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The role of intentionality in the performance of a learned 90° bimanual rhythmic coordination during frequency scaling: data and model

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Abstract

Two rhythmic coordinations, 0° and 180° relative phase, can be performed stably at preferred frequency (~ 1 Hz) without training. Evidence indicates that both 0° and 180° coordination entail detection of the relative direction of movement. At higher frequencies, this yields instability of 180° and spontaneous transition to 0°. The ability to perform a 90° coordination can be acquired by learning to detect and use relative position as information. We now investigate the skilled performance of 90° bimanual coordination with frequency scaling and whether 90° coordination exhibits mode switching to 0° or 180° at higher frequencies. Unlike the switching from 180° to 0°, a transition from the learned 90° coordination to the intrinsic 0° or 180° modes would entail a change in information. This would seem to require intentional decisions during performance as would correcting performance that had strayed from 90°. Relatedly, correction would seem to be an intrinsic part of the performance of 90° during learning. We investigated whether it remains so. We tested bimanual coordination at 90° under both noninterference and correcting instructions. Under correcting instructions, bimanual 90° coordination remained stable at both low and high frequencies. Noninterference instructions yielded stable performance at lower frequencies and switching to 0° or 180° at higher frequencies. Thus, correction is optional and switching to the intrinsic modes occurred. We extended the Bingham (Ecol Psychol 16:45–53, 2004a; Advances in psychology, vol. 135, Time-to-contact, Elsevier Science Publishers, 2004b) model for 0° and 180° coordination to create a dynamical, perception–action account of learned 90° bimanual coordination, in which mode switching and correction were both initiated as the information required for performance of 90° fell below threshold. This means that intentional decisions about what coordination to perform and whether to correct occurred only before performance was begun, not during performance. The extended strictly dynamical model was successfully used to simulate performance of participants in the experiments.

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Availability of data and materials

Upon request to the authors.

Code availability

None.

Notes

  1. The noninterference instruction had been used in earlier “quick release” experiments by Feldman (1966a, b) who was investigating a damped mass-spring organization of the limb muscles used to control discrete movements via changes in the equilibrium point of the spring. The goal of the instruction was the same, that is, to allow the implicit dynamics to be exhibited without intentional voluntary control. This damped mass-spring dynamic was incorporated into the subsequent models of rhythmic limb coordination.

  2. Participants did see motions of dots in the displays during unimanual training.

  3. From psychophysical results (Bingham 2004a, b), the visual ability to resolve relative direction of motion is conditioned by the relative speed of motion. Hence, in the model, the relative speed scales a Gaussian noise term, Nt, that perturbs the relative direction term.

  4. Intentional, voluntary behaviors set the initial conditions in the dynamical model, namely, the initial position and velocity as well as the value of β. Otherwise, the coordinated behaviors are governed by the dynamics.

  5. Therefore, above threshold.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Rachel A. Herth & Geoffrey P. Bingham

  2. Division of Kinesiology and Health, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Qin Zhu

  3. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Geoffrey P. Bingham

Authors
  1. Rachel A. Herth
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  2. Qin Zhu
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  3. Geoffrey P. Bingham
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Contributions

RAH: formal analysis, simulation, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, visualization. GPB: conceptualization, model formulation, methodology, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision. QZ: investigation, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffrey P. Bingham.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The experiment protocol was reviewed and approved by the Indiana University IRB.

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All participants signed consent forms approved by the IU IRB before participating.

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Communicated by Melvyn A. Goodale.

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Herth, R.A., Zhu, Q. & Bingham, G.P. The role of intentionality in the performance of a learned 90° bimanual rhythmic coordination during frequency scaling: data and model. Exp Brain Res 239, 3059–3075 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06173-x

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