The HED Task Catalog is under development. IDs are not stable until formal release. Comments are welcome at github.com/hed-standard/hed-task/issues.

Continuous Performance Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_continuous_performance

Family: Oddball, vigilance and continuous performance tasks

Also known as: CPT, CPT-II, AX-CPT variant also separate entry, Continuous Performance

Extended stream of stimuli in which a rare target requires a response; omission and commission errors index sustained attention and response control.

Description

The Continuous Performance Task requires participants to continuously monitor a stream of stimuli and respond selectively to infrequent target stimuli while withholding responses to non-targets over an extended period (5-15 minutes). The standard version involves responding when the letter “X” appears; the AX-CPT variant requires responding only when “A” is immediately followed by “X.” Target frequency is typically 5-25% of trials. Performance measures include hit rate, false alarm rate, d’ (sensitivity), and vigilance decrement over time. The task is widely used in ADHD research and clinical neuropsychology.

Inclusion test

An experiment is an instance of this task when its procedure matches, it manipulates at least one of the listed variables, and it records at least one of the listed measures.

Procedure

A rapid sequence of stimuli is presented; participants respond to infrequent target stimuli and withhold responses to non-targets over a prolonged session (10–20 min).

Manipulation

Target probability; stimulus presentation rate (ISI); session duration; signal type (letters, digits, tones).

Measurement

Hit rate, false alarm rate, d-prime (sensitivity); commission errors (impulsivity); omission errors (inattention); RT variability.

Variations

Named versions that change what the participant experiences or does. The identifier of a variation is hedvar_<task>__<variation>.

Variation

Description

Justification

X-CPT (Simple)

hedvar_continuous_performance__x_cpt_simple

Respond to target letter “X” among non-target letters; measures basic sustained attention.

Respond to single target letter; canonical simple vigilance paradigm

AX-CPT (Context Processing)

hedvar_continuous_performance__ax_cpt_context_processing

Respond to “X” only when preceded by “A”; probes context maintenance and proactive/reactive control.

Context-dependent target requires tracking A→X sequence; different working memory demand

Identical Pairs CPT (IP-CPT)

hedvar_continuous_performance__identical_pairs_cpt_ip_cpt

Respond when two consecutive stimuli are identical; taps working memory updating.

Respond when consecutive stimuli match; different stimulus-response rule

Gradual-Onset CPT (gradCPT)

hedvar_continuous_performance__gradual_onset_cpt_gradcpt

Scene images fade in/out continuously; respond to one category, withhold to another; naturalistic sustained attention.

Stimuli gradually transition instead of discrete flashes; different perceptual and decision dynamics

Auditory CPT

hedvar_continuous_performance__auditory_cpt

Auditory stimulus stream; respond to target phoneme or tone.

Auditory stimulus stream instead of visual; different sensory modality

Conners’ CPT-3

hedvar_continuous_performance__conners_cpt_3

Standardized commercial version with norms for ADHD assessment.

Standardized commercial CPT with letter stimuli and specific timing; named published instrument

TOVA (Test of Variables of Attention)

hedvar_continuous_performance__tova_test_of_variables_of_attention

Commercial CPT variant with specific timing parameters and normative data.

Geometric stimuli, fixed ISI; distinct named instrument with different timing parameters

CPT with Emotional Distractors

hedvar_continuous_performance__cpt_with_emotional_distractors

Task-irrelevant emotional stimuli during sustained attention.

Emotional stimuli as distractors; retained per §5.1 (EMOT retired)

Cognitive processes

This task is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • Rosvold, H. E., Mirsky, A. F., Sarason, I., Bransome, E. D., & Beck, L. H. (1956). A continuous performance test of brain damage. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 20(5), 343-350. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Nuechterlein, K. H., Parasuraman, R., & Jiang, Q. (1983). Visual sustained attention: Image degradation produces rapid sensitivity decrement over time. Science, 220(4594), 327-329. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Carter, C. S., Braver, T. S., Barch, D. M., Botvinick, M. M., Noll, D., & Cohen, J. D. (1998). Anterior cingulate cortex, error detection, and the online monitoring of performance. Science, 280(5364), 747-749. (DOI, PubMed)

Further references

  • Huang-Pollock, C. L., Karalunas, S. L., Tam, H., & Moore, A. N. (2012). Evaluating vigilance deficits in ADHD: A meta-analysis of CPT performance. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(2), 360–371. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Esterman, M., Noonan, S. K., Rosenberg, M., & DeGutis, J. (2013). In the zone or zoning out? Tracking behavioral and neural fluctuations during sustained attention. Cerebral Cortex, 23(11), 2712–2723. (DOI)

  • Fortenbaugh, F. C., DeGutis, J., & Esterman, M. (2017). Recent theoretical, neural, and clinical advances in sustained attention research. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1396(1), 70–91. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Weigard, A., & Huang-Pollock, C. (2017). The role of speed in ADHD-related working memory deficits: A time-based resource-sharing and diffusion model account. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(2), 195–211.