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ERP correlates of response inhibition after-effects in the stop signal task

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Abstract

Several studies have found that response inhibition in the stop signal task is associated with a delay in subsequent response speed, which may result from the automatic retrieval of a conflicting stimulus-goal association. This study investigated the neurophysiological correlates of this sequence effect using event related potentials (ERPs). ERPs were recorded in 17 healthy people while they performed the stop signal task. We found reduced P3b amplitude for responses following successful inhibition, but only when the stimulus was repeated from the previous trial (repetition-after-effects). For responses following failed inhibition, P3b amplitude was reduced regardless of stimulus repetition status. We also found a general increase in frontal N2 amplitude on response trials following inhibition, regardless of stimulus repetition or behavioural slowing. The complex pattern of ERP findings, dependent on stimulus repetition and success of inhibition, suggests multiple sources of behavioural slowing in the present data. ERP findings suggest that a memory retrieval processes underlies the repetition component of inhibition after effects. These findings are considered within the broader context of ERP findings in the negative priming literature.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Verbruggen and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Daniel J. Upton, Peter G. Enticott & Paul B. Fitzgerald

  2. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred Hospital, Monash University, Prahran, VIC, Australia

    Peter G. Enticott & Paul B. Fitzgerald

  3. School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

    Rodney J. Croft

  4. Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Essex, UK

    Nicholas R. Cooper

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Upton
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  2. Peter G. Enticott
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  3. Rodney J. Croft
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  4. Nicholas R. Cooper
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  5. Paul B. Fitzgerald
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Correspondence to Daniel J. Upton.

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Upton, D.J., Enticott, P.G., Croft, R.J. et al. ERP correlates of response inhibition after-effects in the stop signal task. Exp Brain Res 206, 351–358 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2369-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2369-1

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