PARIETAL P300 LATENCY PREDICTS TASK-SET IMPLEMENTATION IN AN EMOTIONAL GO/NO-GO PARADIGM

Task-set implementation, the internal configuration of attention, memory, and response strategies, is critical for adaptive behavior in complex tasks. The present study investigated whether P300 latency recorded in a Visual Oddball task predicts task-set engagement in a subsequent emotional Go/No-Go paradigm. Thirty-five participants (26 females, 9 males; 18–34 years) performed both tasks while EEG was recorded from 20 electrodes. In the Go/No-Go task, participants responded to sad or neutral faces according to task instructions, allowing assessment of inhibitory control, perceptual discrimination, and rapid strategy formation. P300 latency was calculated using a fractional area method, focusing on parietal, central, and frontal regions. Behavioral results showed faster responses to sad faces and impaired inhibition in the NoGoSAD condition, indicating reliance on a feature-based task-set strategy. Critically, parietal P300 latency significantly predicted GoSAD accuracy (R² = 0.556, p < .001), with shorter latencies associated with better task performance. ROC analysis confirmed that parietal latency reliably discriminated high versus low performers (AUC = 0.942, LOO-CV). These findings suggest that P300 latency reflects individual differences in cognitive efficiency and serves as a neural marker of effective task-set implementation, particularly in emotionally demanding contexts. The study highlights the utility of combining ERP measures with behavioral paradigms to understand the neural underpinnings of cognitive control and the strategic allocation of attention in complex tasks.