title: The procedural learning of action order is independent of temporal learning.
abstract: How does learning the timing of actions influence our ability to learn the order of actions? A sequence of responses cued by spatial stimuli was learned in a serial reaction time task where the response-to-stimulus intervals (RSIs) were random, constant, or followed a fixed sequence. In this final sequenced-RSI condition, the response and RSI sequences were consistently matched in phase and could be integrated into a common sequence representation. The main result was that the response sequence was learned to a similar degree in all RSI training conditions, indicating that neither the predictability of RSIs nor the integration of the phase-matched response and timing sequences benefited learning of the response sequence. Nevertheless, temporal learning and integration speeded up performance without strengthening the representation of response order.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4400, USA. js4fh@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Jacqueline C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D001245:Association Learning; D006801:Humans; D007721:Knowledge of Results, Psychological; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012691:Serial Learning; D013998:Time Perception