What determines strength of dual-task interference effect: one idea to understand functions of the central executive

Abstract

When we try to attempt to perform two distinct cognitive tasks concurrently, the performance of either task is often impaired. This phenomenon is known as dual-task interference. Although multiple task features could influence on dual-task interference effect, the primary determinant remains unclear. The determinant factor causing dual-task interference is an important issue to understand its mechanism and associated functions including switching tasks and planning task order. The present study investigated this issue using monkeys and three behavioral tasks requiring distinct cognitive processes (spatial working memory, SWM; working memory and long-term memory of objects, PA; object working memory, DMS). In addition, task pair (SWM and PA or SWM and DMS), task order (fixed or randomized), and task difficulty (different delay lengths) were manipulated. The task introduced first showed better performance as compared to the task introduced second, suggesting the task order as an important determinant. However, the performance of the SWM task decreased when preceded by the PA and DMS tasks, while the latter tasks were unaffected when the SWM task was introduced first. This tendency was more obvious in random-order conditions than fixed-order conditions. Further, interference effect increased as task difficulty increased. Although the task order is one determinant, these results indicate that the difference in cognitive process needed for tasks, its complexity, and the demand of working memory resources are more significant determinants for deciding the dominant task in dual-task conditions, and that neural mechanisms including managing working memory resources and coordinating multiple cognitive processes are important to understand the cause of dual-task interference.