Biomedical subjects

Sonia Allain

Publications and source records attributed to Sonia Allain.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Sequential compatibility effects and cognitive control: does conflict really matter?

Although it is widely accepted that control mechanisms are necessary for human behavior to be adapted, very little is known about how such mechanisms are recruited. A suggestion to fill the gap was put forward by M. M. Botvinick, T. S. Braver, C. S. Carter, D. M. Barch, and J. D. Cohen (2001), who proposed the conflict-loop theory. This theory has been successful in accounting for the reduction of compatibility effects after an incompatible trial: The level of conflict being, on average, higher during an incompatible trial, more control occurs after such a trial. The authors have tested this prediction by sorting the trials on the basis of amount of conflict (quantified by the electromyographic activity) they presented. A reduction of the compatibility effect was observed after incompatible trials, but it was independent of the level of conflict on previous trials, suggesting that the conflict does not trigger changes in executive control. Consequences for the conflict monitoring model are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The modulation of the Ne-like wave on correct responses foreshadows errors.

In reaction time (RT) tasks, event-related potentials (ERPs) reveal a response-locked negative wave when subjects commit errors. This wave, termed "error negativity" (Ne) or "error-related negativity" (ERN), is thought to index response-monitoring processes. With conventional monopolar recordings, this negativity is hardly seen on correct responses, likely overlapped by a large positive wave. Indeed, after Laplacian transformation (a spatial high-pass filter), a small Ne-like wave is unmasked. Recently, it has been shown that the positivity on monopolar recordings was larger for correct responses preceding an error than for correct responses preceding a correct trial. After Laplacian transformation, it appears that this effect is due, at least in part, to a decrease of the Ne-like wave on correct responses preceding an error. This result indicates that, as the Ne on errors, the Ne-like wave on correct responses is sensitive to performance and hence is likely related to response-monitoring processes.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

On-line executive control: an electromyographic study.

In a choice reaction time (RT) task, electromyographic (EMG) recordings allowed us to fractionate RT into two subcomponents, namely premotor time and motor time. This has been done for correct trials and errors. The analysis of the EMG burst and motor time (between EMG onset and overt response) showed that the EMG burst amplitude was reduced and the motor time was longer for errors than for correct responses. In the same way as posterror slowing on the RT was interpreted as revealing between-trials changes in executive control, the present data provide direct evidence for an on-line, within-trial, executive control.

Adult↗