Electrophysiological correlates of the reverse Stroop effect: Results from a simulated handgun task

This work was supported by the Ramon y Cajal fellowship program from the Spanish State Research Agency (RYC-2015-17483) awarded to LLDS. Additional support was obtained from the Unit of Excellence on Brain, Behavior, and Health (SC2) , funded by the Excellence actions program of the University of Granada. Work by CDP & LLDS is supported by Santander Bank- Joint Center University of Granada-Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command (grant numbers PINs 2018-15 and 5/2/20 F2F) . The funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Greg Wood (Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK) for sharing the original set of stimuli used in his reverse Stroop handgun task. We thank Dr. Marcelo Augusto Costa Fernandes (Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada) for his help in data processing and analysis. We thank Dr. Michelangelo Cao (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford) for his comments and suggestions on the manu-script. We also want to thank Dr. J. M. Morales, Ms. P. Gonzalez, and Mr. D. Catalan for their help during data collection and pre-processing.The color-word reverse Stroop (RS) effect still represents an interesting puzzle for cognitive researchers as an interference between incongruent ink colors and the meaning of the words is not always found. Here, we examined whether an unfamiliar and complex visuomotor task would produce a RS effect. Forty inexperienced shooters carried out a simulated shooting task. To test if the RS effect is related to the stimuli processing or to a late processing of the color (early and late time-windows), electroencephalographic global field power (GFP) variations were recorded with a high-impedance system (32 channels configuration in a standard monopolar montage, referenced to FCz and grounded to FPz). The color-word RS effect was reflected in the performance of 32 participants, suggesting that the strength of the association between the target and the specific response requested might be central to the RS interference. This behavioral result was paralleled by GFP modulations in 20 participants. A significant increase of the GFP for the congruent trials (e.g., the word “red” written in red ink) was recorded after stimulus presentation (conflict detection), followed by an increase for the incongruent trials (e.g., the word “red” written in green ink) just before the shooting (conflict resolution). Despite the limitations of the study, such as the inclusion of a low number of channels in the GFP analyses, the results suggest that the RS interference is easily elicited in tasks requiring an unfamiliar response, which supports the strength of association hypothesis. Moreover, as implied by the GFP modulations, the interference might occur early in time, but also in a later stage, closer to the response.Ramon y Cajal fellowship program from the Spanish State Research Agency RYC-2015-17483Unit of Excellence on Brain, Behavior, and Health (SC2) - Excellence actions program of the University of Granada CDPSantander Bank- Joint Center University of Granada-Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command PINs 2018-15 5/2/20 F2

The Stroop and Reverse Stroop Effects as Measured by an Interactive Tabletop

International audienceAn interactive tabletop equipped with RFID technology implemented the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks. Participants moved a tangible object into one of four displayed virtual zones, which were identified either by a color border or the name of a color written in black. The correct target zone corresponded either to the color (Stroop) or meaning (reverse Stroop) of a word displayed in congruent or incongruent colored LED lights (e.g., “YELLOW” displayed in yellow or red, respectively). Participants took more time to place the object in a zone, made more errors, and found the task more difficult when the word was lit with an incongruent than congruent color. This interference was influenced by both the types of task and response zone in a way that fits with a dual step processing account. Results also showed that the outcomes of the conflicting information streams might be judged as fun