Programming of expected and unexpected movements: Effects on the onset of the lateralized readiness potential.

Leuthold, H. (2003) Programming of expected and unexpected movements: Effects on the onset of the lateralized readiness potential. Acta Psychologica, 114(1), pp. 83-100.

Abstract

When participants utilize prime information to prepare some or all aspects of the forthcoming movement, reaction time (RT) costs are obtained when the imperative response signal demands an unexpected rather than an expected movement. Longer RT in trials for which primes are invalid rather than valid, i.e., the response validity effect, are taken to reflect prolonged motoric processing time. The present study was designed to test this assumption by using the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) in order to reveal influences of response validity at motoric processes, pre-motoric processes, or both. In two response priming experiments LRP onset latency was examined when valid and invalid advance information about direction (Experiment 1) or about direction and hand (Experiment 2) was provided. RT revealed large response validity effects in both experiments. Analysis of LRP onsets provided strong evidence against the common assumption of a motoric locus of the RT increase in invalid trials. Rather, present results suggest a pre-motoric locus of the response validity effect within information processing.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Leuthold, Prof Hartmut
• Authors: Leuthold, H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Psychology
• Journal Name: Acta Psychologica