Week 6 (MC) - How time reflects sensory afferent-efferent processing

Question 1

What is Reaction time defined as?

What is the parameters

Answer 1

The time between a sensory cue (e.g. gun going off) and the sign of first physical movement (e.g. foot on a force plate)

Only after reaction time do we see movement occur

Question 2

What are the 2 components of response time?

Answer 2

Reaction time & Movement Time

Question 3

What effect does the environmental factor have on reacton time?

Answer 3

You get a faster reaction time with a more probable outcome
e.g. start gun in a sprint has high probability so has a quicker RT

Slower RT with low expectency outcome
If the stimulus and required reponse are less predictable (you cant anticipate) the time of information processing increases and thus decreases the RT

Question 4

What task factors impact on Reaction Time?

Answer 4

The number of movement response choices
e.g. cricket if you play a forward defence, back foot or pull shot

Stimulus response compatibility

Question 5

What is Hicks Law?

Answer 5

States that the time it takes to make a decision increases as the number of possible choices or stimuli increases. In other words, the more options a person has, the longer it takes to choose the correct response

e.g. texting while driving delays your RT and thus adds to your stopping distance

Question 6

What is Parallel processing?

Answer 6

TLDR: processing of information that involves concurrent processing of multiple stages of information –> leads to quicker responses

parallel processing involves the simultaneous handling of information across multiple processing stages. In this model, different sensory inputs can be analyzed concurrently, allowing for faster overall processing. This means that while one stage is processing information, another stage can begin its processing without waiting for the first stage to complete. As a result, parallel processing can lead to quicker responses, especially in situations where multiple stimuli are present

Question 7

What is Cascade Processing?

Answer 7

TLDR: processing of information that involves linear progression of information processing (one stage of info at a time) –> each stage is dependent on the preceding stage; delays can result in overall response time

Cascade processing refers to a sequential flow of information where the output of one processing stage becomes the input for the next stage. In this model, each stage must complete its processing before the next stage can begin, leading to a linear progression through the stages of information processing. This means that if a delay occurs in one stage, it can affect the overall response time, as each stage is dependent on the previous one.

Question 8

What are the components of the reflex-voluntary response continuum?

Answer 8

Myostatic reflex
- Involuntary (self produced)
- Muscle spindles, golgitendon organs and same muscle are intitiated

Long Loop reflexes
- Involuntary
- Muscle spindles, brainstem or cerebellum and same muscle intitiated

Triggered reactions
- (in)voluntary (grey area)
- Various sensory receptors, higher cortex centres, associated musculature

Reaction time
- Voluntary
- Various Receptors, higher centres and musculature