What did you study?
We studied how people maintain accurate and fast performance when task demands increase, and how this efficiency is reflected in brain activity. The dissertation focused on brain–behaviour coupling under different demanding conditions, such as active task engagement, divided attention, and task-based neural modulation. The studies used EEG and MEG to examine when neural responses become informative about individual behavioural efficiency.
What were the results of your study or what is its main finding?
The main finding is that brain responses are not automatically meaningful for behaviour. Their behavioural relevance depends strongly on task context. Active engagement strengthened the relationship between auditory neural responses and behavioural efficiency. Divided attention across auditory and visual streams reduced performance efficiency, especially in vision, and early neural indices reflected individual differences in these costs. The dissertation also showed that an optimized auditory paradigm can improve the measurement of multi-stage brain processing, and that EEG neurofeedback embedded in a demanding visual task can enhance behavioural improvement, particularly under higher difficulty.
How can the results be applied?
The results can help develop more sensitive methods for assessing cognitive performance, attention, and cognitive load. They may also support future applications in neurotechnology, cognitive training, and brain–computer interaction. In particular, task-based neurofeedback may provide a way to improve performance in demanding attentional tasks.
What new insights did the research contribute to the topic?
The dissertation shows that brain–behaviour coupling should be understood as task-dependent. Neural responses predict behavioural efficiency mainly when the task requires active evaluation, increased attentional load, or targeted neural modulation. This helps clarify when EEG and MEG measures can be used to understand individual differences in cognitive performance.
Dissertation event information
M.Sc. Zhaonan Ma defends their doctoral dissertation Behavioural Efficiency Under Task Demands: Brain-Behaviour Coupling Across Engagement, Load, and Neural Modulation at the University of Jyväskylä on June 5, 2026 at 12.00 o'clock at Ylistönrinne (YlistöKem-building, YK306).
Opponent is Assistant Professor Hanna Renvall from Aalto University, and Custos is Professor Tommi Kärkkäinen from the University of Jyväskylä. The language of the dissertation and the event is English.
