The Effect of directing early attention on the central attentional limitations of dual tasks with in Various Difficulty Levels: An ERP Study

The aim of this study was investigating Behavioral and electrophysiological changes as a result directing early attention on central attention limitations of dual tasks with in various difficulty levels.  

24 subjects were selected voluntarily and they were randomly assigned to two simple and selective groups.  A dual task paradigm with and without cue was incorporated in which the second task was either a detection or discrimination, and cue was presented before the first stimulus. The stimulus onset asynchrony between the first and second stimulus was 200,400, and 800 ms. The response time to the first and second stimulus and event related potential was recorded and analyzed.

The simple pattern had a faster response time than the combined pattern. Also, the response time of the target in the valid position was faster than the invalid position. The lowest response time was for the simple group and the highest for the selected group. The main effect of pattern, group, and time interval on primary sensory components P1 and N1 was significant.

 Facilitating the early sensory –perceptual by directing attention toward the cued location would reduce the dual task interference.