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Not All Stroop-Type Tasks Are Alike: Assessing the Impact of Stimulus Material, Task Design, and Cognitive Demand via Meta-analyses Across Neuroimaging Studies.

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Title: Not All Stroop-Type Tasks Are Alike: Assessing the Impact of Stimulus Material, Task Design, and Cognitive Demand via Meta-analyses Across Neuroimaging Studies.
Authors: Müller, Veronika I., Cieslik, Edna C., Ficco, Linda, Tyralla, Sandra, Sepehry, Amir Ali, Aziz-Safaie, Taraneh, Feng, Chunliang, Eickhoff, Simon B., Langner, Robert
Source: Neuropsychology Review; Sep2025, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p449-482, 34p
Subject Terms: Stroop effect, Experimental design, Brain imaging, Cognitive processing speed, Visual perception, Cognitive interference, Executive function
Abstract: The Stroop effect is one of the most often studied examples of cognitive conflict processing. Over time, many variants of the classic Stroop task were used, including versions with different stimulus material, control conditions, presentation design, and combinations with additional cognitive demands. The neural and behavioral impact of this experimental variety, however, has never been systematically assessed. We used activation likelihood meta-analysis to summarize neuroimaging findings with Stroop-type tasks and to investigate whether involvement of the multiple-demand network (anterior insula, lateral frontal cortex, intraparietal sulcus, superior/inferior parietal lobules, midcingulate cortex, and pre-supplementary motor area) can be attributed to resolving some higher-order conflict that all of the tasks have in common, or if aspects that vary between task versions lead to specialization within this network. Across 133 neuroimaging experiments, incongruence processing in the color-word Stroop variant consistently recruited regions of the multiple-demand network, with modulation of spatial convergence by task variants. In addition, the neural patterns related to solving Stroop-like interference differed between versions of the task that use different stimulus material, with the only overlap between color-word, emotional picture-word, and other types of stimulus material in the posterior medial frontal cortex and right anterior insula. Follow-up analyses on behavior reported in these studies (in total 164 effect sizes) revealed only little impact of task variations on the mean effect size of reaction time. These results suggest qualitative processing differences among the family of Stroop variants, despite similar task difficulty levels, and should carefully be considered when planning or interpreting Stroop-type neuroimaging experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Neuropsychology Review is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  – Url: https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1007/s11065-024-09647-1
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  Data: Not All Stroop-Type Tasks Are Alike: Assessing the Impact of Stimulus Material, Task Design, and Cognitive Demand via Meta-analyses Across Neuroimaging Studies.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Müller%2C+Veronika+I%2E%22">Müller, Veronika I.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cieslik%2C+Edna+C%2E%22">Cieslik, Edna C.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ficco%2C+Linda%22">Ficco, Linda</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tyralla%2C+Sandra%22">Tyralla, Sandra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sepehry%2C+Amir+Ali%22">Sepehry, Amir Ali</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aziz-Safaie%2C+Taraneh%22">Aziz-Safaie, Taraneh</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Feng%2C+Chunliang%22">Feng, Chunliang</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Eickhoff%2C+Simon+B%2E%22">Eickhoff, Simon B.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Langner%2C+Robert%22">Langner, Robert</searchLink>
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  Data: Neuropsychology Review; Sep2025, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p449-482, 34p
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stroop+effect%22">Stroop effect</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experimental+design%22">Experimental design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brain+imaging%22">Brain imaging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+processing+speed%22">Cognitive processing speed</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+perception%22">Visual perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+interference%22">Cognitive interference</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Executive+function%22">Executive function</searchLink>
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  Data: The Stroop effect is one of the most often studied examples of cognitive conflict processing. Over time, many variants of the classic Stroop task were used, including versions with different stimulus material, control conditions, presentation design, and combinations with additional cognitive demands. The neural and behavioral impact of this experimental variety, however, has never been systematically assessed. We used activation likelihood meta-analysis to summarize neuroimaging findings with Stroop-type tasks and to investigate whether involvement of the multiple-demand network (anterior insula, lateral frontal cortex, intraparietal sulcus, superior/inferior parietal lobules, midcingulate cortex, and pre-supplementary motor area) can be attributed to resolving some higher-order conflict that all of the tasks have in common, or if aspects that vary between task versions lead to specialization within this network. Across 133 neuroimaging experiments, incongruence processing in the color-word Stroop variant consistently recruited regions of the multiple-demand network, with modulation of spatial convergence by task variants. In addition, the neural patterns related to solving Stroop-like interference differed between versions of the task that use different stimulus material, with the only overlap between color-word, emotional picture-word, and other types of stimulus material in the posterior medial frontal cortex and right anterior insula. Follow-up analyses on behavior reported in these studies (in total 164 effect sizes) revealed only little impact of task variations on the mean effect size of reaction time. These results suggest qualitative processing differences among the family of Stroop variants, despite similar task difficulty levels, and should carefully be considered when planning or interpreting Stroop-type neuroimaging experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: Abstract
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Neuropsychology Review is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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