Response Inhibition
Go/No-Go Task
Assess inhibitory control and impulse regulation with signal-detection-friendly go/no-go scoring.
4-5 minTimed: desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 3,039
- Evidence grade
- A
- Registered clinical studies
- 702
What it measures
Measures response inhibition by requiring participants to respond to 'go' stimuli and withhold responses to 'no-go' stimuli.
Constructs
- Response inhibition
- Impulse control
- Sustained attention
- Signal detection sensitivity
Research uses
- ADHD assessment
- Impulse control disorder screening
- Substance use disorder evaluation
- Frontal lobe dysfunction detection
- Medication effects on inhibitory control
How the paradigm works
The Go/No-Go task is a foundational measure of response inhibition. Participants are presented with a stream of stimuli: green circles (Go) require a spacebar press, while red circles (No-Go) require withholding the response. The asymmetric ratio (75% Go, 25% No-Go) builds a prepotent response tendency, making inhibition on No-Go trials effortful.
More about the paradigm
Performance is analyzed through signal detection theory. Hits (correct Go responses) and false alarms (incorrect responses to No-Go stimuli) are used to compute d-prime, a sensitivity index that separates true discriminability from response bias. Commission errors (responding on No-Go trials) specifically index failure of inhibitory control.
The task engages the right inferior frontal gyrus and pre-supplementary motor area, regions critical for response inhibition. It is widely used in clinical populations where impulse control is compromised.
Scores
- Mean Go RTms
- Average reaction time on correct Go trials. Reflects processing speed for respond conditions.
- Lower is better
- Go Accuracy%
- Proportion of Go trials with a correct response. Low values suggest inattention.
- Higher is better
- No-Go Accuracy%
- Proportion of No-Go trials correctly withheld. Directly measures inhibitory success.
- Higher is better
- d-Primed'
- Signal detection sensitivity: Z(hit rate) - Z(false alarm rate). Separates discriminability from response bias.
- Higher is better
- Commission Errorscount
- Responses on No-Go trials (false alarms). Primary index of inhibitory failure.
- Lower is better
- Omission Errorscount
- Missed responses on Go trials. Indicates lapses in sustained attention.
- Lower is better
Use and evidence
3,039 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 7% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 7 of 582 test families in our census. The Go/No-Go Game page shows these counts too, as those of the published test the game is compared with. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 771 |
| 2024 | 584 |
| 2023 | 585 |
| 2022 | 496 |
| 2021 | 603 |
| 2020 | 574 |
| 2019 | 590 |
| 2018 | 523 |
| 2017 | 599 |
| 2016 | 548 |
| 2015 | 553 |
| 2014 | 487 |
| 2013 | 457 |
| 2012 | 383 |
| 2011 | 375 |
| 2010 | 367 |
| 2009 | 296 |
| 2008 | 243 |
| 2007 | 223 |
| 2006 | 196 |
| 2005 | 161 |
| 2004 | 178 |
| 2003 | 125 |
| 2002 | 106 |
| 2001 | 81 |
| 2000 | 96 |
Use grade A
1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade A
At least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 84
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 683
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 702
Measured on ConductCognition
Pooled across the studies that feed our platform norms, by device group. A figure needs 50 or more people.
No pooled figure yet.
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Standard task
- Green circles ask for a response; red circles ask for no response. A 500 ms cross precedes each circle, with up to 1 second to answer.
- Trials
- 10 practice trials, then 48 Go and 16 No-Go trials by default. Go trials can be set from 24 to 96 and No-Go from 8 to 32.
- Food training
- Optional, off by default. Fruit pictures always have a green Go frame; snack foods always have a red No-Go frame. Each picture stays for 1 second, with the same category rule in practice and test. Uses the selected Go and No-Go counts.
- Pictures
- The 20 credited CROCUFID food photographs also used by Food-Picture Dot-Probe: 10 fruit and 10 snack foods. Each category's pictures repeat as evenly as possible, in seeded order.
- Study visits
- Repeat food training across visits. Scores describe responses under the fixed category rule; use separate assessment visits to compare inhibition.
Food training follows the fixed category pairing used in response-inhibition research. Its pictures, trial counts, 75% Go default and 1-second display differ from Lawrence et al. (2015); it is not a reproduction of their study schedule.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: gonogo_test, press on go (75%) and withhold on no-go (25%) within 1 s. Responding mainly on no-go trials invalidates; not separating go from no-go is flagged. Missing more than max(3, 25%) go trials invalidates; any miss is flagged.
Why these rules
Accuracy against chance does not apply because withholding is correct on a quarter of trials. Responses concentrated on trials that needed none (one-sided Fisher exact test, p < .05) mean the instructions were reversed and invalidate; responses that do not separate the two trial types are flagged. Responding is the common, prepotent response here, so missing more than max(3, 25%) of response trials signals non-engagement (the platform's timed-test rule); any miss is flagged. Responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Food training | Off | On or off |
| Go trials | 48 | 24 to 96 |
| No-Go trials | 16 | 8 to 32 |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Included in these batteries
Each battery runs this test with others in a fixed order, with standard settings.
- Executive Control Battery4 tests, 18 minutes per participant
- Language-Minimized Screening Battery8 tests, 30 minutes per participant
- Attention and Impulsivity Battery4 tests, 26 minutes per participant
- Impulsivity and Substance Use Battery4 tests, 26 minutes per participant
- Medication Studies Battery5 tests, 26 minutes per participant
- Food Choice and Self-Control Battery4 tests, 29 minutes per participant
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Go/No-Go Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Donders, 1869), with the standard settings (food training: Off; go trials: 48; no-go trials: 16). The main score was d-prime (signal detection sensitivity: Z(hit rate) - Z(false alarm rate)).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Lawrence, N. S., O'Sullivan, J., Parslow, D., Javaid, M., Adams, R. C., Chambers, C. D., Kos, K., & Verbruggen, F. (2015). Training response inhibition to food is associated with weight loss and reduced energy intake. Appetite, 95, 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.06.009Consistent pairing of food categories with Go and No-Go signals.
Source papers
- Votruba KL, Langenecker SA (2013). Factor structure, construct validity, and age- and education-based normative data for the Parametric Go/No-Go Test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 35(2):132-146.Paradigm source
Questions
How long does the Go/No-Go Task take?
About 4 to 5 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Mean Go RT, Go Accuracy, No-Go Accuracy, d-Prime, Commission Errors and Omission Errors. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Go/No-Go Task used in research?
3,039 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 7% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 7 of 582 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade A). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Go/No-Go Task have?
In the published research, 84 papers report its test-retest reliability and 702 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade A in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Food training (On or off), go trials (24 to 96) and no-go trials (8 to 32). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
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