title: Motor timing and more--additional options using advanced registration and evaluation of tapping data.
abstract: Motor coordination in multi-tasking situations is relevant to everyday life, since numerous daily activities require the performance of more than one task simultaneously. Investigations into this topic often use dual-task experiments like bimanual tapping, with different instructions for the right and left hands, such as to tap repetitively with the right index finger at a given frequency and to concurrently execute a single tap in response to a go signal with the left index finger. A basic experimental set-up for tapping consists of only a pace signal generator and ground contact sensors such as micro switches for observation of motor action. Evaluation of the binary on-off signals provided by these switches is quite simple, but the amount of information obtained is also limited. This paper presents a novel experimental design for tapping experiments with high-resolution recording of the complete time course of continuous finger movements. The evaluation procedures required for biomechanical and EMG data are described. The latter are based on sophisticated maximum-likelihood techniques, which is an example of progress in research using advanced biosignal processing.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung, Fakultät für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany. Dung.Congkhac@unibw-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Cong Khac
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Dung
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Staude
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*