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Featured ArticleResearch Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

Lingering Neural Representations of Past Task Features Adversely Affect Future Behavior

Benjamin O. Rangel, Eliot Hazeltine and Jan R. Wessel
Journal of Neuroscience 11 January 2023, 43 (2) 282-292; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0464-22.2022
Benjamin O. Rangel
1Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
2Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
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Eliot Hazeltine
2Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
3Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
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Jan R. Wessel
2Cognitive Control Collaborative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
3Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52245
4Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
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Abstract

During goal-directed behavior, humans purportedly form and retrieve so-called event files, conjunctive representations that link context-specific information about stimuli, their associated actions, and the expected action outcomes. The automatic formation, and later retrieval, of such conjunctive representations can substantially facilitate efficient action selection. However, recent behavioral work suggests that these event files may also adversely affect future behavior, especially when action requirements have changed between successive instances of the same task context (e.g., during task switching). Here, we directly tested this hypothesis with a recently developed method for measuring the strength of the neural representations of context-specific stimulus–action conjunctions (i.e., event files). Thirty-five male and female adult humans performed a task switching paradigm while undergoing EEG recordings. Replicating previous behavioral work, we found that changes in action requirements between two spaced repetitions of the same task incurred a significant reaction time cost. By combining multivariate pattern analysis and representational similarity analysis of the EEG recordings with linear mixed-effects modeling of trial-to-trial behavior, we then found that the magnitude of this behavioral cost was directly proportional to the strength of the conjunctive representation formed during the most recent previous exposure to the same task, that is, the most recent event file. This confirms that the formation of conjunctive representations of specific task contexts, stimuli, and actions in the brain can indeed adversely affect future behavior. Moreover, these findings demonstrate the potential of neural decoding of complex task set representations toward the prediction of behavior beyond the current trial.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding how the human brain organizes individual components of complex tasks is paramount for understanding higher-order cognition. During complex tasks, the brain forms conjunctive representations that link individual task features (contexts, stimuli, actions), which aids future performance of the same task. However, this can have adverse effects when the required sequence of actions within a task changes. We decoded conjunctive representations from electroencephalographic recordings during a task that included frequent changes to the rules determining the response. Indeed, stronger initial conjunctive representations predicted significant future response-time costs when task contexts repeated with changed response requirements. Showing that the formation of conjunctive task representations can have negative future effects generates novel insights into complex behavior and cognition, including task switching, planning, and problem solving.

  • cognitive control
  • electroencephalography
  • repetition cost
  • representational similarity analysis
  • task switching

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 43 (2)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 43, Issue 2
11 Jan 2023
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Lingering Neural Representations of Past Task Features Adversely Affect Future Behavior
Benjamin O. Rangel, Eliot Hazeltine, Jan R. Wessel
Journal of Neuroscience 11 January 2023, 43 (2) 282-292; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0464-22.2022

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Lingering Neural Representations of Past Task Features Adversely Affect Future Behavior
Benjamin O. Rangel, Eliot Hazeltine, Jan R. Wessel
Journal of Neuroscience 11 January 2023, 43 (2) 282-292; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0464-22.2022
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Keywords

  • cognitive control
  • electroencephalography
  • repetition cost
  • representational similarity analysis
  • task switching

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