Two Routes to the Same Action: An Action Repetition Priming Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Action selection can be influenced by preceding movements. The authors investigated how retrospective factors may interact with plan- versus rule-based action selection. Participants completed 2 tasks, both of which involved selecting a pronated or supinated posture. In the plan task, they chose the most comfortable hand orientation. In the rule task, they followed a learned prescription. Trials in both tasks comprised prime-probe pairs that were identical, or differed in the visual stimulus or required motor response. Both tasks showed a response-time advantage for probes that were preceded by identical primes. This effect was greater for the plan task suggesting that plan-based action selection is especially susceptible to recent history, fortifying the idea that differential mechanisms underlie a rule- versus plan-based approach to the same action.

Keywords:

• action planning
• action repetition priming
• action selection
• motor history
• rule-based action

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Nathan Baune and Ronny Wolfram for their assistance with data collection.

FUNDING

This work was funded by grants from the James S. McDonnell Foundation and National Institute of Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to Scott H. Frey.