Our central aim was to systematically investigate how the prediction of attentional demands and reward availability are registered over time, and lead to adjustments in preparatory activity preceding the target stimulus onset. After the initial registration of the relevant features, we expected differential effects on neural markers of task preparation and attentional orienting. An ERP component that is particularly interesting in this regard is the contingent negative variation (CNV), which is a central slow negative brain wave that has been typically observed between a warning (cue) and imperative stimulus (target). This ERP wave has been shown to reflect the anticipation of or orienting to the upcoming stimulus and response preparation, and has been related to preparatory attention, motivation and response readiness (Grent-’t-Jong and Woldorff, 2007; Tecce, 1972; van Boxtel and Brunia, 1994; Walter et al., 1964). We expected that cue information about reward availability and task demands could lead to dissociations of processes related to the interpretation of the cue information and subsequent task preparation not only in amplitude but also in time. These two manipulations could start to influence
