Partial advance information and response preparation: inferences from the lateralized readiness potential

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Motor Control

Background:

• The precuing effect demonstrates faster response speeds when advance information is given before a signal.
• The exact location of this reaction time (RT) saving within the information-processing system remains debated, with theories suggesting either motoric or nonmotoric origins.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the locus of the precuing effect within the human information-processing system.
• To determine whether precuing influences motoric processes or earlier nonmotoric stages of response selection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the onset latencies of the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) as a neurophysiological marker.
• Conducted two experiments employing both compatible and incompatible stimulus-response mappings.
• Measured LRP amplitude changes in relation to the amount of advance information provided.

Main Results:

• The precuing effect was found to reside, at least partially, in the motoric portion of reaction time (RT).
• Increased LRP amplitude prior to signal onset correlated with greater amounts of advance information.
• Findings support the hypothesis of muscle-specific preparation occurring before the motor response.

Conclusions:

• Advance information significantly impacts motoric processes, contributing to the observed precuing effect.
• The lateralized readiness potential (LRP) is a valuable tool for localizing cognitive and motoric effects in reaction time.
• Precueing enhances response preparation at a specific, muscle-related level before the motor command is fully initiated.