title: Long-range correlation properties in motor timing are individual and task specific.
abstract: 1/f (β) noise represents a specific form of (long-range) correlations in a time series that is pervasive across many sensorimotor variables. Recent studies have shown that the precise properties of the correlations demonstrated by a group of test participants may vary as a function of experimental conditions or factors characterizing the group. Our purpose in the present study was to clarify whether long-range correlations affect sensorimotor performance generally or in a task-specific manner and whether each individual produces characteristic long-range correlations that are reliable across several runs of the same task. We analyzed the series of time intervals produced by 43 participants in two timing tasks: unimanual rhythmic tapping and circle drawing. We found that a participant's 1/f (β) properties in tapping were not related to the 1/f (β) properties in circle drawing. However, within each task, individual differences were reliable, and a Cronbach's alpha of .59 showed a high degree of within-subjects reproducibility of the long-range correlations. Thus, long-range correlations represent a consistent and distinctive characteristic of individuals performing a particular task, rather than a ubiquitous generic property of sensorimotor time series. The implications of these results are discussed from both a theoretical and a methodological perspective.
authors.affiliation: Movement to Health (M2H), Montpellier-1 University EuroMov, 700, avenue du Pic Saint Loup - 34090, Montpellier, France. torre.kj@gmail.com
authors.forename: Kjerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balasubramaniam
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rheaume
authors.forename: Loic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lemoine
authors.forename: Howard N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Zelaznik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult