Behavioral and neuroimaging studies on multitasking: a literature review

Abstract

This literature review aims at articulating evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies on multitasking, where at least one of the tasks is a linguistic one. Simply put, multitasking is the handling of more than one task at the same time by a single person. Findings from six behavioral and five neuroimaging studies were articulated with the literature to corroborate two hypotheses longstanding in the field, that (1) multitasking results in one task being performed more poorly than when performed alone (PASHLER, 1994; SCHMIDT, 2001), and that (2) multitasking is a matter of synchronizing and utilizing more efficiently the available neural resources (SALVUCCI; TAATGEN, 2011; JUST; BUCHWEITZ, 2014). The selected studies investigate simultaneous listening comprehension and driving; listening comprehension and performing mental rotation tasks; dichotic listening comprehension; reading/attending a lecture and messaging; bilingualism; the role of intelligence and working memory capacity; the effects of training; and choices across generations. Findings from the reviewed studies corroborate the literature and add support that less voxels in a network of brain areas are activated in multitasking than in single tasking. Implications of such findings for education were also discussed in the review. Future studies may light the path by showing the brain mechanisms that allow and limit multitasking, the effects of learning under conditions of distraction as well as how teaching may evolve to keep up and guide the new generations.