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European Journal of Sport Science 2013In sports, reaction time and anticipatory skill are critical aspects of perceptual abilities. To date, no study has compared reaction time and anticipatory skill of...
In sports, reaction time and anticipatory skill are critical aspects of perceptual abilities. To date, no study has compared reaction time and anticipatory skill of athletes from open and closed skill-dominated sport. Accordingly, the present study investigated whether a difference exists in sensory-cognitive skills between these two different sport domains. Eleven volleyball players and 11 sprinters participated in this experiment. Reaction time and anticipatory skill of both groups were recorded by a custom-made software called SART (speed anticipation and reaction time test). This software consists of six sensory-cognitive tests that evaluate visual choice reaction time, visual complex choice reaction time, auditory choice reaction time, auditory complex choice reaction time, and anticipatory skill of the high speed and low speed of the ball. For each variable, an independent t-test was performed. Results suggested that sprinters were better in both auditory reaction times (P<0.001 for both tests) and volleyball players were better in both anticipatory skill tests (P = 0.007 and P = 0.04 for anticipatory skill of the high speed and low speed of the ball, respectively). However, no significant differences were found in both visual choice reaction time tests (P > 0.05 for both visual reaction time tests). It is concluded that athletes have greater sensory-cognitive skills related to their specific sport domain either open or closed.
Topics: Athletes; Athletic Performance; Choice Behavior; Humans; Male; Reaction Time; Volleyball; Young Adult
PubMed: 24050458
DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2012.738712 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2022The purpose of this pre-registered study was to examine whether asking gamers and non-gamers about their video game playing habits before or after they performed...
The purpose of this pre-registered study was to examine whether asking gamers and non-gamers about their video game playing habits before or after they performed computerized cognitive-motor tasks affects their performance of those tasks. We recruited 187 participants from an online participants' recruitment platform. Out of those participants, 131 matched our criteria as gamers or non-gamers. They were then divided to two subgroups, and performed a choice-RT task, a Simon task, an alternate task-switching task, and a digit span memory task either before or after answering a video-game playing habits questionnaire. The results showed that gamers who completed a video-games questionnaire before performing the tasks had faster reaction times (RTs) in the Simon task compared with gamers who answered the questionnaire after performing the tasks. In contrast, non-gamers who answered the questionnaire before the task had slower RTs in the Simon task and the alternate task-switching task compared with non-gamers who answered the questionnaire after performing the tasks. The results suggest that answering a video-games questionnaire before the start of a study can lead to a response expectancy effect-positive for gamers and negative for non-gamers. This may bias findings of studies examining video games and the performance of cognitive-motor tasks.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Reaction Time; Surveys and Questionnaires; Video Games
PubMed: 35474102
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10986-3 -
Acta Psychologica Aug 2022The purpose of this study was to explore whether asking middle-aged gamers and non-gamers about their video games habits will affect their performance of cognitive-motor... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
The purpose of this study was to explore whether asking middle-aged gamers and non-gamers about their video games habits will affect their performance of cognitive-motor tasks. One-hundred and twenty-one participants were randomly assigned to four groups: (a) gamers who were asked about their playing habits prior to the study, (b) gamers who were asked about their playing habits following the study, (c) non-gamers who were asked about their playing habits prior to the study, and (d) non-gamers who were asked about their playing habits following the study. The participants performed three reaction time (RT) tasks and a digit-span memory task. In a task-switching task, gamers had more correct responses when they answered the questionnaire before performing the task compared with after the task. For the non-gamers, the opposite occurred. We conclude that some performance measures of cognitive-motor tasks could have been affected by the timing of the completion of the questionnaire. This finding should be known to researchers as it may lead to biases gaming research.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Middle Aged; Reaction Time; Surveys and Questionnaires; Video Games
PubMed: 35820337
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103666 -
Annals of the New York Academy of... Jul 2018What happens to goal-relevant information in working memory after it is no longer needed? Here, we review evidence for a selective removal process that operates on... (Review)
Review
What happens to goal-relevant information in working memory after it is no longer needed? Here, we review evidence for a selective removal process that operates on outdated information to limit working memory load and hence facilitates the maintenance of goal-relevant information. Removal alters the representations of irrelevant content so as to reduce access to it, thereby improving access to the remaining relevant content and also facilitating the encoding of new information. Both behavioral and neural evidence support the existence of a removal process that is separate from forgetting due to decay or interference. We discuss the potential mechanisms involved in removal and characterize the time course and duration of the process. In doing so, we propose the existence of two forms of removal: one is temporary, and reversible, which modifies working memory content without impacting content-to-context bindings, and another is permanent, which unbinds the content from its context in working memory (without necessarily impacting long-term forgetting). Finally, we discuss limitations on removal and prescribe conditions for evaluating evidence for or against this process.
Topics: Attention; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Reaction Time
PubMed: 29741212
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13714 -
The Journals of Gerontology. Series B,... Sep 2016Intraindividual variability (IIV) refers to the variation in reaction time (RT) performance across a given cognitive task. As greater IIV may reflect compromise of the... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
Intraindividual variability (IIV) refers to the variation in reaction time (RT) performance across a given cognitive task. As greater IIV may reflect compromise of the frontal circuitry implicated in falls and gait impairment in older adults, we conducted a systematic review of the literature relating to this issue.
METHODS
Searches were conducted of electronic databases that identified empirical investigations of IIV, falls, and gait in older adult samples with a mean age of 65 years or older. Data were extracted relating to IIV measures, study population, and outcomes.
RESULTS
Of 433 studies initially identified, 9 met inclusion criteria for IIV and falls (n = 5), and gait (n = 4). Representing a total of 2,810 older participants, all of the studies of IIV and falls showed that elevated variability was associated with increased risk of falling, and half of the studies of gait indicated greater IIV was related to gait impairment.
DISCUSSION
Across studies, IIV measures were consistently associated with falls in older persons and demonstrated some potential in relation to gait. IIV metrics may, therefore, have considerable potential in clinical contexts and supplement existing test batteries in the assessment of falls risk and gait impairment in older populations.
Topics: Accidental Falls; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Gait; Humans; Reaction Time
PubMed: 25969471
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv027 -
Quarterly Journal of Experimental... Oct 2016It is nearly 35 years since I gave the 7th Sir Frederick Bartlett lecture at Oxford University. This was published as a paper entitled "Orienting of attention in the... (Review)
Review
It is nearly 35 years since I gave the 7th Sir Frederick Bartlett lecture at Oxford University. This was published as a paper entitled "Orienting of attention in the quarterly journal". The topic was then primarily in psychology, but now equally often in neuroscience. This paper summarizes the background of the reaction time methods used in the original paper and findings that emerged later on the sensory consequences of orienting, mainly in the visual system. It then discusses the brain network that is the source of the sensory amplification and other brain networks that are involved in attention. Next, it reviews studies of the development of attentional networks in early life. Finally, it indicates how the new tools available to explore the human brain can lead to further progress.
Topics: Attention; Humans; Orientation; Reaction Time
PubMed: 25176352
DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2014.937446 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2023The most commonly used reaction time tests within the athlete community require appropriate testing conditions and equipment, most frequently laboratory ones, which are...
The most commonly used reaction time tests within the athlete community require appropriate testing conditions and equipment, most frequently laboratory ones, which are not suitable for testing athletes in their natural environment and do not fully represent athletes' natural capabilities and the influence of the surrounding environment. Therefore, this study's goal is to compare the simple reaction times (SRTs) of cyclists during tests in laboratory conditions and in natural cycling surroundings. The young cyclists (55 participants) took part in the study. The SRT was measured in a quiet laboratory room with the use of the special device. During riding and standing with a bike outdoors, the necessary signal was captured and transmitted by a folic tactile sensor (FTS) and an extra intermediary circuit (both invented by our team member) connected to a muscle activity measurement system (Noraxon DTS Desktop, Scottsdale, AZ, USA). The results showed that external conditions significantly affect the SRT, with it being the longest when riding and the shortest if measured in an isolated laboratory room, but without an effect of gender. Typically, men have a shorter reaction time, but our result supports other observations, where people with an active lifestyle show no sex differentiation in SRT. The proposed FTS with an intermediary circuit allowed us to measure SRT with the use of non-dedicated equipment and avoid buying a new one for a single specific use.
Topics: Male; Humans; Reaction Time; Bicycling; Environment; Motivation
PubMed: 37112240
DOI: 10.3390/s23083898 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Jun 2021Faster movements are typically more variable-a speed-accuracy trade-off known as Fitts' law. Are movements that are initiated faster also more variable?...
Faster movements are typically more variable-a speed-accuracy trade-off known as Fitts' law. Are movements that are initiated faster also more variable? Neurophysiological work has associated larger neural variability during motor preparation with longer reaction time (RT) and larger movement variability, implying that movement variability decreases with increasing RT. Here, we recorded over 30,000 reaching movements in 11 human participants who moved to visually cued targets. Half of the visual cues were accompanied by a beep to evoke a wide RT range in each participant. Results show that initial reach variability decreases with increasing RT, for voluntarily produced RTs up to ∼300 ms, whereas other kinematic aspects and endpoint accuracy remained unaffected. We conclude that movement preparation time determines initial movement variability. We suggest that the chosen movement preparation time reflects a trade-off between movement initiation and precision. Fitts' law describes the speed-accuracy trade-off in the execution of human movements. We examined whether there is also a trade-off between movement planning time and initial movement precision. We show that shorter reaction times result in higher initial movement variability. In other words, movement preparation time determines movement variability.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Motor Activity; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Time Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 34038240
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00087.2020 -
PloS One 2020Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a multielement combat sport where fighters need to quickly react to an opponent's movements under fatigued conditions. Research indicates...
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a multielement combat sport where fighters need to quickly react to an opponent's movements under fatigued conditions. Research indicates that fast reaction time is important in many sports, but the effect of fatigue has shown negative, null, or even positive influences on reaction time. However, few studies have been conducted in a controlled setting, especially using MMA figthers, whose matches are frequently resolved in a split-second. Therefore, this study investigated whether acute neuromuscular fatigue affects reaction and movement times, and their consistency in MMA fighters (N = 45). Before and after an upper-body Wingate test, a simple visual reaction time task was completed. Results showed a significant negative effect of fatigue on the reaction times and their consistency, with longer reactions (1.5% change) and lower consistency (14.7% change) after the Wingate test. Further, greater amounts of fatigue during the Wingate test seemed to negatively affect the consistency of post-Wingate movement time. Due to cumulative fatigue and the dynamic nature of MMA, our data indicate that not only the decrements in aerobic and anaerobic power likely affect a fighter's performance, but their reaction time and motor time may also be compromised during a fight.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anaerobic Threshold; Czech Republic; Humans; Male; Martial Arts; Muscle Fatigue; Reaction Time; Young Adult
PubMed: 32004350
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227675 -
Neurotherapeutics : the Journal of the... Jul 2012For the past decade, intra-individual variability in reaction times on computerized tasks has become a central focus of cognitive research on... (Review)
Review
For the past decade, intra-individual variability in reaction times on computerized tasks has become a central focus of cognitive research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Numerous studies document increased reaction time variability among children and adults with ADHD, relative to typically developing controls. However, direct comparisons with other disorders with heightened reaction time variability are virtually nonexistent, despite their potential to inform our understanding of the phenomenon. A growing literature examines the sensitivity of reaction time variability to theoretically and clinically relevant manipulations. There is strong evidence that stimulus treatment reduces reaction time variability during a range of cognitive tasks, but the literature is mixed regarding the impact of motivational incentives and variation in stimulus event rate. Most studies of reaction time variability implicitly assume that heightened reaction time variability reflects occasional lapses in attention, and the dominant neurophysiological interpretation suggests this variability is linked to intrusions of task-negative brain network activity during task performance. Work examining the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of reaction time variability provides some support for these hypotheses, but considerably more work is needed in this area. Finally, because conclusions from each of domains reviewed are limited by the wide range of measures used to measure reaction time variability, this review highlights the need for increased attention to the cognitive and motivational context in which variability is assessed and recommends that future work always supplement macro-level variability indices with metrics that isolate particular components of reaction time variability.
Topics: Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Humans; Inhibition, Psychological; Motivation; Neuropsychological Tests; Reaction Time
PubMed: 22930417
DOI: 10.1007/s13311-012-0138-5