Temporal constraints in the use of auditory action-effects for motor optimization

Neszmélyi, Bence and Horváth, János (2018) Temporal constraints in the use of auditory action-effects for motor optimization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human perception and Performance, 44 (11). pp. 1815-1829. ISSN 0096-1523

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Abstract

For quick ballistic movements the possibility of making online adjustments is limited. However, when the same action (e.g., pressing a button) is repeated multiple times, trial-by-trial adjustments are possible: Previous studies found that participants utilized auditory effects as feedback to optimize the applied force for such tone eliciting actions. In the current study, it was examined whether this action-effect-related motor adaptation also occurred if a delay was inserted between the action and its auditory effect. In two experiments, participants applied force impulses to a force-sensitive resistor in a self-paced schedule. Action–effect delay was manipulated between experimental blocks in the 0–1600 -ms range. The level of motor adaptation diminished as a function of action–effect delay, with no adaptation observable for delays longer than 200 ms, which indicates that action–effect contingency in itself is not sufficient to warrant that sensory effects will be useful for action control. A third experiment also showed that the observed temporal constraint was not absolute: Adaptation at 200-ms delay was stronger in a group of participants who were exposed to 400-ms action–tone delays before testing, than in a group exposed to a 0-ms action–tone delay, suggesting that action-effect-related motor adaptation is influenced by prior experience.

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