Response priming patterns differ with interstimulus interval duration

Priming paradigms make it possible to study the nature of response preparation before the onset of movement. One way to examine this process is through manipulation of the interstimulus interval (ISI). The timing of the prime and target presentation has been shown to have distinct effects on reaction time patterns, in both healthy and neurologically impaired individuals, during cognitive task switching paradigms and semantic priming studies. What is unclear, however, are the effects of ISI durations on response priming paradigms. In the present study, ISIs of five durations were manipulated within a speech response priming paradigm to investigate reaction time patterns in 25 healthy adults. Results suggested that ISIs have a significant influence on the magnitude of the priming effect. Brief ISIs, with a putatively high sensitivity to reprogramming, resulted in robust priming effects. Long ISIs, thought to be influenced by attentional factors, resulted in priming effects of lesser magnitude.