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Information Rate in Humans during Visuomotor Tracking
Sze-Ying Lam1, Alexandre Zénon1
1INCIA, University of Bordeaux, 33076 Bordeaux, France.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 6, 2021
Summary
Human information processing rate is not constant and increases with task difficulty. New research on visuomotor tasks shows the brain
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Human Motor Control
- Information Theory
Background:
- Previous studies suggested a constant human information processing rate, but used simple tasks.
- Visuomotor tasks offer a more realistic and complex environment to study information processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the human information processing rate in the context of visuomotor tasks.
- To investigate how task demands influence information transfer in the brain.
Main Methods:
- Decomposition of information into predictive (feedforward) and error-correcting (feedback) components.
- Analysis of information shared between inputs and outputs in visuomotor tasks.
Main Results:
- Information processing, specifically the feedback component, scales with task difficulty.
- Predictable information is processed efficiently, while surprises require more processing.
Conclusions:
- The brain's information processing rate is adaptable and task-dependent.
- Cognitive effort models align with findings that processing rate increases with task complexity.
