The Interplay Between Tonic and Phasic Pupil Activity and Cognitive Flexibility and Stability.

ABSTRACT: Previous research has shown that while larger phasic pupillary activity indexes lower switch costs and better performance on a Stroop task, greater tonic pupillary activity indexes greater exploration. However, the direct influence of tonic-phasic pupillary activity on cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability-two control modes that potentially trade off with each other-has not been systematically investigated. We examine these associations using a task that imposes varying requirements on flexibility (task switching) and stability (distractor inhibition). The task included ambiguous trials that captured participants' preference for cognitively flexible performance. Participants (n = 51) completed the task with pupillary measurement recording. We find a lower preference to voluntarily

SUBMITTER: Jos AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12308633 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature