Practice-Related Effects in a Go-Nogo Task

Abstract

Comparison of an incoming stimulus with a memory template and the inhibition of an irrelevant response representation assumes these are separable processes differently affected by practice. Practice effects were studied in a visual Go-Nogo task which contained stimuli either compatible or incompatible with a response. Eight participants (19–28 years old, M = 23.3, SD = 3.6) performed the task with simultaneous EEG recording every morning during three consecutive weeks except weekends. Short-term, long-term, as well as weekday effects were analyzed. As a short-term effect, the false alarm rate became smaller; this was accompanied by an enhancement of the frontal N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP). As a long-term effect, the shortening of reaction time to incompatible stimuli and increase of the blink rate for Go trials was observed. Within the N2 two subcomponents, the early (N2e) and late (N2l) could be distinguished. N2e and N2l varied differently with the experimental manipulations. First, they showed different effects of stimulus compatibility. Second, the N2e was enhanced with practice irrespective of trial type, while the practice-related increase of the N2l was obtained for Nogo trials only. Third, the practice-related effects on components differed in scalp topography. The results suggest N2e reflects the comparison process and N2l the inhibition of an irrelevant response representation. Both processes improved with practice.