Advantage of the go/no-go task over the yes/no lexical decision task: ERP indexes of parameters in the diffusion model

Previous research findings supporting the advantages of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice in lexical decision task (LDT) have suggested that the go/no-go choice might require less cognitive resources in the non-decisional processes. This study aims to test such an idea using the event-related potential method. In this study, the tasks (yes/no LDT and go/no-go LDT) and word frequency (high and low) were manipulated, and the difference between the go/no-go choice and yes/no choice were examined with BP, pN, pN1, P200, N400, and P3 components that were assumed to be closely related with the various parameters in the diffusion model. The results showed that BP, pN and pN1 amplitudes reflecting the preparation stage were not differently affected by word frequency and the task type. However, ERPs after stimulus onset showed differences. The P200 amplitudes were smaller in the go/no-go task than in the yes/no task only for low-frequency words. N400 and P3 amplitudes were only affected by word frequency. The results suggest that the go/no-go task and the yes/no task differ in sub-lexical processes, which is indicated in the Tencoding parameter in the diffusion model. This study is important as it offers the first electrophysiological evidence supporting the assumption in the diffusion model that explains the advantage of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice.既往研究证实，在词汇判断任务(lexical decision task, LDT)中，go/no-go选择相较于yes/no选择具有显著优势，且此类研究提出：go/no-go选择在非决策加工过程中所耗费的认知资源更少。本研究拟采用事件相关电位(event-related potential, ERP)技术，对这一假说进行验证。本实验设置了两类任务（yes/no LDT与go/no-go LDT）以及两种词频条件（高、低频词），并选取与扩散模型(diffusion model)多项参数紧密相关的脑电成分BP、pN、pN1、P200、N400及P3，对两种选择模式的差异进行考察。结果显示，反映认知准备阶段的BP、pN及pN1波幅，均未受到词频与任务类型的显著影响。但刺激呈现后的事件相关电位则存在显著差异：仅在低频词条件下，go/no-go任务的P200波幅显著小于yes/no任务；N400与P3波幅则仅受词频因素影响。研究结果表明，go/no-go任务与yes/no任务在亚词汇加工过程中存在差异，这一差异可通过扩散模型中的Tencoding参数得以体现。本研究首次提供了电生理学证据，支持扩散模型中关于go/no-go选择优于yes/no选择的相关假说，具有重要的学术意义。