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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
08:42
Measurement of the Directional Information Flow in fNIRS-Hyperscanning Data using the Partial Wavelet Transform Coherence Method
Published on: September 3, 2021
Space-time interference in action
Cindy Jagorska1, Milena Michel2, Martin Riemer2,3,4
1Biological Psychology and Neuroergonomics, Technical University Berlin, Fasanenstr. 1, 10623, Berlin, Germany. jagorska@tu-berlin.de.
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications
|July 21, 2026
Summary
Space-time interference affects reaching movements, with spatial intervals delaying time predictions and temporal intervals shifting space predictions. These findings extend to complex motor behaviors like navigation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Space-time interference is documented in perception but its role in action is unclear.
- Investigating cross-modal interactions between space and time in motor tasks is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if space-time interference generalizes to goal-directed reaching movements in 3D virtual reality.
- To examine the bidirectional effects of spatial and temporal intervals on motor and perceptual judgments.
Main Methods:
- Forty participants completed perceptual and motor tasks involving 3D spheres in immersive virtual reality.
- Spatial and temporal interstimulus intervals were systematically varied.
- Judgments of spatial and temporal occurrence were recorded.
Main Results:
- Bidirectional space-time interference observed in pointing: larger spatial intervals delayed temporal predictions (positive space-on-time effect).
- Longer temporal intervals shifted spatial predictions leftward (negative time-on-space effect).
- Perceptual judgments showed a positive time-on-space effect but no space-on-time effect; effects were not correlated between tasks.
Conclusions:
- Space-time interference extends to complex motor behaviors, including reaching movements.
- Findings underscore the significance of space-time interactions in everyday actions like navigation and object interaction.
- The study highlights the generalizability of cross-modal interference from perception to action.
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