Adaptive behavioral control involves a balance between top-down persistence and flexible updating of goals under changing demands. According to the metacontrol state model (MSM), this balance... Show moreAdaptive behavioral control involves a balance between top-down persistence and flexible updating of goals under changing demands. According to the metacontrol state model (MSM), this balance emerges from the interaction between the frontal and the striatal dopaminergic system. The attentional blink (AB) task has been argued to tap into the interaction between persistence and flexibility, as it reflects overpersistence—the too-exclusive allocation of attentional resources to the processing of the first of two consecutive targets. Notably, previous studies are inconclusive about the association between the AB and noninvasive proxies of dopamine including the spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR), which allegedly assesses striatal dopamine levels. We aimed to substantiate and extend previous attempts to predict individual sizes of the AB in two separate experiments with larger sample sizes (N = 71 & N = 65) by means of noninvasive behavioral and physiological proxies of dopamine (DA), such as sEBR and mood measures, which are likely to reflect striatal dopamine levels, and color discrimination, which has been argued to tap into the frontal dopamine levels. Our findings did not confirm the prediction that AB size covaries with sEBR, mood, or color discrimination. The implications of this inconsistency with previous observations are discussed. Show less
Brown, S.B.R.E.; Slagter, H.A.; Noorden, M.S. van; Giltay, E.J.; Wee, N.J.A. van der; Nieuwenhuis, S. 2016
In this thesis, the effect of information-processing overload on working-memory dependent information processing was examined using dual-task paradigms. The experiments described strengthen the... Show moreIn this thesis, the effect of information-processing overload on working-memory dependent information processing was examined using dual-task paradigms. The experiments described strengthen the importance of a functional explanation for dual-task limitations. First, it showed evidence for a unified coding medium (as put forward in the theory of event coding; Hommel, Müsseler, Aschersleben, & Prinz, 2001) in which features, operations and responses are available and can influence each other. Additionally, it was shown that the response to the first of two stimuli is facilitated in case the processes are compatible. Furthermore, it showed that the psychological refractory period and the attentional blink share limitations with respect to a common resource that originates in working memory operation span and that the use of individual differences can aid in examining the relation between the psychological refractory period and the attentional blink. Additionally, it showed that it is plausible that visual-spatial attention, mental rotation and response selection share limitations with respect to a common resource. Finally, research in this thesis showed that processes that can facilitate a response can be simultaneously implemented but not simultaneously executed. Show less
