TY - JOUR
T1 - Readiness to respond in a target detection task
T2 - pre- and post-stimulus event-related potentials in normal subjects
AU - Starr, A.
AU - Sandroni, P.
AU - Michalewski, H. J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by grants from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society RG 2414Al and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases No. AI-34250.
PY - 1995/1
Y1 - 1995/1
N2 - Brain potentials were recorded from 12 normal subjects engaged in an auditory target detection task (target stimulus probability of 0.2, stimulus rate of 1 every 2 sec) when instructions were (1) to press a response button with the thumb of the dominant hand to each target or (2) to keep a mental count of each target. A pre-stimulus slow negative potential was identified before every stimulus except non-targets immediately after targets. The amplitude of the pre-stimulus negativity was significantly affected by task instructions and was up to 4 times larger during the button press than the mental count condition. In contrast, the amplitudes and latencies of the event-related components (N100, P200, N200 and P300), when slow potentials were removed by filtering, were not different as a function of press or count instructions. The immediately preceding stimulus sequence affected both the amplitude and onset latency of the pre-stimulus negativity; both measures increased as the number of preceding non-targets increased. The amplitude of the pre-stimulus negative shift to targets also increased significantly as RT speed decreased. The major portion of the pre-stimulus negative potential is considered a readiness potential (RP) reflecting preparations to make a motor response. The amplitude of the RP during the target detection task did not significantly lateralize in contrast to the RP accompanying self-paced movements.
AB - Brain potentials were recorded from 12 normal subjects engaged in an auditory target detection task (target stimulus probability of 0.2, stimulus rate of 1 every 2 sec) when instructions were (1) to press a response button with the thumb of the dominant hand to each target or (2) to keep a mental count of each target. A pre-stimulus slow negative potential was identified before every stimulus except non-targets immediately after targets. The amplitude of the pre-stimulus negativity was significantly affected by task instructions and was up to 4 times larger during the button press than the mental count condition. In contrast, the amplitudes and latencies of the event-related components (N100, P200, N200 and P300), when slow potentials were removed by filtering, were not different as a function of press or count instructions. The immediately preceding stimulus sequence affected both the amplitude and onset latency of the pre-stimulus negativity; both measures increased as the number of preceding non-targets increased. The amplitude of the pre-stimulus negative shift to targets also increased significantly as RT speed decreased. The major portion of the pre-stimulus negative potential is considered a readiness potential (RP) reflecting preparations to make a motor response. The amplitude of the RP during the target detection task did not significantly lateralize in contrast to the RP accompanying self-paced movements.
KW - Event-related potentials
KW - P300
KW - Reaction time
KW - Readiness potentials
KW - Target detection
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U2 - 10.1016/0013-4694(94)00162-E
DO - 10.1016/0013-4694(94)00162-E
M3 - Article
C2 - 7530191
AN - SCOPUS:0028848053
SN - 0168-5597
VL - 96
SP - 76
EP - 92
JO - Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology/ Evoked Potentials
JF - Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology/ Evoked Potentials
IS - 1
ER -