Spatial interactions between consecutive manual responses

We have shown that the latency to initiate a reaching movement is increased if its direction is the same as a previous movement compared to movements that differ by 90° or 180° (Cowper-Smith and Westwood in Atten Percept Psychophys 75:1914-1922, 2013). An influential study (Taylor and Klein in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 26:1639-1656, 2000), however, reported the opposite spatial pattern for manual keypress responses: repeated responses on the same side had reduced reaction time compared to responses on opposite sides. In order to determine whether there are fundamental differences in the patterns of spatial interactions between button-pressing responses and reaching movements, we compared both types of manual responses using common methods. Reaching movements and manual keypress responses were performed in separate blocks of trials using consecutive central arrow stimuli that directed participants to respond to left or right targets. Reaction times were greater for manual responses made to the same target as a previous response (M = 390 ms) as compared to the opposite target (M = 365 ms; similarity main effect: p < 0.001) regardless of whether the response was a reaching movement or a keypress response. This finding is broadly consistent with an inhibitory mechanism operating at the level of motor output that discourages movements that achieve the same spatial goal as a recent action.