Investigating anticipatory processes during sequentially changing reward prospect: An ERP study

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Decision Science

Background:

• Voluntary task switching involves a balance between stability and flexibility.
• Reward prospect is known to influence cognitive control, but the precise mechanisms are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how reward expectations modulate the stability-flexibility balance in voluntary task switching.
• To explore the neural mechanisms underlying reward anticipation and its impact on cognitive control using event-related potentials.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted involving voluntary task switching.
• Reward cue-locked event-related potentials (P2, P3b, CNV) were measured to assess neural responses to varying reward magnitudes and sequences.

Main Results:

• The P2 component showed a stronger response to high reward anticipation, indicating an early attentional boost.
• The P3b amplitude varied with reward sequence (increase > remain-high > low), reflecting working memory updating and motivational arousal.
• The CNV amplitude was sensitive to reward magnitude and sequence, with lower amplitudes when rewards were consistently low, suggesting effort-based preparatory control.

Conclusions:

• Early attentional processes are enhanced by the magnitude of anticipated reward.
• Later cognitive processes, including working memory and preparatory control, are modulated by both reward magnitude and its immediate history.
• Reward expectations dynamically shape the stability-flexibility balance during voluntary task switching through distinct neural mechanisms.