Neurocognitive processes in Chinese-to-English consecutive interpreting under high and low cognitive load: an ERP study

Cognitive control is pivotal in consecutive interpretation (CI). The present study aimed to capture the features of neurocognitive processes involved in CI under varying cognitive load. Electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded while 40 student interpreters interpreted from Chinese to English. The AX-CPT task was employed to measure the mode of cognitive control. Expert quality ratings on performance quality and self-ratings on the NASA Task Load served as behavioural validation. It showed that the production stage induced larger N200, N400, and P600 waves compared to the comprehension stage. CI under high load resulted in a less pronounced P300 compared to low load. Correlation analysis revealed a direct relationship between proactive control and semantic processing, particularly under high load conditions. These findings suggest that interpreters dynamically regulate cognitive control mechanisms to facilitate smooth performance in the CI task across different levels of cognitive load and types of tasks, production versus comprehension.