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Shared timing variability in eye and finger movements increases with interval duration: Support for a distributed
Olympia Karampela1, Linus Holm, Guy Madison
1a Department of Psychology , University of Umeå , Umeå , Sweden.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|January 22, 2015
Summary
Timing actions at will involves a complex, partially overlapping distributed system, not a single or multiple clock mechanism. This research clarifies how finger and eye movements exhibit consistent timing variability following Weber's law.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- The neural mechanisms underlying voluntary action timing (hundreds of milliseconds to seconds) are not fully understood.
- A key question is whether a single timing mechanism or multiple mechanisms control timing across different effectors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if different effectors (fingers, eyes) utilize shared or distinct timing mechanisms.
- To determine if temporal variability adheres to Weber's law and is correlated across effectors.
Main Methods:
- Sixty participants performed timed interval production tasks using finger and eye movements.
- Temporal variability was assessed across various interval durations (524–1431 ms).
- Correlations in timing variability between finger and eye effectors were analyzed.
Main Results:
- High within-effector performance consistency was observed.
- Temporal variability for both fingers and eyes followed Weber's law.
- Significant correlations in timing variability between eye and finger effectors were found for several intervals.
Conclusions:
- Findings do not support a single or multiple discrete clock hypothesis for action timing.
- Results suggest a partially overlapping, distributed timing system governs voluntary action production.
