Wavelet Analysis of Three Behavior Inhibition Tasks
Disciplines
Cognition and Perception | Cognitive Psychology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Impulse control is a vital component of success in life. Because of this, it is important to understand how impulse control functions. It is just as important to ensure that the tests used to study impulse control are valid. Using wavelet analysis, this study examined the efficacy of three inhibitory function tasks that are commonly used to study impulse control. These tasks are the eriksen flanker task, the stroop task, and the stop-signal task. The stop-signal task is hypothesized to be different from the other tests because it involves inhibiting a reaction to the stimuli, whereas the other tests require inhibiting irrelevant information. EEG was measured while participants completed all three tasks. After completing the wavelet analysis on the evoked signal response potentials at electrodes on the midline of the head, differences were found between the stop-signal task and the other two tasks. The stop-signal task shows a desynchronization of beta brain waves and a less prominent evoked sensory response. The other two tests do not. This implies that these tests may measure different components of impulse control.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Psychological Science
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Tim Martin
Additional Faculty
n/a
Wavelet Analysis of Three Behavior Inhibition Tasks
Impulse control is a vital component of success in life. Because of this, it is important to understand how impulse control functions. It is just as important to ensure that the tests used to study impulse control are valid. Using wavelet analysis, this study examined the efficacy of three inhibitory function tasks that are commonly used to study impulse control. These tasks are the eriksen flanker task, the stroop task, and the stop-signal task. The stop-signal task is hypothesized to be different from the other tests because it involves inhibiting a reaction to the stimuli, whereas the other tests require inhibiting irrelevant information. EEG was measured while participants completed all three tasks. After completing the wavelet analysis on the evoked signal response potentials at electrodes on the midline of the head, differences were found between the stop-signal task and the other two tasks. The stop-signal task shows a desynchronization of beta brain waves and a less prominent evoked sensory response. The other two tests do not. This implies that these tests may measure different components of impulse control.