The Impact of Task Demands on Fixation-Related Brain Potentials during Guided Search

PLoS One. 2016 Jun 10;11(6):e0157260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157260. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Recording synchronous data from EEG and eye-tracking provides a unique methodological approach for measuring the sensory and cognitive processes of overt visual search. Using this approach we obtained fixation related potentials (FRPs) during a guided visual search task specifically focusing on the lambda and P3 components. An outstanding question is whether the lambda and P3 FRP components are influenced by concurrent task demands. We addressed this question by obtaining simultaneous eye-movement and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures during a guided visual search task while parametrically modulating working memory load using an auditory N-back task. Participants performed the guided search task alone, while ignoring binaurally presented digits, or while using the auditory information in a 0, 1, or 2-back task. The results showed increased reaction time and decreased accuracy in both the visual search and N-back tasks as a function of auditory load. Moreover, high auditory task demands increased the P3 but not the lambda latency while the amplitude of both lambda and P3 was reduced during high auditory task demands. The results show that both early and late stages of visual processing indexed by FRPs are significantly affected by concurrent task demands imposed by auditory working memory.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping / methods
  • Electroencephalography / methods*
  • Evoked Potentials
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory
  • Eye Movements*
  • Fixation, Ocular
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory, Short-Term*
  • Reaction Time
  • Saccades
  • Vision, Ocular

Grants and funding

U.S. Army Prime Contract No. W911NF-09-D-0001. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors [BA and PC], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.