Event‐Related Potential Correlates of Two Stages of Information Processing in Physical and Semantic Discrimination Tasks

Abstract

Event‐related potentials were studied while subjects performed physical and semantic discrimination tasks. Two negative components, NA and N2, were observed in both kinds of discriminations. The earlier component, NA, had a constant onset latency, but its peak latency varied as a function of stimulus complexity. N2 latency varied in relation to changes in the peak of NA. RT and P3 followed N2 by similar amounts of time across tasks. The NA and N2 components were interpreted as reflecting partially overlapping sequential stages of processing associated with pattern recognition and stimulus classification, respectively.

Updating P300: An integrative theory of P3a and P3b

“…Semantic-based compatibility tasks produce a larger P300 latency/response time difference compared to spatial compatibility tasks. Furthermore, P300 latency has been used as a metric for timing mental events producing other ERP components (Renault et al, 1982;Ritter et al, 1983). Inferences based on component timing and behavioral output therefore must take into account the type of stimulus and decision process underlying response activation (Pfefferbaum et al, 1986;Renault, 1981, 1985).…”

Mental chronometry and individual differences: Modeling reliabilities and correlations of reaction time means and effect sizes

“…Of this total mean RT, an average of 200 ms was allocated to the residual term (i.e., peripheral sensory and motor processes; μ R = 200 ms), and a Ee further 100 ms each was allocated to the sensory and motor processes whose durations would be influenced by G (i.e., stages A and C, respectively). Various psychophysiological evidence suggests that totals of approximately 200 ms each would be realistic values for the total durations of the sensory and motor stages (e.g., Carbonnell, Hasbroucq, Grapperon, & Vidal, 2004;Hillyard & Anllo-Vento, 1998;Ritter, Simson, & Vaughan, 1983). The remaining 200 ms was allocated to the central stage B, which also seems plausible for straightforward choice RT tasks with arbitrary stimulus-response mappings.…”

Event-Related Potential Components Analysis of Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Multiple Lacunar Infarcts.

“…The present study showed that the visual N2 latency was delayed in patients with multiple lacunar infarcts. In addition, the delay of visual N2 was not due to a delay of the preceding NA, although NAis known to occur in the latency range of the N2 peak of the ERP (8,9). NAand N2 reflect sequential stages of information processing, namely, pattern recognition and stimulus classification (8).…”

“…Figure 1 shows an example of the ERPwave forms in a normal subject. NAand N2 were elicited according to the method reported by Ritter et al (8,9). To more clearly delineate N2, the ERPs to the frequent stimuli were subtracted from those to the infrequent stimuli for each subject in each discrimination tasks.…”

“…However, there are few detailed analyses of the N2 component. Ritter et al (8,9) demonstrated that the timing of two event-related potential (ERP) components was differentially affected by two experimental variables. The earlier component (NA) was affected by degradation of the stimuli and the later component (N2) by the nature of a classification task.…”