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Sequence effects support the conflict theory of N2 and P3 in the Go/NoGo task
Janette L Smith1, Elizabeth A Smith, Alexander L Provost
1School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah NSW 2258, Australia. janette.smith@newcastle.edu.au
Abstract:
In two-choice tasks the preceding sequence of stimuli robustly influences both the P3 ERP component and reaction time (RT) to the current stimulus. We examined sequence effects in both two-choice and Go/NoGo tasks to distinguish between inhibition and conflict accounts of the N2 and P3 components. RT results suggested similar subjective expectancies were generated in the Go/NoGo and two-choice task. N2 was increased for all unexpected stimuli, even when no response inhibition was required, consistent with a conflict interpretation. The Go/NoGo P3 results also suggested a conflict explanation, and that this conflict was reduced if the response had been recently performed. These results support a reconsideration of the roles of N2 and P3 in all inhibition and conflict tasks, and the Go/NoGo task in particular.
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