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Supine body posture reduces cognitive conflict processing: Evidence from N450 Stroop interference.
Chi-Kuang Sun1, Eddie Harmon-Jones1
1School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Psychophysiology
|September 30, 2020
Summary
Lying down (supine posture) reduces cognitive conflict processing, specifically the N450 brainwave, during the Stroop task compared to sitting upright. This suggests posture impacts cognitive control mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Factors
Background:
- Supine posture is linked to reduced approach motivation and cognitive dissonance reduction.
- Cognitive conflict processing precedes cognitive dissonance reduction.
- Event-related potentials like N450 and ERN are indicators of cognitive conflict.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a supine body posture decreases cognitive conflict processing.
- To examine the effect of body posture on Stroop task performance and associated event-related potentials.
Main Methods:
- A within-subjects design was employed with 35 participants.
- Participants completed a color-naming Stroop task in both upright and supine postures.
- Event-related potentials (N450, ERN) were recorded during task performance.
Main Results:
- The supine posture significantly reduced the N450 Stroop interference effect compared to the upright posture.
- The error-related negativity (ERN) was not affected by body posture.
- This indicates posture selectively influences certain aspects of cognitive conflict processing.
Conclusions:
- Body posture, specifically the supine position, can modulate cognitive conflict processing.
- The findings suggest that the supine posture may attenuate early neural responses associated with cognitive conflict, but not error detection.
