The sequential structure of brain activation predicts skill.

In an fMRI study, participants were trained to play a complex video game. They were scanned early and then again after substantial practice. While better players showed greater activation in one region (right dorsal striatum) their relative skill was better diagnosed by considering the sequential structure of whole brain activation.

Timing in multitasking: memory contamination and time pressure bias.

There can be systematic biases in time estimation when it is performed in complex multitasking situations. In this paper we focus on the mechanisms that cause participants to tend to respond too quickly and underestimate a target interval (250-400 ms) in a complex, real-time task. We hypothesized that two factors are responsible for the too-early bias: (1) Memory contamination from an even shorter time interval in the task, and (2) time pressure to take appropriate actions in time.

Individual differences and workload effects on strategy adoption in a dynamic task.

The current study investigated the effects of individual differences and workload on strategy adaptivity in a complex, dynamic task called the Space Fortress game (Donchin, 1989). Participants learned to use a strategy of flying a ship in circles around the fortress in a standard game environment. Once they mastered the strategy, they were assigned to different workload conditions and transferred to a nonstandard environment in which a strong wind was introduced that made it more difficult to achieve a circular orbit.