Simple Reaction Time Experiment Research Articles

Kualitas Tidur Buruk Memperlambat Waktu Reaksi Visual pada Mahasiswa Program Studi Sarjana Fisioterapi Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Udayana

Background: College students are one of the groups that have a high risk of experiencing sleep deprivation and sleep disorders. In medical students, this is due to the high duration and intensity of education. Poor sleep quality causes impaired cognitive function, one of which is decreased reaction time. Students with faster reaction times have better cognitive status and academic performance. This study aims to determine how the relationship of sleep quality to reaction time with the type of simple reaction time (SRT) and choice reaction time (CRT) experiment in physiotherapy student at faculty of medicine, university of udayana.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted with simple random sampling technique. 45 students participated in this study. Sleep quality was measured with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and reaction time using Deary-Liewald reaction time task with SRT and CRT types of experiment. Bivariate analysis was performed using the Spearman rho test.Result: 21 people (46.7%) had good sleep quality and 24 people (53.3%) had poor sleep quality. The results showed that there was a relationship between sleep quality and reaction time using CRT (p = 0.003) and there was no relationship between sleep quality and reaction time using SRT (p = 0.084).Conclusion: Poor sleep quality resulted in decreased reaction time with the CRT experiment type. The authors suggests research with different methods and populations, also add more control variables.

Loudness, but not shot power, influences simple reaction times to soccer penalty sounds

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate how ecological sport sounds (i.e., foot-ball impacts of soccer penalty kicks) affect simple reaction times. Design: Three within-subjects, simple reaction time experiments were carried out; they differed among each other for the manipulations performed on the stimuli. Method: In Experiment 1, the loudness of the stimuli was manipulated; instead, in Experiment 2 and 3 shot power was manipulated, using as stimuli impacts of shots with different speeds. Results: The results highlighted an inverse relation between stimuli loudness and reaction times; instead, the natural differences among shots with different power were not sufficient to influence reaction times. Conclusions: Sounds associated to different shot power seem to differ in parameters which are not actually relevant for simple reaction times. Future studies should further investigate on similar issues, better clarifying whether the properties of ecological sounds can naturally influence reaction times.

On optimal spatial filtering for the detection of phase coupling in multivariate neural recordings

IntroductionNeuronal oscillations synchronize processing in the brain over large spatiotemporal scales and thereby facilitate integration of individual functional modules. Up to now, the relation between the phases of neuronal oscillations and behavior or perception has mainly been analyzed in sensor space of multivariate EEG/MEG recordings. However, sensor-space analysis distorts the topographies of the underlying neuronal sources and suffers from low signal-to-noise ratio. Instead, we propose an optimized source reconstruction approach (Phase Coupling Optimization, PCO). MethodsPCO maximizes the 'mean vector length', calculated from the phases of recovered neuronal sources and a target variable of interest (e.g., experimental performance). As pre-processing, the signal-to-noise ratio in the search-space is maximized by spatio-spectral decomposition. PCO was benchmarked against several competing algorithms and sensor-space analysis using realistic forward model simulations. As a practical example, thirteen 96-channel EEG measurements during a simple reaction time task were analyzed. After time-frequency decomposition, PCO was applied to the EEG to examine the relation between the phases of pre-stimulus EEG activity and reaction times. ResultsIn simulations, PCO outperformed other spatial optimization approaches and sensor-space analysis. Scalp topographies of the underlying source patterns and the relation between the phases of the source activity and the target variable could be reconstructed accurately even for very low SNRs (−10dB). In a simple reaction time experiment, the phases of pre-stimulus delta waves (<0.1Hz) with widely distributed fronto-parietal source topographies were found predictive of the reaction times. Discussion and conclusionsFrom multivariate recordings, PCO can reconstruct neuronal sources that are phase-coupled to a target variable using a data-driven optimization approach. Its superiority has been shown in simulations and in the analysis of a simple reaction time experiment. From this data, we hypothesize that the phase entrainment of slow delta waves (<1Hz) facilitates sensorimotor integration in the brain and that this mechanism underlies the faster processing of anticipated stimuli. We further propose that the examined slow delta waves, observed to be phase-coupled to reaction times, correspond to the compound potentials typically observed in paradigms of stimulus anticipation and motor preparation.

Measurement of Visual Reaction Times using Hand-held Mobile Devices

Modern mobile devices provide a convenient platform for collecting research data in the field. But,because the working of these devices is often cloaked behind multiple layers of proprietary system software, it can bedifficult to assess the accuracy of the data they produce, particularly in the case of timing. We have been collecting datain a simple visual reaction time experiment, as part of a fatigue testing protocol known as the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT). In this protocol, subjects run a 5-minute block consisting of a sequence of trials in which a visual stimulus appears after an unpredictable variable delay. The subject is required to tap the screen as soon as possible after the appearance of the stimulus. In order to validate the reaction times reported by our program, we had subjects perform the task while a high-speed video camera recorded both the display screen, and a side view of the finger (observed in a mirror). Simple image-processing methods were applied to determine the frames in which the stimulus appeared and disappeared, and in which the finger made and broke contact with the screen. The results demonstrate a systematic delay between the initial contact by the finger and the detection of the touch by the software, having a value of 80 +- 20 milliseconds.

Two steps to space for numbers.

Two steps to space for numbers.

Study on simple reaction and choice times in patients with type I diabetes

A study on simple reaction time (SRT) and choice reaction time in patients having diabetes is described in this paper. The study was applied to fourteen patients with type I diabetes, as well as to fourteen non-diabetic persons. The research is based on two visual signal perception experiments, both implemented on a computer based environment. The SRT experiment consisted on measuring participants' reaction times to a light change event in a simulated traffic light scenario. The choice reaction time was studied through the performance indexes (d′) achieved by participants in a two alternative forced experiment, where a known visual signal is identified from two noisy images. According to the obtained results, the diabetic patients' SRTs were an average of 24% longer than the reaction time of non-diabetic persons, in the same way a significant average difference of 41% was obtained in the efficient index d′ too. A positive correlation of 0.6594 between the time periods since diabetes has been diagnosed and the average SRTs of diabetic patients was obtained, also significant correlation differences between age of all experiments participants and resulting variables, SRTs and d′, were observed; for instance the correlation factor between participants' ages and their average SRTs was −0.8529 for diabetic patients, meanwhile a value of −0.2905 was obtained for non-diabetic persons. The evidence suggests that the time period since diabetes has been diagnosed notably affects motor and sensorial systems maturity, and consequently conduction speed of sural and peroneal nerves.

Gamma oscillations are involved in the sensorimotor transformation of pain

Pain signals threat and initiates motor responses to avoid harm. The transformation of pain into a motor response is thus an essential part of pain. Here, we investigated the neural mechanisms subserving the sensorimotor transformation of pain at the cortical level by using electroencephalography. In a simple reaction time experiment, brief painful stimuli were delivered to the left hand of healthy human subjects who responded with button presses of the right hand. The results show that the simple reaction time task was associated with neuronal responses at delta/theta, alpha/beta, and gamma frequencies. The analysis of the relationship between neuronal activity and response speed revealed that gamma oscillations, which were temporally coupled to the painful stimuli, but not temporally coupled to the motor response, predicted reaction times. Lateralization of gamma oscillations indicates that they originate from motor areas rather than from sensory areas. We conclude that gamma oscillations are involved in the sensorimotor transformation of pain whose efficiency they reflect. We hypothesize that the relationship between stimulus-locked gamma oscillations and reaction times reflects a direct thalamo-motor route of nociceptive information that is central to the biological function of pain.

S171 GAMMA OSCILLATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN THE SENSORIMOTOR TRANSFORMATION OF PAIN

European Journal of Pain SupplementsVolume 5, Issue S1 p. 217-217 S171 GAMMA OSCILLATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN THE SENSORIMOTOR TRANSFORMATION OF PAIN E. Schulz, E. Schulz Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorL. Tiemann, L. Tiemann Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorV. Witkovsky, V. Witkovsky Department of Theoretical Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak RepublicSearch for more papers by this authorP. Schmidt, P. Schmidt Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorM. Ploner, M. Ploner Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this author E. Schulz, E. Schulz Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorL. Tiemann, L. Tiemann Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorV. Witkovsky, V. Witkovsky Department of Theoretical Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak RepublicSearch for more papers by this authorP. Schmidt, P. Schmidt Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this authorM. Ploner, M. Ploner Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, München, GermanySearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 January 2012 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1754-3207(11)70746-5Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume5, IssueS1September 2011Pages 217-217 RelatedInformation

Click trains and the rate of information processing: Does “speeding up” subjective time make other psychological processes run faster?

A series of experiments demonstrated that a 5-s train of clicks that have been shown in previous studies to increase the subjective duration of tones they precede (in a manner consistent with "speeding up" timing processes) could also have an effect on information-processing rate. Experiments used studies of simple and choice reaction time (Experiment 1), or mental arithmetic (Experiment 2). In general, preceding trials by clicks made response times significantly shorter than those for trials without clicks, but white noise had no effects on response times. Experiments 3 and 4 investigated the effects of clicks on performance on memory tasks, using variants of two classic experiments of cognitive psychology: Sperling's (1960) iconic memory task and Loftus, Johnson, and Shimamura's (1985) iconic masking task. In both experiments participants were able to recall or recognize significantly more information from stimuli preceded by clicks than those preceded by silence.

Fusion prevents the redundant signals effect: Evidence from stereoscopically presented stimuli.

In a simple reaction time (RT) experiment, visual stimuli were stereoscopically presented either to one eye (single stimulation) or to both eyes (redundant stimulation), with brightness matched for single and redundant stimulations. Redundant stimulation resulted in two separate percepts when noncorresponding retinal areas were stimulated, whereas it resulted in a single fused percept when corresponding areas were stimulated. With stimulation of noncorresponding areas, mean RT was shorter to redundant than to single stimulation, replicating the redundant signals effect (RSE) commonly found with visual stimuli. With stimulation of corresponding areas, however, no RSE was observed. This suggests that the RSE is driven by the number of percepts rather than by the number of stimulated receptors or sensory organs. These results are consistent with previous findings in the auditory modality and have implications for models of the RSE.

Applications of nonparametric adaptive methods for simple reaction time experiments

Adaptive methods are commonly used in psychophysical research for detection and discrimination (see Leek, 2001; Treutwein, 1995, for reviews). In recent years, researchers have investigated via simulations some asymptotic and small-sample properties of two nonparametric adaptive methods-namely, the fixed-step-size up-down (García-Pérez, 1998, 2001) and the (accelerated) stochastic approximation (Faes et al., 2007). In the present article, we extend both methods to the simple reaction time (RT) situation for the measure of signal intensities that elicit certain (fixed) RT percentiles. We focus on extending the following four methods: the stochastic approximation of Robbins and Monro (1951), its accelerated version of Kesten (1958), the transformed up-down of Wetherill (1963), and the "biased coin design" of Durham and Flournoy (1994, 1995). In all simulations, we assume that the RT is Weibull distributed and that there is a linear relationship between the mean RT and its standard deviation. The convergences of the asymptotic and small-sample properties for different starting values, step sizes, and response criteria are systematically investigated.

Food cravings consume limited cognitive resources.

Using Tiffany's (1990) cognitive model of drug use and craving as a theoretical basis, the present experiments investigated whether cravings for food expend limited cognitive resources. Cognitive performance was assessed by simple reaction time (Experiment 1) and an established measure of working memory capacity, the operation span task (Experiment 2). In each experiment, female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a craving or control condition. Participants in the craving condition abstained from eating chocolate for 24 hours prior to testing and performed the cognitive task in the presence of chocolate, a manipulation that successfully elicited chocolate cravings. In both experiments, there was no main effect of craving condition on cognition, but there was a significant interaction between condition and trait chocolate craving. In support of Tiffany's model, our results show that habitual food cravers direct limited cognitive resources to craving-related cues, at the cost of competing cognitive demands.

Temporal order judgment and simple reaction times: Evidence for a common processing system

We present a simple reaction time (RT) versus temporal order judgment (TOJ) experiment as a test of the perception-action relationship. The experiment improves on previous ones in that it assesses for the first time RT and TOJ on a trial-by-trial basis, hence allowing the study of the two behaviors within the same task context and, most importantly, the association of RT to "correct" and "incorrect" TOJs. RTs to pairs of stimuli are significantly different depending on the associated TOJs, an indication that perceptual and motor decisions are based on the same internal response. Simulations with the simplest one-system model (J. Gibbon & R. Rutschmann, 1969) using the means and standard deviations of the RT to stimuli presented in isolation yield excellent fits of the mean RT to these increments when presented in sequence and moderately good fits of the RT when classified according to the TOJ categories. The present observation that the point of subjective simultaneity for stimulus pairs is systematically smaller than the difference in RT to each of the two increments in the same pairs pleads, however, in favor of distinct decision criteria for perception and action with the former below the latter. For such a case, standard one-system race models require that the internal noise associated with the TOJ be less than the one associated with the RT to the same stimulus pair. The present data show the reverse state of affairs. In short, data and simulations comply with "one-system-two-decision" models of perceptual and motor behaviors, while prompting further testing and modeling to account for the apparent discrepancy between the ordering of the two decisions.

Unilateral reaction time task is delayed during contralateral movements

Performing unlearned unimanual tasks when simultaneously carrying out another task with the contralateral hand is known to be difficult. The dual task interference theory predicts that reaction time will be delayed if the investigated task is performed in the course of ongoing contralateral movements. Ballistic movements can be performed at maximal speed in simple reaction time (SRT) experiments when subjects have adequately prepared the motor system needed for movement execution. When fully prepared, activation of subcortical motor pathways by a startling auditory stimulus (SAS) triggers the whole reaction. In this study, we have examined dual task interference with reaction time in eight healthy volunteers. They were presented with a visual imperative signal to perform unilateral SRT either in a baseline condition (control trials) or while carrying out contralateral rhythmic oscillatory movements (test trials). A SAS was introduced in 25% of the trials in both conditions. SRT was significantly delayed in the interference test trial when compared to control trials either with or without SAS (P<0.001). Control and test trials with SAS were significantly faster than those without SAS in both conditions (P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the percentage SRT shortening induced by SAS or in the percentage SRT delay observed in the test trials. Our results suggest that performing rhythmic oscillatory movements with one limb slows SRT in the contralateral limb and that this effect is likely related to motor preparation changes. The effect described here can be of interest for physiological studies of interlimb coordination and the mechanisms underlying the dual task interference phenomenon.

Contralateral and ipsilateral motor activation in visual simple reaction time: a test of the hemispheric coactivation model

Motor potentials contralateral versus ipsilateral to the responding hand were examined in a visual simple reaction time (RT) experiment in order to test the hemispheric coactivation model of Miller (Cogn Psychol 49:118-154, 2004). Visual stimuli were presented on the left side of fixation, on the right side, or on both sides, and in the RT task participants had to respond as quickly as possible to the onset of any stimulus. The same stimulus displays were also presented in a counting task, for which participants had merely to count the stimuli. Hemisphere-specific movement-related potentials contralateral and ipsilateral to the responding hand were isolated by subtracting count-task ERPs from RT-task ERPs. Consistent with the hemispheric coactivation model, there was evidence of movement-related ipsilateral positivity as well as contralateral negativity, suggesting that the motor areas of both hemispheres contribute to response initiation in simple RT. The distinction between contralateral and ipsilateral motor activation appears useful in clarifying the roles of the two hemispheres in response initiation.

Hemispheric sensitivity to body stimuli in simple reaction time

Previous research indicates that people respond fastest when the motor response is (spatially, functionally, anatomically, or otherwise) congruent to the visual stimulus. This effect, called ideomotor compatibility, is thought to be expressed in motor areas. Congruence occurs when the stimulus and response share some dimensions in their internal representations. If the ideomotor compatibility hypothesis were true, we would expect facilitation when right hand stimuli are presented to the left hemisphere, or left hand stimuli are presented to the right hemisphere. To address this issue, we conducted a simple reaction time experiment with lateralized targets. Participants were instructed to press a button as soon as a target was observed. The target stimulus was a left hand, a right hand, or a neutral control. Each hemisphere showed faster responses to contralateral hand stimuli as compared with ipsilateral hand stimuli, consistent with the ideomotor compatibility hypothesis. The results support an automatic and implicit processing of visual stimuli within motor representations even when no recognition of, or decision about, the stimulus is necessary.

Redundancy gain with static versus moving hands: A test of the hemispheric coactivation model

A simple reaction time (RT) experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that redundancy gain arises partly because of hemispheric coactivation. Stimuli were presented to the left or right of fixation, or redundantly to both, and the participants had to make keypress responses as rapidly as possible to stimulus onset. A “static” condition, in which the participants held their hands at rest, was compared with a “dynamic” condition, in which they moved their hands back and forth in an oscillating motion prior to stimulus onset. As predicted from the hypothesis of hemispheric coactivation, redundancy gain, measured as the decrease in mean RT to redundant stimuli as compared with single stimuli, was smaller in the dynamic condition than in the static one.

Evidence for a close relationship between conscious effort and anterior cingulate cortex activity

The function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been discussed in the last years in the context of conflict monitoring and error detection. In addition, ACC activity has been described in the context of “conscious effort”. Recent neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies have described a negative correlation between ACC activity and reaction times in simple or choice reaction time experiments. One suggested explanation for this finding has been that there is a relationship between effort and ACC activity. The present ERP-LORETA study of healthy volunteers ( n=35) was intended to directly investigate this relationship. In this experiment, three conditions were investigated: condition I was a choice reaction task with the instruction to stay relaxed during the task (relaxed condition), condition II was the same choice reaction task with the instruction to press the respective button as fast and correct as possible (effort condition). Condition III was just listening to the tones without button press (control condition). Subjects had to score directly after each experimental run on a visual analogue scale the amount of effort they have actually spent. The subjects showed significantly shorter reaction times during the high effort condition in comparison to the relaxed condition, as well as increased N1 amplitudes and increased ACC activity. In a subgroup analysis, this effect was present only in subjects who were (according to their self-ratings) following the instructions closely. These results provide direct evidence for a close relationship between conscious effort and ACC activity and suggest the usefulness of the applied effort-self-rating.

Topographical analysis of stimulus-related and response-related electrical scalp activity and interhemispheric dynamics in normal humans

It is believed that reaction time estimates of interhemispheric relay (IHR) time or accuracy cost reflect motor relay and that visual evoked response potential (ERP) estimates reflect visual relay ( Brown and Jeeves, 1993). If this is so, then response-related ERP estimates of IHR might be expected to correlate more with reaction time (RT) estimates of IHR than visual ERPs do, and the former ought to interact with the latter. A simple reaction time experiment (Poffenberger paradigm) was carried out with an 18-electrode montage on 10 normal subjects to investigate visual and motor interhemispheric relay effects and their interrelation. Three components in stimulus-synchronized and three other components in response-synchronized averaged signals were analyzed. Latencies and amplitudes of these components were studied as a function of the visual field stimulated and the hand required to respond. Effects interpretable as interhemispheric relay effects were observed in stimulus-related as well as response-related components. Few interhemispheric relay effect estimates in stimulus-related and response-related electrical scalp potentials were related to behavioral estimates of interhemispheric relay effects (derived from reaction times and omission errors). The spatiotemporal distributions of the electrical interhemispheric relay effects differed in stimulus and response-related components and they were statistically unrelated. We conclude that sensory interhemispheric relay may be picked up with stimulus-synchronized ERPs whereas motor interhemispheric relay effects may be measurable with response-related ERPs in normal humans. However, this proposal ought to be tested with callosotomized subjects.

Effects of Response Probability on Response Force in Simple RT

Response force (RF) was measured in a simple reaction time (RT) experiment varying response uncertainty by cuing the probability of the response on each trial. In all cases, RF decreased as response probability increased. The dependence of RF on response probability was insensitive to foreperiod length and to the use of loud auditory response signals, although the dependence of RT on response probability was sensitive to both of these manipulations. In combination with previous findings, these results provide evidence that RT and RF can be dissociated. We describe an extension of Näätanen's readiness model that can account for the effects of response probability on RF and RT. According to this model, the distance between motor activation and a threshold for action is relatively large when subjects are unprepared, and a large increment is needed to exceed this threshold, resulting in slow but foreceful responses. A possible neurophysiological implementation of this model is suggested.