NDLI: Manual choice reaction times in the rate-domain

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Harris, Christopher M. Waddington, Jonathan Valerio, Biscione Manzi, Sean
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	Over the last 150 years, human manual reaction times (RTs) have been recorded countless times. Yet, our understanding of them remains remarkably poor. RTs are highly variable with positively skewed frequency distributions, often modeled as an inverse Gaussian distribution reflecting a stochastic rise to threshold (diffusion process). However, latency distributions of saccades are very close to the reciprocal Normal, suggesting that “rate” (reciprocal RT) may be the more fundamental variable. We explored whether this phenomenon extends to choice manual RTs. We recorded two-alternative choice RTs from 24 subjects, each with 4 blocks of 200 trials with two task difficulties (easy vs. difficult discrimination) and two instruction sets (urgent vs. accurate). We found that rate distributions were, indeed, very close to Normal, shifting to lower rates with increasing difficulty and accuracy, and for some blocks they appeared to become left-truncated, but still close to Normal. Using autoregressive techniques, we found temporal sequential dependencies for lags of at least 3. We identified a transient and steady-state component in each block. Because rates were Normal, we were able to estimate autoregressive weights using the Box-Jenkins technique, and convert to a moving average model using z-transforms to show explicit dependence on stimulus input. We also found a spatial sequential dependence for the previous 3 lags depending on whether the laterality of previous trials was repeated or alternated. This was partially dissociated from temporal dependency as it only occurred in the easy tasks. We conclude that 2-alternative choice manual RT distributions are close to reciprocal Normal and not the inverse Gaussian. This is not consistent with stochastic rise to threshold models, and we propose a simple optimality model in which reward is maximized to yield to an optimal rate, and hence an optimal time to respond. We discuss how it might be implemented.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00418
Starting Page	418
File Format	PDF
ISSN	16625161
e-ISSN	16625161
Journal	Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Volume Number	8
Language	English
Publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
Publisher Date	2014-06-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Frontiers Media S.A.
Subject Keyword	Biological Psychiatry Behavioral Neuroscience Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Neurology Psychiatry and Mental health Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Neurology Biological Psychiatry Behavioral Neuroscience Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Psychiatry and Mental Health

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

A theory of power laws in human reaction times: insights from an information-processing approach

Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task

The Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on Visual Choice Reaction Time

The anatomy of choice: active inference and agency

Corrigendum: Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task

Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time

Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Relative Motivation for Rewards in the Absence of Choice

Motor unit discharge rate in dynamic movements of the aging soleus

Selective Theta-Synchronization of Choice-Relevant Information Subserves Goal-Directed Behavior

Manual choice reaction times in the rate-domain

Similar Documents

A theory of power laws in human reaction times: insights from an information-processing approach

Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task

The Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on Visual Choice Reaction Time

The anatomy of choice: active inference and agency

Corrigendum: Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task

Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time

Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Relative Motivation for Rewards in the Absence of Choice

Motor unit discharge rate in dynamic movements of the aging soleus

Selective Theta-Synchronization of Choice-Relevant Information Subserves Goal-Directed Behavior

Manual choice reaction times in the rate-domain