Decoding Selective Attention and Cognitive Control Processing Through Stroop Interference Effect: An Event-Related Electroencephalography-Derived Study

Background: The process of cognitive control and resultant selective attention construct the shared root of a continuum of neurocognitive functions. Efficient inhibition of task-irrelevant information and unwanted attributes has been evaluated through various paradigms. Stroop tasks in different forms could provide a platform for detecting the state of this type of inhibition and selective attention. Computational modeling of electroencephalography (EEG) signals associated with attentional control could complement the investigations of this discipline. Methods: Ninety-six trials of a three-condition Color-Word Stroop task were performed while recording EEG. All subjects (9 participants) were right-handed (20 - 25 years), and half were male. Three-condition signal epochs were redefined as two conditions: (1) Differentiated incongruent epochs (DIe), which are incongruent epochs that their equivalent congruent epochs are subtracted from and (2) Neutral epochs, in which intervals of 150 - 300 ms and 350 - 500 ms post-stimulus were extracted. Preprocessed data were then analyzed, and the whole EEG epoch was considered the variable to be compared between conditions. An acceptably fitted support vector machine (SVM) algorithm classified the data. Results: For each individual, the comparison was made regarding DIe and neutral epochs for two intervals (150 - 300 and 350 - 500 ms). The SVM classification method provided acceptable accuracies at 59 - 65% for the 150 - 300 ms interval and 65 - 70% for the 350 - 500 ms interval within individuals. Regarding frequency domain assessments, the Delta frequency band for these two intervals showed no significant difference between the two conditions. Conclusions: The SVM models performed better for the late event-related epoch (350 - 500 ms) classification. Hence, selective attention-related features were more significant in this temporal interval.