Open AccessEffects of time uncertainty and instructed muscle tension on fractionated reaction time
Author(s) -
KAWAMA KENNOSUKE
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
japanese psychological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-5884
pISSN - 0021-5368
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5884.1996.tb00028.x
Subject(s) - muscle tension , biceps , elbow , elbow flexion , psychology , electromyography , physical medicine and rehabilitation , stimulus (psychology) , choice reaction time , muscle contraction , anatomy , medicine , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , cognition
An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of time uncertainty and instructed muscle tension on the reaction time of elbow flexion. Twenty‐two right‐handed subjects were asked to respond to an audio stimulus by flexing their right elbow under four conditions (2 time uncertainty × 2 instructed muscle tension). Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from the biceps and triceps on the subject's right side. Reaction time was divided into premotor time and motor time, based on the difference between the EMG and elbow flexion response. Analysis of reaction time showed that the effects of time uncertainty and instructed muscle tension were additive. Time uncertainty affected premotor time only, and instructed muscle tension affected motor time only. These results are discussed in terms of the assumption that premotor time is a reflection of the central nervous system and motor time is a reflection to the peripheral muscle system.