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Auditory feedback affects the long-range correlation of isochronous serial interval production: support for a closed-loop or memory model of timing

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Abstract

Long-range dependence is a characteristic property of successively produced time intervals, such as in un-paced or continuation tapping. We hypothesise in the present paper that serial dependence in such tasks could be related to a closed-loop regulation process, in which the current interval is determined by preceding ones. As a consequence, the quality of sensory feedback is likely to affect serial dependence. An experiment with human participants shows that diminished sensory information tends to increase the Hurst exponent for short inter-onset intervals and tends to decrease it for long intervals. A simulation shows that a simple auto-regressive model, whose order depends on the ratio between the inter-onset interval and an assumed temporal integration span, is able to account for most of our empirical results, including the duration specificity of long-range correlation.

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Notes

  1. The experimental system incorporates a delay from obstructing the light beam to the corresponding MIDI message being sent of less than 3 ms, from start of the MIDI message to the start of the sound of ~4.5 ms, and in the operation of the program of less than 1 ms. The MIDI asynchronous communication clock frequency of 31.25 kHz leads to a estimated minimum temporal variability of 32 µs. The trigger and sound devices have similar clock frequencies and hence also temporal variability in the same range.

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Acknowledgment

Part of this work was supported by grant RJ 2002:0791 from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation to Dr. Madison.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Guy Madison

  2. EA 2991, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University Montpellier I, Montpellier, France

    Didier Delignières

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  1. Guy Madison
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  2. Didier Delignières
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Correspondence to Guy Madison.

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Madison, G., Delignières, D. Auditory feedback affects the long-range correlation of isochronous serial interval production: support for a closed-loop or memory model of timing. Exp Brain Res 193, 519–527 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1652-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1652-x

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