Arrow Flanker Task - ABCD
AKA: NIH Toolbox Arrow Flanker Test
Background
The Arrow Flanker Task, an intuitive version of the original Eriksen Flanker Task, is a widely-used test of cognitive control and interference resolution.
In the Arrow Flanker Task participants have to respond to a middle arrow that either points to the left or to the right and is flanked on either side by 2 additional arrows that either point in the same direction as the target ('congruent' arrows) or in the opposite direction ('incongruent' arrows).
The ABCD Arrow Flanker Task is used as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study®), a decade long longitudinal study on brain development and child health supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to track the development of risk-taking behaviors in adolescents. The ABCD Arrow Flanker Task task is modelled on the NIH toolbox Arrow Flanker Task and can be run on tablets (in-person testing) and on smartphones (remote testing; which became necessary during the 2020 Pandemic).
Task Procedure
To start each trial, participants are asked to press a home base button that is located equidistant to the left and right response buttons. Once the home base is pressed (or after 800ms), the trial starts with the presentation of a fixation star in the center of the screen. The duration of the fixation star varies (1000ms, 1250ms, 1500ms). A verbal and visual reminder to focus on the middle arrow is briefly presented for 100ms. The flanker arrows appear first and the target is presented with a delay of 100ms. At this point, participants have to respond as quickly as possible by pressing the response button that corresponds to the direction that middle arrow is pointing to.
The task starts with a practice session of 4 trials. Practice trials provide verbal performance feedback. Participants must get at least 75% of trials correct to move on to the test trials, otherwise the practice session is repeated. The test block consists of 20 trials, presented in a fixed order.
What it Measures
The Arrow Flanker Task is a measure of cognitive control and interference resolution
Psychological domains
- Executive Control: Ability to resolve conflict among competing stimuli, involving response inhibition and decision-making
- Inhibitory Control / Response Inhibition: Ability to override automatic/dominant responses that interfere with one's goals
- Selective Attention: Ability to select information from sensory input by directing attention to a specific location in space
Main Performance Metrics
- Accuracy Measures: Proportion correct responses in the varying noise conditions as a measure of conflict resolution success
- Latency Measures: Mean correct response times in the varying noise conditions as a measure of conflict resolution speed
Psychiatric Conditions
Arrow Flanker performance tends to be impaired in patients with the following conditions.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Schizophrenia
- Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Test Variations
The Flanker Task for adolescents used in the ABCD Consortium's longitudinal study on cognitive development from childhood to early adulthood.
The Flanker Task for adolescents used in the ABCD Consortium's longitudinal study on cognitive development from childhood to early adulthood.
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Arrow Flanker Task - ABCD.
Luciana, M, Bjork, J.M, Nagel, B.J, Barch, D.M, Gonzalez, R, Nixon, S.J, & Banich, M.T. (2018). Adolescent neurocognitive development and impacts of substance use: Overview of the adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) baseline neurocognition battery. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 32, 67-79.
Links
Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study (ABCD). The NIH funded ABCD Study is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, tracking biological and behavioral development of 10,000 participants from childhood to adulthood..