Subjects: Psychology >> Physiological Psychology submitted time 2021-09-21
Abstract： Task interruption is known to harm work performance, especially on working memory-related tasks. However, little is known about brain activity patterns during task interruption and the moderating effects of mental fatigue. The impact of work interruption on subsequent behavioral performance is mainly caused by affecting working memory (WM) and attention. Therefore, exploring the mechanisms underlying the impact of interruption on work performance in different fatigue states will improve and contribute to the development of the cognitive theory of interruption. Combined with behavioral and electrophysiological data, we adopted the event-related potential (ERP) technique to explore the effect of interruption on working memory and the moderating role of fatigue on the interruption process. We designed a 2 (fatigue: fatigue, nonfatigue) ×2 (task type: task interruption, suspension interruption) ×2 (trial type: before interruption, after interruption) within-group design and added a noninterrupted baseline task as the control condition. The study randomly selected 20 healthy participants to perform spatial 2-back tasks in different fatigue states in various interruption conditions (math problem task interruption, suspension interruption and noninterrupted). A continuous performance test (AX-CPT) was used to induce fatigue before the fatigue session. The behavioral data showed that accuracy in the primary task was reduced, and response time was increased after interruption. The behavioral performance decline in the primary tasks in the fatigue state was more significant than that in the nonfatigue state. ERP results showed that the P200 and P300 amplitudes induced by the 2-back task significantly increased after interruption. The P200 latency in the fatigue state was significantly shorter than that in the nonfatigue state; the latency with task interruption was longer than that with suspension interruption; and the latency after interruption trials was significantly longer than that before interruption trials. The P300 amplitude in the frontal lobe in the fatigue state was lower than that in the nonfatigue state. The amplitude difference between trials after interruption was more significant in the fatigue state than in the nonfatigue state. In addition, the P300 amplitude induced by task interruption was significantly higher than that induced by suspension interruption, while the same effect did not appear in the nonfatigue state. In conclusion, work interruption caused a decrease in the attention resources available for the primary task after the interruption. The irrelevant information in the task interruption interfered with primary task performance (working memory task), and the fatigue state further aggravated the negative effect of the interruption on working memory and attention. This research revealed the cognitive process underlying task interruption, identified the effects of fatigue and supported the memory for goals model of interruption. " "
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