interruption and working memory

Task interruption exerts a negative effect on work performance, especially working memory-related tasks. However, the cognitive processes related to interruption have received little attention via the exploration of brain activity during task interruption. The present study used electroencephalography (EEG) to explore the behavioral and electrophysiological effects of task interruption on primary task performance. A spatial 2-back paradigm was used. Simple math questions were used as the task interruption, and prolonged presentation of a fixation cross was used as the suspension interruption. Behavioral data revealed no effect of disruptive interruption on overall performance. Analyses of event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed that the mean amplitudes of P2 and P3 components after interruption were higher than those observed before the interruption, which indicates that an interruption affected working memory in the primary task. Larger P3 amplitudes after task interruption than after suspension interruption suggested the inhibition of irrelevant information. These data were consistent with behavioral performance and supported the memory for goals model, which describes the cognitive processes of encoding and resuming suspended goals after an interruption. Altogether, these findings improve the current understanding of the effects of task interruption on working memory and may support interruption management.