Fig. 1

Stop signal paradigm. This task included 80% Go trials and 20% Stop trials. On Go trials, participants were presented with a fixation cross on a black computer screen lasting for 600–800 ms, which is immediately followed by a Go stimulus (the letter ‘X’ or ‘O’) (a Go signal) lasting for 1000 ms. Participants were instructed to judge the shape of the Go stimulus as accurately and quickly as possible via a button press with the index fingers of the left and right hands. On the remaining Stop trials (20%), the stop stimulus (a red square appearing above the location of the go stimulus) appeared after the Go stimulus after a variable delay of 0–250 ms in a step of 50 ms (the stop signal delay; SSD), cuing participants to withhold their responses to the Go stimulus. A variable intertrial interval was 1500–2000 ms.