Exploring short- and long-term dynamics of context-specific adjustments of cognitive control
Final Report Abstract
One of the hallmarks of human behavior is its flexibility: we are able to adjust to an everchanging environment and to new situational requirements. This not only holds for long-term evolutionary time-scales but also for moment-to-moment changes in environmental contexts. A prominent example, that most people experience every day, can be found when navigating traffic on the road. We adjust our attentional focus to high and low traffic situations naturally. From this example, it is clear that it is the context that often determines how we execute the task and how we allocate attentional resources to reach our goals. This project investigated the mechanisms how changing environmental contexts influence adjustments in cognitive control, focusing on the context-specific proportion congruency (CSPC) effect. Whether these CSPC effects reflect genuine cognitive control adaptations or arise from simple stimulus-response predictions remains debated. Additionally, the project explored the potential costs of such flexibility, particularly its impact on long-term learning and adaptation. To this end, the project used several methodological approaches: We applied EEG combined with steady-state evoked potentials and analysis of theta oscillations to study the neural correlates of context adjustments which should shed light on the processes underlying the CSPC effects. We studied long-term effects of control adjustments in multi-session experiments to learn how stable these adjustments are. Complementing these studies of long-term dynamics, we studied the short-term dynamics of the adjustments using Computer Mouse Tracking experiments. Finally, we used a virtual reality (VR) experiment to study the generalizability of these adjustments, going beyond the usual simple visual context to multimodal and more complex visuo-auditiv contexts and to bodily anchored contexts. Overall, the project aimed to advance the understanding of how humans adapt cognitive control in response to different environmental demands, highlighting both the benefits and potential drawbacks of this flexibility. These insights could have practical implications for optimizing training programs, improving work environments, and designing interventions for individuals with cognitive control deficits.
Publications
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Continuous goal representations: Distance in representational space affects goal switching. Memory & Cognition, 53(6), 1656-1676.
Senftleben, Ulrike; Frisch, Simon; Dshemuchadse, Maja; Scherbaum, Stefan & Surrey, Caroline
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Frontal midline theta reveals temporal dynamics of target amplification and distracter inhibition during mental set-shifting. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 207, 112488.
Surrey, Caroline; Frisch, Simon; Maack, Marike Christiane; Scherbaum, Stefan; Dshemuchadse, Maja & Senftleben, Ulrike
