AI Insight
This study examined how the brain improves at coordinating multiple tasks simultaneously through practice. Researchers found that participants became better at switching between task orders over four training sessions, as shown by reduced order-switch costs, but did not show improved ability to adjust coordination strategies based on previous trial sequences. The study used a dual-task paradigm where participants responded to both visual digit and auditory tone tasks in explicitly cued orders.
Why it matters
These findings advance understanding of how cognitive flexibility improves with practice, which has implications for training programs that require multitasking abilities, such as air traffic control, surgical procedures, or driving. The results suggest that while basic task-order coordination can be enhanced through practice, more adaptive coordination adjustment mechanisms may require different training approaches.
Understand the Science
IntroductionPerforming two overlapping tasks in dual-task situations requires task-order coordination, particularly when task order varies across trials. This coordination is associated with performance impairments on trials with different-order compared to same-order task sequences relative to the preceding trial (i.e., order switch costs). In addition, recent evidence suggests that task-order coordination can be adjusted based on contextual demands, as reflected in reduced order-switch costs following preceding different-order compared to same-order trials (i.e., switch adjustment effects). Practice effects provide an opportunity to disentangle these processes. However, previous research has largely relied on dual-task paradigms in which the task order is determined solely by the sequence of stimulus presentation, thereby limiting the role of top-down control via task-order cues.MethodsThe present study investigates task-order coordination and coordination adjustment in a dual-task paradigm in which the order of a visual digit task and an auditory tone task is indicated by explicit cues. Across four sessions, dual-task and single-task practice effects were compared.ResultsThe results show reduced order-switch costs in Session 4 compared to Session 1, whereas no substantial changes were observed in the switch adjustment effects.DiscussionThese findings are interpreted as practice-related improvements in task-order coordination, whereas evidence for practice effects on coordination adjustment remains limited.