Modulation of anticipatory postural adjustments in the anticipation-coincidence task

This study was designed to (a) verify whether the time available for movement preparation and execution modulates anticipatory postural adjustments/focal movement coordination and (b) determine to what extent the coordination in an anticipation-coincidence (AC) timing task is specific. Ten subjects performed an arm-raising movement from standing position in the reaction time, self-initiated (SI), and AC conditions. In the latter condition, subjects had to synchronize movement initiation or the end of the movement to the passage of a visual mobile on a target. In AC trials, time to contact (TC), which is the time before the mobile reached the target, was varied (720, 1,200, 3,000 ms). Electromyography, kinetic, and kinematics data were collected. Results showed that the coordination patterns were modified by TC, the velocity of the mobile, and the condition in which the movement was executed. It also showed that the behavior in the AC condition came closest to the 1 observed in SI condition when TC increased. These results support the existence of different control modes triggered by the temporal pressure.     

PC-PVT: A platform for psychomotor vigilance task testing,analysis, and prediction

Using a personal computer (PC) for simple visual reaction time testing is advantageous because of the relatively low hardware cost, user familiarity, and the relative ease of software development for specific neurobehavioral testing protocols. However, general-purpose computers are not designed with the millisecond-level accuracy of operation required for such applications. Software that does not control for the various sources of delay may return reaction time values that are substantially different from the true reaction times. We have developed and characterized a freely available system for PC-based simple visual reaction time testing that is analogous to the widely used psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). In addition, we have integrated individualized prediction algorithms for near-real-time neurobehavioral performance prediction. We characterized the precision and accuracy with which the system as a whole measures reaction times on a wide range of computer hardware configurations, comparing its performance with that of the “gold standard” PVT-192 device. We showed that the system is capable of measuring reaction times with an average delay of less than 10 ms, a margin of error that is comparable to that of the gold standard. The most critical aspect of hardware selection is the type of mouse used for response detection, with gaming mice showing a significant advantage over standard ones. The software is free to download from http://bhsai.org/downloads/pc-pvt/.