ABSTRACT
In the Stroop matching task, a Stroop word is compared to a colored bar. The origin of the conflict presented by this task is a topic of current debate. In an effort to disentangle nonresponse and response conflicts, we recorded electromyography (EMG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) while participants performed the task. The N450 component was sensitive to the relationship of color surfaces, regardless of the response, suggesting the participation of nonresponse conflict. Incompatible arrays (e.g., incongruent Stroop stimuli during "same" responses) presented a substantial amount of double EMG activation and slower EMG latencies, suggesting the participation of response conflict. We propose that both response and nonresponse conflicts are sources of these effects. The combined use of the EMG and ERP techniques played an important role in elucidating the conflicts immersed in the Stroop matching task.
Subject(s)
Attention/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Conflict, Psychological , Evoked Potentials/physiology , Muscle, Skeletal/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Brain Mapping , Electroencephalography , Electromyography , Humans , Reaction Time/physiology , Stroop TestABSTRACT
The medical division of the International Committee of the Red Cross undertook an expanded programme of immunization in rural areas of Mozambique controlled by the resistance. This programme was evaluated by a 30 cluster survey which showed that 82 per cent of children between 1 and 5 years and 81.7 per cent of mothers of children of less than 1 year had had contact with the vaccination service. Full vaccination was achieved in 40.6 and 35.2 per cent respectively. The reasons for immunization failure were established. The study shows that vaccination of the civilian population of a developing country at war is possible and, importantly, the outcome of the programme can be assessed.
