Frontal and parietal ERPs associated with duration discriminations with or without task interference

Brain Res. 2007 Sep 19:1170:79-89. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2007.07.022. Epub 2007 Jul 20.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine fronto-parietal networks underlying visual duration discriminations. Two types of interference tasks were used to augment cognitive load: line orientation associated with the right hemisphere and multiplication with the left. Both subtasks deteriorated duration discriminations, more severely for line orientation. Relative to the condition without interference, the dual task paradigm decreased amplitudes of the contingent negative variation (CNV) wave, predominant at frontal sites, and the P300 wave, predominant at parietal sites. Inversely, amplitudes of a later appearing positive component (LPC) and its parietal counterpart of opposite polarity (LNC) increased with spatial or numeric task interference. These results are concordant with the view that fronto-parietal networks underlying duration discriminations act in a concerted fashion, with the LPC/LNC waves acting as a warning signal to mitigate errors during high cognitive load.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Discrimination, Psychological / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Event-Related Potentials, P300 / physiology
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nerve Net / anatomy & histology
  • Nerve Net / physiology
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Parietal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Prefrontal Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology*
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Time Factors
  • Time Perception / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology
  • Young Adult