RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 EEG Decoding Reveals the Temporal Dynamics and Functional Relevance of Goal-Relevant Representations JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 219741 DO 10.1101/219741 A1 Jason Hubbard A1 Atsushi Kikumoto A1 Ulrich Mayr YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/11/15/219741.2.abstract AB Models of action control assume that abstract task-set settings regulate lower-level stimulus/response representations. Yet, we know little about the functional and dynamic properties of task-set representations in humans. Using a cued task-switching paradigm, we show that information about task sets and lower-level stimulus/response aspects can be extracted through decoding analyses from the scalp electrophysiological signal (EEG) on the single-trial level and with high temporal resolution. Task-sets are active throughout the entire processing cascade and trial-to-trial variations in task-set strength emerges as a remarkably strong predictor of variability in performance, both within and between individuals. Also, taskset strength is related to stimulus representation strength at an early period and to the strength of response representations at a later period, consistent with the notion that task-sets coordinate successive, lower-level representations in a concurrent manner. These results demonstrate a powerful approach towards uncovering stages of information processing and their relative importance for performance.