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Quarterly Journal of Experimental... Feb 2020Visuomotor adaptation involves multiple processes such as explicit learning, implicit learning from sensory prediction errors, and model-free mechanisms like...
Visuomotor adaptation involves multiple processes such as explicit learning, implicit learning from sensory prediction errors, and model-free mechanisms like use-dependent plasticity. Recent findings show that reward and punishment differently affect visuomotor adaptation. This study examined whether punishment and reward had distinct effects on explicit learning. When participants practised adapting to a large, abrupt visual rotation during reaching for a virtual visual target, visual feedback of the cursor was not provided. Only performance-based scalar reward or punishment feedback (money gained or lost) was used, thereby emphasising explicit processes during adaptation. The results revealed that punishment, compared with reward, induced faster adaptation and greater variability of reaching in the initial phase of adaptation. We interpret these findings as reflecting enhanced explicit learning, likely due to loss aversion.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Practice, Psychological; Psychomotor Performance; Punishment; Reward; Young Adult
PubMed: 31382855
DOI: 10.1177/1747021819871173 -
ELife May 2022Response inhibition is among the core constructs of cognitive control. It is notoriously difficult to quantify from overt behavior, since the outcome of successful... (Review)
Review
Response inhibition is among the core constructs of cognitive control. It is notoriously difficult to quantify from overt behavior, since the outcome of successful inhibition is the lack of a behavioral response. Currently, the most common measure of action stopping, and by proxy response inhibition, is the model-based stop signal reaction time (SSRT) derived from the stop signal task. Recently, partial response electromyography (prEMG) has been introduced as a complementary physiological measure to capture individual stopping latencies. PrEMG refers to muscle activity initiated by the go signal that plummets after the stop signal before its accumulation to a full response. Whereas neither the SSRT nor the prEMG is an unambiguous marker for neural processes underlying response inhibition, our analysis indicates that the prEMG peak latency is better suited to investigate brain mechanisms of action stopping. This study is a methodological resource with a comprehensive overview of the psychometric properties of the prEMG in a stop signal task, and further provides practical tips for data collection and analysis.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Electromyography; Inhibition, Psychological; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time
PubMed: 35617120
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.70332 -
Behavior Research Methods Feb 2022Post-error slowing is one of the most widely employed measures to study cognitive and behavioral consequences of error commission. Several methods have been proposed to...
Post-error slowing is one of the most widely employed measures to study cognitive and behavioral consequences of error commission. Several methods have been proposed to quantify the post-error slowing effect, and we discuss two main methods: The traditional method of comparing response times in correct post-error trials to response times of correct trials that follow another correct trial, and a more recent proposal of comparing response times in correct post-error trials to the corresponding correct pre-error trials. Based on thorough re-analyses of two datasets, we argue that the latter method provides an inflated estimate by also capturing the (partially) independent effect of pre-error speeding. We propose two solutions for improving the assessment of human error processing, both of which highlight the importance of distinguishing between initial pre-error speeding and later post-error slowing.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time
PubMed: 34240334
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01631-4 -
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology Sep 2021This study investigated the relationships among neural activity related to pitch stimuli and task feedback, self-regulatory control, and task-performance measures in...
This study investigated the relationships among neural activity related to pitch stimuli and task feedback, self-regulatory control, and task-performance measures in expert and novice baseball players. The participants had their event-related brain potentials recorded while they completed a computerized task assessing whether thrown pitches were balls or strikes and received feedback on the accuracy of their responses following each pitch. The results indicated that college players exhibited significantly larger medial frontal negativities to pitch stimuli, as well as smaller reward positivities and larger frontocentral positivities in response to negative feedback, compared with novices. Furthermore, significant relationships were present between college players' neural activity related to both pitches and feedback and their task performance and self-regulatory behavior. These relationships were not present for novices. These findings suggest that players efficiently associate the information received in their feedback to their self-regulatory processing of the task and, ultimately, their task performance.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Athletic Performance; Baseball; Brain; Electroencephalography; Humans; Male; Psychomotor Performance; Task Performance and Analysis; Young Adult
PubMed: 34470908
DOI: 10.1123/jsep.2020-0325 -
Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi Oct 2019Objective To explore the change rules of blood ethanol and blood acetaldehyde concentration, the impairment of psychomotor functions of different acetaldehyde...
Objective To explore the change rules of blood ethanol and blood acetaldehyde concentration, the impairment of psychomotor functions of different acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 genotype individuals after alcohol consumption and the relationship among them. Methods The genotypes in seventy-nine healthy volunteers were obtained by SNaPshot method, then divided into (wild type) and (mutant type) group. After volunteers consumed 1.0 g/kg of alcohol, blood ethanol concentration and blood acetaldehyde concentration at a series of time points before and after alcohol consumption and psychomotor functions, such as, visual selective response time, auditory simple response time and tracking experiment were detected. Biphasic alcohol response questionnaires were collected. Results After alcohol consumption, group's blood ethanol and blood acetaldehyde concentration reached the peak earlier than group. Its blood acetaldehyde concentration was higher than that of group, 1-6 h after alcohol consumption. The psychomotor functions, such as visual selective response time and auditory simple response time in group were more significantly impaired than those in group after alcohol consumption. There was no statistical significance between the two groups in excitement or sedation reactions (>0.05). Pearson correlation coefficient test showed that blood acetaldehyde concentration was related with psychomotor function. Conclusion There are significant differences between the psychomotor function of wild type and mutant type individuals after alcohol consumption estimated to be related to the difference in blood acetaldehyde concentration after alcohol consumption.
Topics: Acetaldehyde; Alcohol Drinking; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; Ethanol; Genotype; Humans; Polymorphism, Genetic; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 31833292
DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2019.05.012 -
Scientific Reports May 2023The observation that different effectors can execute the same movement suggests functional equivalences driven by limb independent representation of action in the...
The observation that different effectors can execute the same movement suggests functional equivalences driven by limb independent representation of action in the central nervous system. A common invariant motor behavior is the speed and curvature coupling (the 1/3 power law), a low dimensional (abstract) descriptor of movement which is resilient to different sensorimotor contexts. Our purpose is to verify the consistency of such motor equivalence during a drawing task, by testing the effect of manual dominance and movement speed on motor performance. We hypothesize that abstract kinematic variables are not the most resistant to speed or limb effector changes. The results show specific effects of speed and hand side on the drawing task. Movement duration, speed-curvature covariation, and maximum velocity were not significantly affected by hand side, while geometrical features were strongly speed and limb dependent. However, intra-trial analysis performed over the successive drawing movements reveals a significant hand side effect on the variability of movement vigor and velocity-curvature relationship (the 1/3 PL). The identified effects of speed and hand dominance on the kinematic parameters suggest different neural strategies, in a pattern that does not go from the most abstract to the least abstract component, as proposed by the traditional hierarchical organization of the motor plan.
Topics: Movement; Psychomotor Performance; Hand; Central Nervous System; Biomechanical Phenomena
PubMed: 37217537
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34861-x -
Psychophysiology Nov 2022The motivation to avoid losses is often considered a strong drive of human behavior, affecting decisions in the context of risk, temporal delay, and effort provision....
The motivation to avoid losses is often considered a strong drive of human behavior, affecting decisions in the context of risk, temporal delay, and effort provision. However, studies measuring cognitive performance under loss and gain incentives have yielded mixed findings. In a recent study, we found evidence that losses motivated better working memory performance than gains. Since these results deviated from previous studies, we decided to perform a preregistered, high-powered, replication, and extension study. Eighty-six participants performed a working memory task (N-Back) under Gain and Loss conditions. Pupillometry was recorded during task performance, and subjective effort ratings were taken after each task run. Results showed that contrary to our previous findings, losses did not enhance working memory performance, relative to gains, at any N-Back level. Similarly, while pupil diameter was parametrically modulated by working memory load, no differences between the Gain and Loss conditions were found. Participants did believe that they were exerting more effort during Loss versus Gain conditions, regardless of N-Back level. However, this did not translate to performance differences between Gain and Loss conditions.
Topics: Cognition; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Motivation; Psychomotor Performance; Task Performance and Analysis
PubMed: 35575264
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14083 -
Hormones and Behavior Mar 2020A growing body of research suggests that hormonal contraceptive (HC) use may be associated with lower self-control, as well as structural and functional differences in...
A growing body of research suggests that hormonal contraceptive (HC) use may be associated with lower self-control, as well as structural and functional differences in women's brains that could contribute to differences in perseverance on tasks requiring cognitive control. Here, we sought to extend this research by examining the relationship between HC use and college-aged women's perseverance (i.e., time spent) and performance on tasks requiring cognitive control. Across two studies, we find that, compared to naturally-cycling women, women using HCs display less perseverance on both simple (i.e., a spot-the-difference game) and challenging (i.e., Graduate Record Examination quantitative problems) tasks. Moreover, these differences in perseverance were found to predict performance decrements across tasks, with women taking HCs performing worse because they spent less time on the tasks. By demonstrating how HC use may influence perseverance and thereby performance, these results contribute to a growing body of research examining the unintended implications of HC use on cognition, learning, and memory.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Brain; Cognition; Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Problem Solving; Psychometrics; Psychomotor Performance; Resilience, Psychological; Self Concept; Self-Control; Young Adult
PubMed: 31812533
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104652 -
Neuropsychopharmacology Reports Mar 2020Eye movements are indispensable for the collection of visual information in everyday life. Many findings regarding the neural basis of eye movements have been... (Review)
Review
Eye movements are indispensable for the collection of visual information in everyday life. Many findings regarding the neural basis of eye movements have been accumulated from neurophysiological and psychophysical studies. In the field of psychiatry, studies on eye movement characteristics in mental illnesses have been conducted since the early 1900s. Participants with schizophrenia are known to have characteristic eye movements during smooth pursuit, saccade control, and visual search. Recently, studies evaluating eye movement characteristics as biomarkers for schizophrenia have attracted considerable attention. In this article, we review the neurophysiological basis of eye movement control and eye movement characteristics in schizophrenia. Furthermore, we discuss the prospects for eye movements as biomarkers for mental illnesses.
Topics: Eye Movements; Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Schizophrenia; Visual Perception
PubMed: 31774633
DOI: 10.1002/npr2.12087 -
Human Movement Science Feb 2021The effects of slow-motion and real time video speed demonstration, under mixed-modeling conditions (skilled model plus self-observation), were examined to identify...
The effects of slow-motion and real time video speed demonstration, under mixed-modeling conditions (skilled model plus self-observation), were examined to identify whether there was an optimal demonstration speed, or combination thereof, for learning the dance pirouette en dehors skill. Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups with different video demonstration speeds: (1) slow-motion, (2) real-time, or (3) a combination of slow-motion and real-time. Following a pre-test, participants completed eight blocks of nine training trials (comprised of five physical and four observational practice trials). Physical performance and cognitive representation assessments revealed that participants' scores significantly improved for both assessments throughout acquisition (p's < 0.05), as well as from pre- to post-test (p's < 0.001), indicating learning of the skill. There were no significant differences, however, between the three experimental groups. These findings suggest that both real-time and slow-motion video demonstration, or their combined presentation, do not yield differences in motor learning outcomes related to the pirouette en dehors.
Topics: Adult; Cognition; Dancing; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Motor Skills; Movement; Psychomotor Performance; Young Adult
PubMed: 33421652
DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2020.102749