title: 1/falpha noise in reaction times: a proposed model based on Piéron's law and information processing.
abstract: Piéron's law relates human reaction times to the intensity of a sensory stimulus by a power function. The neural processes responsible for this nonlinear behavior are not understood. A simple neural model based on the Brownian motion of spikes and information theory is presented. The model shows that Piéron's law is a transformation function in time. The shape of Piéron's law is invariant and scales into the intensity-response function of single neurons in a fractal-like process. The model also shows that Piéron's law gives rise to 1/falpha noise together with a high-frequency thermal noise limit. It is proposed that the biophysical origin of reaction time variability is related to a form of noise-induced synchronization in weakly coupled neurons. The implications in visual-motor transduction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Physics, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal. jmanuel@fisica.uminho.pt
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Medina
mesh_terms: D019277:Entropy; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes; D008954:Models, Biological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time; D015203:Reproducibility of Results