Investigating Neural Correlates of Dual-Tasking and Task-Switching: A Meta-Analytic Approach
-
1
RWTH Aachen University, Division of Clinical and Cognitive Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Germany
-
2
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Germany
-
3
Research Centre Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Germany
-
4
RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Psychology, Germany
-
5
RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Germany
Many dual-tasking and task-switching studies have demonstrated limitations of the human cognitive system in performing several tasks at once. A number of functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments revealed a fronto-parietal network associated with performance decrements in both experimental settings. However, despite numerous commonalities across dual-tasking and task-switching, both paradigms have been investigated largely independently from each other. The current study provides new insights into the neural commonalities and differences of dual-tasking and task-switching by performing an Activation Likelihood Estimation meta-analysis of 17 dual-tasking and 22 task-switching neuroimaging experiments. Moreover, by contrasting 8 crossmodal and 9 unimodal dual-tasking experiments we investigated modality-specific effects. The results indicated activity associated with both paradigms in the left parietal lobule. Contrasted to dual-tasking, which yielded more consistent activation in left middle and superior frontal areas, task-switching evoked more consistent activation in the supplementary motor area (SMA). In contrast to unimodal dual-tasking, which did not evoke more consistent activation in any brain area, crossmodal dual-tasking yielded more consistent activation in a widespread bilateral frontal network. Results indicate a common neural base of limited information processing in task-switching and dual-tasking associated with increased activation in left parietal lobule. More consistent activation in SMA during task-switching suggests a more demanding process of task-set updating, while stronger activation during dual-tasking in left middle and superior frontal areas points to more demands on action planning, organization and regulation. Furthermore, we hypothesise that increased activation in frontal areas during crossmodal dual-tasking reflects a modality translation process due to modality-incompatibility of stimulus-response mappings.
Keywords:
fMRI,
interference,
PRP,
switch costs,
coordinate-based meta-analysis,
multi-tasking
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Cognition and Executive Processes
Citation:
Worringer
B,
Langner
R,
Koch
I,
Eickhoff
SB,
Rottschy
C and
Binkofski
F
(2015). Investigating Neural Correlates of Dual-Tasking and Task-Switching: A Meta-Analytic Approach.
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00033
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Britta Worringer, RWTH Aachen University, Division of Clinical and Cognitive Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Aachen, Germany, bworringer@ukaachen.de