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Reduced motor preparation during dual-task performance: evidence from startle

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Abstract

Previous studies have used a secondary probe reaction time (RT) task to assess attentional demands of a primary task. The current study used a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) in a probe RT paradigm to test the hypothesis that attentional resources would be directly related to limitations in response preparation. Participants performed an easy or difficult version of a continuous primary task that was either primarily motor in nature (pursuit tracking) or cognitive (counting backward). Concurrently, participants responded to an auditory cue as fast as possible by performing a wrist extension secondary movement. On selected trials, the auditory cue was replaced with a SAS (120 dB), which is thought to involuntarily trigger a prepared response and thus bypass any response initiation bottleneck that may be present when trying to perform two movements. Although startle trials were performed at a shorter latency, both non-startle and startle probe trials resulted in a delayed RT, as compared to single-task trials, consistent with reduced preparation of the secondary task. In addition, analysis of SAS trial RT when a startle indicator was present versus absent provided evidence that the secondary task was at a lowered state of preparation when engaged in the cognitive primary task as compared to a motor primary task, suggesting a facilitative effect on preparatory activation when both the primary and secondary tasks are motoric in nature.

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Notes

  1. Note there was a small but significant decrease in motor primary task performance on startle trials as compared to catch trials. This is likely due to the reflexive startle response temporarily interfering with the tracking task rather than any differences in attentional allocation.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) discovery grant awarded to ANC (RGPIN: 418361-2012). We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, War Memorial Gymnasium 210-6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada

    Dana Maslovat

  2. Department of Kinesiology, Langara College, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Dana Maslovat

  3. School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Neil M. Drummond, Michael J. Carter & Anthony N. Carlsen

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  1. Dana Maslovat
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  2. Neil M. Drummond
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  3. Michael J. Carter
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  4. Anthony N. Carlsen
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Correspondence to Dana Maslovat.

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Maslovat, D., Drummond, N.M., Carter, M.J. et al. Reduced motor preparation during dual-task performance: evidence from startle. Exp Brain Res 233, 2673–2683 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-015-4340-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-015-4340-7

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