Conjunctive Representations that Integrate Stimuli, Responses, and Rules are Critical for Action Selection

Abstract

People can use abstract rules to flexibly configure and select actions for specific situations. Yet how exactly rules shape actions towards specific sensory and/or motor requirements remains unclear. One possibility is that rules become integrated with sensory/response features in a non-linear, conjunctive manner (e.g., event files; Hommel, 1998) to drive rule-guided action selection. To dynamically track such conjunctive representations during action selection, we applied a time-resolved representational similarity analysis to the spectral-temporal profiles of the EEG signal, while participants selected actions based on varying rules. Across two experiments, we found that action selection engages conjunctive representations binding action rules to specific sensory/motor settings throughout the entire selection period. The strength of conjunctions was the most important predictor of trial-by-trial variability in response times (RTs) and was closely, and selectively, related to an important behavioral indicator of event files--the partial-overlap priming pattern. Thus, conjunctive representations were functionally dissociated from their constituent action features and play a critical role during flexible selection of action.