Rethinking Inhibition in the Equiprobable Go/NoGo Task
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1
University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Australia
Aims: The standard Go/NoGo task has a relatively high probability of Go stimuli, establishing a dominant bias to respond. In that context, the lower probability NoGo stimulus requires inhibition to overcome the Go bias and withhold the response. The equiprobable Go/NoGo task differs from this conventional task because it lacks the dominant Go imperative. Some years ago in an Orienting Reflex context we established that the NoGo response in this paradigm was less effortful than the Go response, and hence we regarded the NoGo stimulus as "indifferent", involving little inhibition in its processing. Following this perspective, we recently proposed a processing schema for the equiprobable Go/NoGo task, conceptualising the sequential processes involved and their ERP indicators. We have since broadly supported this schema in a number of studies of adults and children. However, children find this task relatively difficult, and show large frontal NoGo N2s compared with adults. Hence this study investigated whether this child N2 plays an inhibitory role in the equiprobable Go/NoGo task, focusing on the link between N2 and performance measures.
Method: Forty children aged 8 to 13 years were presented with 300 Go and 300 NoGo tones in random order (with frequency/condition counterbalanced between subjects) in four blocks separated by brief rest periods. A temporal PCA with unrestricted VARIMAX rotation was used to quantify the mean Go and NoGo ERP components.
Results: Eight components were identified and most were differentially enhanced to Go or NoGo as in adults, further supporting our differential processing schema. Pearson correlations confirmed expected age effects in performance, and most importantly, indicated that larger frontocentral NoGo N2s were associated with fewer commission errors.
Conclusions: NoGo N2 displayed an inhibitory function in children in this study. Further consideration of the nature and role of inhibition in the equiprobable Go/NoGo paradigm is therefore required.
Keywords:
Equiprobable auditory Go/NoGo paradigm,
ERPs,
performance,
Children,
inhibition
Conference:
Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Inc, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 26 Nov - 28 Nov, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Psychophysiology
Citation:
Barry
RJ and
De Blasio
FM
(2014). Rethinking Inhibition in the Equiprobable Go/NoGo Task.
Conference Abstract:
Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Inc.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.216.00027
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Received:
15 Oct 2014;
Published Online:
02 Dec 2014.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Robert J Barry, University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia, rbarry@uow.edu.au