scholarly journals Are there Any Differences in Simple and Random Choice Motor Task Performance between Young and Middle-Aged Adults?

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (90) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rima Solianik ◽  
Vaida Aleknavičiūtė ◽  
Albertas Skurvydas ◽  
Marius Brazaitis
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Maximal Velocity ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Random Choice ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Aged Subjects ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Research background and hypothesis. Most studies are based on elderly subjects’ results, so there is a need to explore if motor performance changes begin in the middle age. We hypothesize that (i) middle-aged subjects use “play it safe” strategy, which depends on the type of tasks (simple vs. random choice); (ii) middle-aged subjects will show higher intra-individual performance variability compared to young adults, furthermore, simple task will show  lower performance variability.Research aim was to establish if there were any movement performance differences during simple and random  choice motor task performance between young and middle-aged adults.Research methods. Middle-aged and young adults performed two speed-accuracy tasks. During simple task  participants had to reach the same target which appeared in the same place and during random choice task the target  appeared randomly in one of the three different places.Research results. Data showed that middle-aged group had slower (p < 0.05) reaction time and maximal velocity,  whereas movement path length was more accurate (p < 0.05) than that in the young adult group. Comparing different  tasks it was observed that during simple task reaction time was faster (p < 0.05) than in the random choice task in  both groups. Intra-individual variability of reaction time and maximal velocity was higher (p < 0.05) in the middle-aged group, whereas no changes were observed between different tasks.Discussion  and  conclusion.  Motor  performance  strategy  “play  it  safe”  is  already  observed  for  the  middle- aged population: they decrease maximal velocity and reaction time in order to make movement more accurate.  Additionally, they demonstrate task-independent higher intra-individual variability of reaction time and maximal  velocity showing changes in CNS integrity compared to young adults.Keywords: aging, speed-accuracy tasks, intra-individual variability.

Work Rhythm and Breathing Rhythm in a Repetitive Perceptual–Motor Task: The Effects of Synchronization on Performance

1987 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 1336-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Henning
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Work Rate ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Rest Break ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Perceptual Motor Performance

A laboratory investigation was conducted to determine if synchronization between the work rhythm and the respiratory biorhythm benefits perceptual-motor performance. The effect of work-respiratory (W–R) synchronization on reaction time, error rate, and perceived difficulty was evaluated for a visual choice reaction time task. Interstimulus intervals were chosen to induce a work rhythm. Prior to the experiment, the task was performed in a self-paced mode so that a baseline work rate could be identified for each subject. Each subject (N=22) then performed the task at 3 machine-paced work rhythms; 1) equal to the work rhythm of the baseline work rate, 2) 33% faster than the work rhythm of the baseline work rate, and 3) 33% slower than the work rhythm of the baseline work rate. Each condition consisted of two, 4 min trials separated by a brief rest break. Work rate (in responses per minute) was held constant across conditions through adjustments in task structure. Regression analysis revealed that W–R synchronization was associated with a 1% reduction in error rate and a 15 msec reduction in reaction time. These results suggest that W–R synchronization benefits perceptual–motor performance of repetitive tasks.

scholarly journals Gender-Dependent Bimanual Task Performance

Medicina ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Dalia Mickevičienė ◽  
Kristina Motiejūnaitė ◽  
Diana Karanauskienė ◽  
Albertas Skurvydas ◽  
Daiva Vizbaraitė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Maximal Velocity ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Bimanual Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Background and Objective. Many studies have suggested that each hand has a different special talent; however, there is a lack of data in the area of goal-directed bimanual hand coordination and its dependence on gender. The aim of this paper was to investigate gender-dependent bimanual speed-accuracy task performance. Material and Methods. Twelve healthy young males and twelve healthy young females (all righthanded) performed protractile movements with both arms simultaneously by pushing joysticks toward two targets as quickly and accurately as possible. Results. Though no significant difference was observed in the reaction time during a unimanual speed-accuracy task between the left and right hands as well as men and women, during a bimanual task, the reaction time of both the hands was significantly longer in women than men. There was no significant difference in the velocity of both the hands during a bimanual speed-accuracy task between men and women, while the accuracy of the left hand was significantly greater in men than women. There was no significant difference in intraindividual variability in the reaction time, maximal velocity, and path of movement between men and women as well as the left and right hands, but variability in the average velocity of the right hand both in women and men was significantly greater compared with their left hand. Conclusions. Whereas people typically look at the target location for a reaching movement, it is possible that two objects are simultaneously fixated.

Individual Differences and Intra-Individual Variability in Motor Performance under Continuous-Practice Conditions

1969 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Stelmach
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
True Score ◽  
Practice Session ◽  
Massed Practice ◽  
Relative Variability ◽  
Large Muscle

The effect of practice on individual differences, intra-individual variability, and remoteness was studied in performance during eight minutes of continuous practice on a large muscle motor task. Individual differences (true score variance) revealed a slight increase during the practice session, while the intra-individual variability remained relatively unaffected by massed practice. When the improvement in performance was removed by examining the relative variability, both sources of variance increased. The effects of an increasing number of interpolated trials on the inter-trial correlations revealed that with increasing amounts of remoteness, the inter-trial correlations decreased.

Neuroticism and Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff in Self-Paced Speeded Mental Addition and Comparison

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagen C. Flehmig ◽  
Michael B. Steinborn ◽  
Karl Westhoff ◽  
Robert Langner
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Reaction Time Variability ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Mental Addition ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Accuracy Tradeoff

Previous research suggests a relationship between neuroticism (N) and the speed-accuracy tradeoff in speeded performance: High-N individuals were observed performing less efficiently than low-N individuals and compensatorily overemphasizing response speed at the expense of accuracy. This study examined N-related performance differences in the serial mental addition and comparison task (SMACT) in 99 individuals, comparing several performance measures (i.e., response speed, accuracy, and variability), retest reliability, and practice effects. N was negatively correlated with mean reaction time but positively correlated with error percentage, indicating that high-N individuals tended to be faster but less accurate in their performance than low-N individuals. The strengthening of the relationship after practice demonstrated the reliability of the findings. There was, however, no relationship between N and distractibility (assessed via measures of reaction time variability). Our main findings are in line with the processing efficiency theory, extending the relationship between N and working style to sustained self-paced speeded mental addition.

scholarly journals An Agent-Specific Stochastic Model of Generalized Reaching Task Difficulty

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4330
Author(s):  
Andrea Lucchese ◽  
Salvatore Digiesi ◽  
Kübra Akbaş ◽  
Carlotta Mummolo
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Model ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Index Of Difficulty ◽  
Young Subjects ◽  
Aged Subjects ◽  
Spatial Trajectories ◽  
Repetitive Motor

The ability of an agent to accomplish a trajectory during a certain motor task depends on the fit between external (environment) and internal (agent) constraints, also known as affordance. A model of difficulty for a generalized reaching motor task is proposed as an affordance-related measure, as perceived by a specific agent for a given environment and task. By extending the information-based Index of Difficulty of a trajectory, a stochastic model of difficulty is formulated based on the observed variability of spatial trajectories executed by a given agent during a repetitive motor task. The model is tested on an experimental walking dataset available in the literature, where the repetitive stride movement of differently aged subjects (14 “old” subjects aged 50–73; 20 “young” subjects aged 21–37) at multiple speed conditions (comfortable, ~30% faster, ~30% slower) is analyzed. Reduced trajectory variability in older as compared to younger adults results in a higher Index of Difficulty (slower: +24%, p < 0.0125; faster: +38%, p < 0.002) which is interpreted in this context as reduced affordance. The model overcomes the limits of existing difficulty measures by capturing the stochastic dependency of task difficulty on a subject’s age and average speed. This model provides a benchmarking tool for motor performance in biomechanics and ergonomics applications.

scholarly journals Manipulations of the Response-Stimulus Intervals as a Factor Inducing Controlled Amount of Reaction Time Intra-Individual Variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Paweł Krukow ◽  
Małgorzata Plechawska-Wójcik ◽  
Arkadiusz Podkowiński
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Simple Reaction Time ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Simple Reaction Time Task ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Simple Reaction ◽  
Response Stimulus

Aggrandized fluctuations in the series of reaction times (RTs) are a very sensitive marker of neurocognitive disorders present in neuropsychiatric populations, pathological ageing and in patients with acquired brain injury. Even though it was documented that processing inconsistency founds a background of higher-order cognitive functions disturbances, there is a vast heterogeneity regarding types of task used to compute RT-related variability, which impedes determining the relationship between elementary and more complex cognitive processes. Considering the above, our goal was to develop a relatively new assessment method based on a simple reaction time paradigm, conducive to eliciting a controlled range of intra-individual variability. It was hypothesized that performance variability might be induced by manipulation of response-stimulus interval’s length and regularity. In order to verify this hypothesis, a group of 107 healthy students was tested using a series of digitalized tasks and their results were analyzed using parametric and ex-Gaussian statistics of RTs distributional markers. In general, these analyses proved that intra-individual variability might be evoked by a given type of response-stimulus interval manipulation even when it is applied to the simple reaction time task. Collected outcomes were discussed with reference to neuroscientific concepts of attentional resources and functional neural networks.

Analysis of Task Difficulty under Varying Conditions of Induced Stress

1970 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry W. Thornton ◽  
Paul D. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Choice Reaction Time ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Simple Reaction Time Task ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Time Task ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Task Relatedness ◽  
Related Stress

Two tasks (simple and choice reaction time) were examined while varying three types of stressors (shock, threat of shock, and noise) and the stressor task relationship (i.e., task-related stress, task-unrelated stress, and no-stress). Four specific hypotheses were tested and 3 were supported in the simple reaction-time task. There were no significant differences among stressors for either task, although greater differences were reported in the simple than in the choice reaction-time task. A significant difference between the “task-relatedness” of stress levels in the simple task was interpreted as possibly due to a “coping” or “protective adaptive mechanism” in which increases in performance serve to reduce stress. Practical applications were examined.

scholarly journals Strengthened Corticosubcortical Functional Connectivity during Muscle Fatigue

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Jiang ◽  
Xiao-Feng Wang ◽  
Guang H. Yue
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Quantile Regression ◽  
Muscle Fatigue ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Subcortical Structures

The present study examined functional connectivity (FC) between functional MRI (fMRI) signals of the primary motor cortex (M1) and each of the three subcortical neural structures, cerebellum (CB), basal ganglia (BG), and thalamus (TL), during muscle fatigue using the quantile regression technique. Understanding activation relation between the subcortical structures and the M1 during prolonged motor performance should help delineate how central motor control network modulates acute perturbations at peripheral sensorimotor system such as muscle fatigue. Ten healthy subjects participated in the study and completed a 20-minute intermittent handgrip motor task at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) level. Quantile regression analyses were carried out to compare the FC between the contralateral (left) M1 and CB, BG, and TL in the minimal (beginning 100 s) versus significant (ending 100 s) fatigue stages. Widespread, statistically significant increases in FC were found in bilateral BG, CB, and TL with the left M1 during significant versus minimal fatigue stages. Our results imply that these subcortical nuclei are critical components in the motor control network and actively involved in modulating voluntary muscle fatigue, possibly, by working together with the M1 to strengthen the descending central command to prolong the motor performance.

Changes in medical treatment six months after risk stratification with HeartScore and coronary artery calcification scanning of healthy middle-aged subjects

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1496-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Hjortdal Sørensen ◽  
Oke Gerke ◽  
Jess Lambrechtsen ◽  
Niels Peter Rønnow Sand ◽  
Rikke Mols ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Risk Stratification ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Coronary Artery Calcification ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aged Subjects

Effect of n-3 fatty acids on heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity in middle-aged subjects

2003 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouk Geelen ◽  
Peter L Zock ◽  
Cees A Swenne ◽  
Ingeborg A Brouwer ◽  
Evert G Schouten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Baroreflex Sensitivity ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aged Subjects
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