块中，参与者在每次试验中对呈现的数字（1-9）进行数值判断，而在复杂块中，他们必须首先确定当前试验中的数字是否属于预定义类别（例如，是否为偶数），然后进行数值判断或不响应。行为结果显示，层次复杂性和转换类型（重复与转换）之间存在显著的相互作用，在复杂块中的转换代价大于简单块。在提示阶段锁定的事件相关电位（ERPs）没有显示出这种相互作用，而在目标阶段锁定的 ERPs 在 N2 和 P3 时间窗口中显示出这种相互作用，在复杂块中的转换负波（转换减去重复）大于简单块。这些发现表明，层次复杂性的增加会在任务转换过程中触发对旧任务集的抑制和新任务集的重新配置的反应性控制的增加。
