Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026
Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis
Published on: June 20, 2012
The Stroop matching task presents conflict at both the response and nonresponse levels: an event-related potential
A L Caldas1, W Machado-Pinheiro, L B Souza
1Departamento de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Instituto Biomédico, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil.
Abstract:
In the Stroop matching task, a Stroop word is compared to a colored bar. The origin of the conflict presented by this task is a topic of current debate. In an effort to disentangle nonresponse and response conflicts, we recorded electromyography (EMG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) while participants performed the task. The N450 component was sensitive to the relationship of color surfaces, regardless of the response, suggesting the participation of nonresponse conflict. Incompatible arrays (e.g., incongruent Stroop stimuli during "same" responses) presented a substantial amount of double EMG activation and slower EMG latencies, suggesting the participation of response conflict. We propose that both response and nonresponse conflicts are sources of these effects. The combined use of the EMG and ERP techniques played an important role in elucidating the conflicts immersed in the Stroop matching task.
