Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
Revised and Neuroimaging-Compatible Versions of the Dual Task Screen
Published on: October 5, 2020
Dual-task repetition alters event-related brain potentials and task performance
Tetsuo Kida1, Takeshi Kaneda, Yoshiaki Nishihira
1Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. tkida@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Objective:
We examined the modulation of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and the accuracy of sensori-motor coordination on short-term repetition of the concurrent performance of a somatosensory discrimination (oddball) task and a visuo-motor tracking task.
Methods:
The subjects concurrently performed visuomotor tracking and somatosensory oddball tasks. In the dual-task condition, the subjects performed the visuomotor tracking and somatosensory oddball tasks concurrently for about an hour. In the oddball-only condition, they performed just the oddball task for the same period.
Results:
Tracking performance improved with task repetition. The amplitude of the P300 elicited by somatosensory stimulation in the oddball-only condition decreased significantly with task repetition, whereas in the dual-task condition, it showed a complex pattern of change. The earlier responses were decreased in amplitude in the dual-task condition compared to the oddball-only condition, and gradually decreased with task repetition in both conditions.
Conclusions:
Dynamic changes in ERPs and task performance with dual-task repetition support the idea that dual-task repetition produces changes in resource allocation following the automation of stimulus processing in addition to so-called habituation.
Significance:
This study also provides evidence for use of ERP amplitudes as physiological indices of functionally different types of resources.
