Does neck flexion improve performance? Effects on reaction time depend on whether responses are expected.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Human Factors Engineering
• Kinesiology

Background:

• Neck flexion is paradoxically linked to both impaired inhibition and enhanced task performance.
• Previous research utilized harnesses to study neck flexion's impact on reaction time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of a flexed neck posture on reaction time and go-nogo task performance.
• To test the hypothesis that neck flexion benefits high-prepotency tasks more than low-prepotency tasks.

Main Methods:

• A novel method using tape to fix neck posture in neutral or forward positions.
• Participants completed simple reaction time and go-nogo tasks with fixed neck angles.

Main Results:

• Simple reaction times were 10 ms faster in the forward neck position compared to neutral.
• This reaction time facilitation was not observed in the go-nogo task.

Conclusions:

• Inducing a flexed neck posture via tape facilitates reaction time in tasks requiring a response.
• Neck flexion does not significantly affect performance in tasks requiring response withholding (go-nogo).