Inhibition of return is characterized by delayed responses to previously attended locations when the interval between stimuli is long enough. The present study employed steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) as a measure of attentional modulation to explore the nature and time course of input- and output-based inhibitory cueing mechanisms that each slow response times at previously stimulated locations under different experimental conditions. The neural effects of behavioral inhibition were examined by comparing post-cue SSVEPs between cued and uncued locations measured across two tasks that differed only in the response modality (saccadic or manual response to targets). Grand averages of SSVEP amplitudes for each condition showed a reduction in amplitude at cued locations in the window of 100-500 ms post-cue, revealing an early, short-term decrease in the responses of neurons that can be attributed to sensory adaptation, regardless of response modality. Because primary visual cortex has been found to be one of the major sources of SSVEP signals, the results suggest that the SSVEP modulations observed were caused by input-based inhibition that occurred in V1, or visual areas earlier than V1, as a consequence of reduced visual input activity at previously cued locations. No SSVEP modulations were observed in either response condition late in the cue-target interval, suggesting that neither late input- nor output-based IOR modulates SSVEPs. These findings provide further electrophysiological support for the theory of multiple mechanisms contributing to behavioral cueing effects.
Advances in neuroscience studies have brought new insights into the development of Executive Functions (EFs) of the brain and its influence on understanding science concepts. This study was conducted to examine the relationships between three main components of EF: working memory, inhibition, set-shifting and understanding of Force concepts among adolescents. This study also investigated how gender mediates the relationships between the components of EF and understanding. Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery was used to assess students' level of working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting. The Force Concept Test measured students understanding. Smart-PLS analysis was employed to examine the relationships between the three components of EF and understanding; and how gender mediates the relationships. The result reveals that working memory significantly relates to students' understanding of Force concepts in a positive direction. On the contrary, both set-shifting and inhibition exhibit non-significant relationships. The findings also demonstrate that gender does not significantly mediate the relationships. The findings are useful for Physics teachers to guide them through designing the curriculum and opting for an appropriate pedagogical strategy considering the role of the components of EF for teaching the lessons on Force.
We explored the nature and time course of effects generated by spatially uninformative peripheral cues by measuring these effects with localization responses to peripheral onsets or central arrow targets. In Experiment 1, participants made saccadic eye movements to equiprobable peripheral and central targets. At short cue-target onset asynchronies (CTOAs), responses to cued peripheral stimuli suffered from slowed responding attributable to sensory adaptation while responses to central targets were transiently facilitated, presumably due to cue-elicited oculomotor activation. At the longest CTOA, saccadic responses to central and peripheral targets were indistinguishably delayed, suggesting a common, output/decision effect (inhibition of return; IOR). In Experiment 2, we tested the hypothesis that the generation of this output effect is dependent on the activation state of the oculomotor system by forbidding eye movements and requiring keypress responses to frequent peripheral targets, while probing oculomotor behavior with saccades to infrequent central arrow targets. As predicted, saccades to central arrow targets showed neither the early facilitation nor later inhibitory effects that were robust in Experiment 1. At the long CTOA, manual responses to cued peripheral targets showed the typical delayed responses usually attributed to IOR. We recommend that this late "inhibitory" cueing effect (ICE) be distinguished from IOR because it lacks the cause (oculomotor activation) and effect (response bias) attributed to IOR when it was named by Posner, Rafal, Choate, and Vaughan (1985).
With two cueing tasks, in the present study we examined output-based inhibitory cueing effects (ICEs) with manual responses to arrow targets following manual or saccadic responses to arrow cues. In all experiments, ICEs were observed when manual localization responses were required to both the cues and targets, but only when the cue-target onset asynchrony (CTOA) was 2,000 ms or longer. In contrast, when saccadic responses were made in response to the cues, ICEs were only observed with CTOAs of 2,000 ms or less-and only when an auditory cue-back signal was used. The present study also showed that the magnitude of ICEs following saccadic responses to arrow cues decreased with time, much like traditional inhibition-of-return effects. The magnitude of ICEs following manual responses to arrow cues, however, appeared later in time and had no sign of decreasing even 3 s after cue onset. These findings suggest that ICEs linked to skeletomotor activation do exist and that the ICEs evoked by oculomotor activation can carry over to the skeletomotor system.
There are thought to be two forms of inhibition of return (IOR) depending on whether the oculomotor system is activated or suppressed. When saccades are allowed, output-based IOR is generated, whereas input-based IOR arises when saccades are prohibited. In a series of 4 experiments, we mixed or blocked compatible and incompatible trials with saccadic or manual responses to investigate whether cueing effects would follow the same pattern as those observed with more traditional peripheral onsets and central arrows. In all experiments, an uninformative cue was displayed, followed by a cue-back stimulus that was either red or green, indicating whether a compatible or incompatible response was required. The results showed that IOR was indeed observed for compatible responses in all tasks, whereas IOR was eliminated for incompatible trials-but only with saccadic responses. These findings indicate that the dissociation between input- and output-based forms of IOR depends on more than just oculomotor activation, providing further support for the existence of an inhibitory cueing effect that is distinct to the manual response modality.
Studies of endogenous and exogenous attentional orienting in spatial cueing paradigms have been used to investigate inhibition of return, a behavioral phenomenon characterized by delayed reaction time in response to recently attended locations. When eye movements are suppressed, attention is covertly oriented to central or peripheral stimuli. Overt orienting, on the other hand, requires explicit eye movements to the stimuli. The present study examined the time course of slowed reaction times to previously attended locations when distractors are introduced into overt and covert orienting tasks. In a series of experiments, manual responses were required to targets following central and peripheral cues at three different cue-target intervals, with and without activated oculomotor systems. The results demonstrate that, when eye movements are suppressed, behavioral inhibition is reduced or delayed in magnitude by the presence of a distractor relative to conditions without distractors. However, the time course of behavioral inhibition when eye movements are required remains similar with or without distractors.
This study investigated the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and executive skills (ESs), and the differences between TEI and ESs among Malaysian and Iranian youths. In this study, 226 Malaysians and 248 Iranians completed the TEIQue-SF and Executive Skills Questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested with Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicated that TEI had significant predictions on ESs, depending on cultural contexts. Significant differences were found in the effects of TEI on ESs, including emotional control, metacognition, goal-directed persistence, response inhibition, planning/prioritization, sustained attention, stress tolerance, task initiation, and working memory among Malaysian and Iranian youth. No significant difference was found in the effects of TEI on ESs, including flexibility, organization, and time management across both groups. This study makes a unique contribution to emotional intelligence and executive functioning research literature by considering several ESs at the same time for personal development and promoting healthier lives. Comparison of the effect of TEI on ESs in the Malaysian and Iranian contexts using advanced analysis methods is one of the most important methodological contributions of the study.
In a previous study, it was noted that "a strong desire to be held or cuddled correlated with a general leaning toward openness in emotional expression." As is well known, some cultures foster openness, while others do not. This project was designed to assess the influence of cultural attitudes on the wish to be held. To do so, questionnaires were given to five groups of Asian women living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The most striking differences found were between two groups of Chinese women, one Chinese-educated, and the other, English-educated. The Chinese-educated group inhibited the expression of sensual needs. An English education overturned the traditional mode of response; women in this group scored highest in their wish to be held and lowest in their inclination to keep their body-contact desires secret. This study demonstrates that cultural as well as psychological forces exert a profound influence on the wish to be held.