Short-Term Practice Modulates ERP Components Without Behavioral Change in a Short-ISI Go/NoGo Task.
Yasushi Sugawara1, Yuya Matsuda2, Ryo Kurokawa1
1Department of Rehabilitation, Sapporo Hakuyokai Hospital, Sapporo 062-0931, Japan.
Brain Sciences
|November 27, 2025
Summary
Short-term practice on a difficult Go/NoGo task did not improve performance but reduced neural activity. This suggests neurophysiological changes occur without behavioral gains under high cognitive load.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Executive Functions
Background:
- Response inhibition is crucial for executive function, often assessed with the Go/NoGo task.
- The impact of task difficulty, especially with short interstimulus intervals (ISIs), on practice effects is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the effects of short-term practice on behavioral and neural responses during a high-difficulty Go/NoGo task with a short ISI.
- Examine changes in performance metrics and event-related potentials (ERPs) related to response inhibition.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen healthy adults performed a visual Go/NoGo task with a 600 ms ISI over four sessions.
- Behavioral data (response time, error rate) and electroencephalography (EEG) data (NoGo-N2, NoGo-P3 components) were collected.
Main Results:
- No significant improvements in behavioral performance (response time or error rate) were observed.
- NoGo-N2 amplitudes remained stable, but NoGo-P3 amplitude at Fz decreased in later sessions, indicating reduced frontal engagement.
Conclusions:
- Short-term practice on a high-difficulty Go/NoGo task did not yield behavioral improvements.
- Reduced neural activity (NoGo-P3) suggests neurophysiological adaptations occur independently of behavioral changes under demanding conditions.
Keywords:
event-related potentialsinter-stimulus intervalrepeated trainingresponse inhibition taskvisual motor taskMore Related Videos
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