Mapping the structure of perceptual and visual-motor abilities in healthy young adults.
The ability to quickly detect and respond to visual stimuli in the environment is critical to many human activities. While such perceptual and visual-motor skills are important in a myriad of contexts, considerable variability exists between individuals in these abilities. To better understand the sources of this variability, we assessed perceptual and visual-motor skills in a large sample of 230 healthy individuals via the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station, and compared variability in their behavioral performance to demographic, state, sleep and consumption characteristics. Dimension reduction and regression analyses indicated three underlying factors: Visual-Motor Control, Visual Sensitivity, and Eye Quickness, which accounted for roughly half of the overall population variance in performance on this battery. Inter-individual variability in Visual-Motor Control was correlated with gender and circadian patters such that performance on this factor was better for males and for those who had been awake for a longer period of time before assessment. The current findings indicate that abilities involving coordinated hand movements in response to stimuli are subject to greater individual variability, while visual sensitivity and occulomotor control are largely stable across individuals.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Lingling
L
Wang
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Kristina
K
Krasich
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Tarik
T
Bel-Bahar
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Lauren
L
Hughes
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Stephen R
SR
Mitroff
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: greg@duke.edu.
L Gregory
LG
Appelbaum
D000328:Adult; D003867:Depth Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
2221 Sensory & Motor Testing; 2320 Sensory Perception; 2330 Motor Processes