Masked stimuli alone can trigger inhibition in subliminal priming task: electrophysiologial evidence
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1
University of Surrey, United Kingdom
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2
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Reversal of reaction time benefits in subliminal motor priming tasks are often explained by inhibitory processes which follow the initial prime-induced motor activation. This inhibition is presumably induced by prime and mask (Sumner et al., 2006; Boy et al., 2008) and not linked to the target-related motor activation. This assumption was directly tested in an ERP study with 10 participants (mean age: 21yrs). Left or right arrow primes were masked with random lines for 100ms. Both were displayed as flanking stimuli relative to the central target position. The prime-target SOA was 150 ms. Masked primes and targets were either compatible, incompatible, or no targets were displayed (prime-mask condition). All conditions were equiprobable and randomised. The participant’s task was to respond to the left or right pointing target arrows with the left or right hand. Behavioural results showed slower responses and increased error rates in compatible (520 ms; 2.5%) compared to incompatible condition (494 ms; 0.6%). These behavioural compatibility reversal effects were also reflected in the Lateralized Readiness Potential (LRP) where the prime-induced response activation and subsequent inhibition phase was clearly visible prior to the target-related response activation. More interestingly, the prime-induced activation-inhibition pattern in the LRP was also found in the prime-mask condition. This pattern of findings cannot be explained by target-induced response tendencies or prime-target interactions as suggested by Lleras & Enns (2005). Rather, this study provides support from behavioural and LRP indices for the assumption that the reversal of reaction time benefits in subliminal motor priming is due to the inhibition of prime-mask induced response tendencies.
Keywords:
EEG,
Information Processing
Conference:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Sessions: Motor Information Processing
Citation:
Seiss
E,
Klippel
M,
Hope
C,
Dean
PJ and
Sterr
A
(2011). Masked stimuli alone can trigger inhibition in subliminal priming task: electrophysiologial evidence.
Conference Abstract:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00085
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Received:
16 Nov 2011;
Published Online:
25 Nov 2011.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Ellen Seiss, University of Surrey, Surrey, United Kingdom, e.seiss@surrey.ac.uk