Time for action versus action in time: time estimation differs between motor preparation and execution

ABSTRACT

Theories relating to time perception and motor performance predict very different temporal distortions depending on the synchronisation or succession of temporal processing and motor behaviour. However, our knowledge about the temporal difference between motor preparation and execution is still scarce. In order to expand on prior studies, two different time reproduction tasks were utilised to measure motor preparation and motor execution. We found that motor preparation of a planned action allows participants to complete the time reproduction task more accurately and, in short duration trials, less variably than for motor execution. Furthermore, under-reproduction was found in motor preparation compared to motor execution, which may be caused by increased temporal information processing. According to the attentional gate theory, more attention allocated to time processing and reduced motor distraction leads to less temporal distortion in the motor preparation. The findings are also important for designing to study consciousness, temporal and visual processing.

KEYWORDS:

• Motor preparation
• motor execution
• time perception
• time reproduction

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all of our participants, as well as the research assistants in the cognitive neuroscience lab in the Department of Psychology for their help in participant recruitment and data collection. Finally, we thank Barbara Peysakhovich for language proofreading the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.