Abstract
Recently, we investigated whether auditory feedback changes how motor sequences are encoded and found that receiving auditory action-effects(AF) may interfere with rapid responding in the Serial Reaction Time Task(SRTT). To investigate whether this effect may be related to the response-stimulus interval(RSI) inherent in the AF condition, 54 right-handed neurotypical adults (M=23years, SD=3.6) practiced an SRTT by reaching to visual-spatial targets on a touchscreen. Participants practiced the 10-item sequence with either: (1) 0ms RSI; (2) 300ms RSI with AF; (3) 300ms silent RSI. On Day 1, participants completed 8 practice blocks with their preferred hand. On Day 2, participants performed a retention and four transfer tests, the latter of which involved using their non-preferred hand in a spatially congruent and motor congruent condition, with and without auditory feedback. All groups acquired equal implicit sequence knowledge on Day 1, and took less time to complete the sequence in the spatially congruent transfer test, regardless of the presence of auditory feedback on Day 1. Further, all participants performed best without sound on Day 2, including those who practiced with AF on Day 1. However, secondary analysis revealed that when the outcome measure Total Sequence Time(TST) was parsed out by removing the 300ms RSI, that response times were equivocal. Yet, this analysis did not capture differences in individual response strategies. Thus, although the RSI did not influence sequence encoding, future experiments will determine whether the observed TST is a result of response speed, or the presence of an RSI.
