The difference in spatiotemporal dynamics between modus ponens and modus tollens in the Wason selection task: an event-related potential study

Bingbing Li; Meng Zhang; Junlong Luo; Jiang Qiu; Yijun Liu

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.04.007

The difference in spatiotemporal dynamics between modus ponens and modus tollens in the Wason selection task: an event-related potential study

Neuroscience. 2014 Jun 13:270:177-82. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.04.007. Epub 2014 Apr 12.

Authors

Bingbing Li¹, Meng Zhang², Junlong Luo³, Jiang Qiu⁴, Yijun Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
² Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China.
³ Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. Electronic address: qiuj318@swu.edu.cn.

PMID: 24726487
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.04.007

Abstract

High-density, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore differences in spatiotemporal dynamics between modus ponens (MP) and modus tollens (MT) in the Wason selection task. Results showed that MP elicits a more positive P3b-like component than MT from 400 to 800 ms. MP appeared to occur earlier than MT in various stages of proposition testing, such as stimulus processing and response selection. ERP results showed that MT has a longer duration and more negative later negative component (LNC) than MP at 2,000 ms. This result suggests that MT occupies more cognitive resources than MP in the final stages of proposition testing. The short and small left frontal LNC obtained by MP implies examination of the expectable conclusion, whereas the long and large left frontal LNC elicited by MT may be involved in the retention operation of the card in working memory from the monitoring and inspecting putative conclusion in the later stages of proposition testing.

Keywords: LNC; P3b-like; Wason selection task; proposition testing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Brain / physiology*
Cognition / physiology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials
Female
Humans
Logic*
Male
Memory, Short-Term / physiology
Neuropsychological Tests
Thinking / physiology*
Time Factors
Young Adult