Biomedical subjects

T Hasbroucq

Publications and source records attributed to T Hasbroucq.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Serotonin and human information processing: an electromyographic study of the effects of fluvoxamine on choice reaction time.

Previous studies have shown that fluvoxamine, an inhibitor of serotonin reuptake, shortens choice reaction time. The present study, was intended to explore this effect by using two complementary approaches: (i) Sternberg's additive factor method, and (ii) the analysis of the electromyographic activity of a prime mover. Eight healthy subjects who received either a single oral dose of fluvoxamine (100 mg) or a placebo participated in a choice reaction time experiment in which imperative signal intensity, stimulus-response mapping, and response repertoire were manipulated. Previous results were replicated. Moreover, it was shown that fluvoxamine shortens the interval between prime mover activation and overt response. This supports the hypothesis proposed in a previous study that fluvoxamine affects motor processes. A possible mechanism of this effect is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

The time-course of preparatory spinal and cortico-spinal inhibition: an H-reflex and transcranial magnetic stimulation study in man.

In a previous study where reaction-time methods were combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex, cortico-spinal excitability was shown to reflect time preparation. Provided that subjects can accurately estimate time, the amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) diminish progressively during the interval separating the warning signal from the response signal (i.e., the foreperiod). On the other hand, several experiments have demonstrated that the amplitude of the Hoffman (H) reflex elicited in prime movers diminishes during the foreperiod of reaction-time tasks. The aim of the present study was to compare the time course of the respective decrements of H-reflex and MEP amplitude during a constant 500-ms foreperiod. The subjects (n=8) participated in two experimental sessions. In one session, H-reflexes were induced in a tonically activated, responding hand muscle, the flexor pollicis brevis, at different times during the foreperiod of a visual-choice reaction-time task. In the other session, motor potentials were evoked in the same muscle by TMS of the motor cortex delivered in the same behavioral conditions and at the same times as in the first session. The results show that both H-reflexes and MEPs diminish in amplitude during the foreperiod, which replicates and extends previous findings. Interestingly, the time constants of the two decrements differed. There was a facilitatory effect of both electrical and magnetic stimulations on the subject's performance: reaction time was shorter for the trials during which a stimulation was delivered than for the no-stimulation trials. This facilitation was maximal when the stimulations were delivered simultaneously with the warning signal and vanished progressively with stimulation time.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Cortico-spinal inhibition reflects time but not event preparation: neural mechanisms of preparation dissociated by transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Changes in cortico-spinal excitability related to time and event preparation were investigated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex during the foreperiod of a movement-precuing task. Subjects performed a four alternative choice reaction time (RT) task involving a button-press with the index or middle finger (FI) of the left or right hand. Advance information about the to-be-signaled response was provided by a precue, which preceded the response signal by a 1 s foreperiod. The precue either indicated the hand (right or left) or FI (index or middle) with which the response would be executed or was uninformative. TMS was delivered to the left or right cortical hand area at one of five possible times during the foreperiod: -1000, -500, -333, -166 or 0 ms prior to the response signal. Surface EMG activity from a prime mover involved in flexion of the response FIs (Flexor digitorum superficialis) was used to measure the magnitude of the motor evoked potential (MEP) elicited by TMS. Cortico-spinal excitability--as assessed by the magnitude of the MEP evoked in the target muscle contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere--progressively decreased during the foreperiod. The identity of the precued responses, however, had no effect on MEP magnitude. These results suggest that preparation to respond at a particular time inhibited excitability of the cortico-spinal tract, while advance preparation to perform specific responses affected more central structures only.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Effect of the irrelevant location of the response signal on choice reaction time: an electromyographic study in humans.

Choice reaction time (RT) is shorter when the stimulus corresponds spatially to the response than when the stimulus does not, even when the stimulus location is irrelevant to the task. We used electromyographic measures to document that this effect is the result of a response conflict. The activity of the prime movers of two alternative responses was recorded during the performance of a visual RT task in which the irrelevant spatial correspondence between the stimuli and the responses was varied. Only the premotor component of RT was affected by the stimulus-response correspondence. Correct trials were distinguished according to whether or not the activation of the prime mover involved in the required response was preceded by an activation of the prime mover involved in the alternative response. Double muscular activation trials were more numerous for noncorresponding than for corresponding stimulus-response associations. Furthermore, these trials yielded longer RTs than the single muscular activation trials.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Serotonin and human information processing: fluvoxamine can improve reaction time performance.

Fluvoxamine is a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Recent evidence suggests that this antidepressive drug shortens the reaction time (RT) of healthy volunteers. The first objective of the present study was to decipher whether this effect is due to an improvement in information processing per se or to the adoption of an error-prone strategy. The second objective was to locate the effect of fluvoxamine within the series of information processing stages by means of Sternberg's additive factor method. After administration of a single oral dose of fluvoxamine (100 mg) or a placebo (randomized double-blind, cross-over design), eight healthy volunteers performed a choice RT task in which stimulus intensity, stimulus-response compatibility and response repertoire were manipulated. Fluvoxamine shortened RT without decreasing the accuracy of the responses. This demonstrates that fluvoxamine improves information processing per se. The effect of fluvoxamine was additive on RT with the respective effects of stimulus intensity and stimulus-response compatibility. This result suggests that fluvoxamine spares the processing stages of stimulus preprocessing and response selection.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Motor cortex involvement during choice reaction time: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study in man.

It has been shown that transcranial magnetic stimulation can delay simple reaction time; this happens when the stimulation is delivered during the reaction time and over the cortical area which commands the prime mover of the required response. Although it is agreed that magnetic stimulation could be a useful tool for studying information processing in man, we argue that, because of the use of simple reaction time, the results reported so far are difficult to interpret within this theoretical framework. In the present paper, three experiments are reported. Six subjects participated in experiment 1 in which magnetic stimulation was delivered, at different times, during choice reaction time. The effects of the magnetic stimulation of the cortical area involved in the response (induced current passing forward over the motor representation of the responding hand), were compared to the effects of an electrical stimulation of the median nerve (H-reflex). In a first control experiment (experiment 2a; 5 subjects), the coil was placed over the ipsilateral motor cortex (induced current passing backward over the motor representation of the non-responding hand) thus minimizing the probability to excite the same neural nets as in the first experiment. In a second control experiment (experiment 2b; 4 subjects), the coil was placed a few centimeters away from the subject's scalp thus ensuring no stimulation of any neural nets. The results show that: (1) the noise and the smarting of the skin associated with the coil discharge produce an intersensory facilitation thereby shortening reaction time (experiment 2a), (2) actually, the noise produced by the stimulation is sufficient to produce such a facilitatory effect (experiment 2b), (3) a stimulation over the area at the origin of the motor command causes a reaction time delay which counteracts this intersensory facilitation effect (experiment 1), (4) in this latter case, the closer the stimulation to the actual overt response, the longer the delay and (5) there is no trace of correlation between the amplitude of the motor evoked potential and the reaction time change.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Preparatory inhibition of cortico-spinal excitability: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study in man.

In order to investigate the preparatory modulations of cortico-spinal excitability, reaction time (RT) methods were combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex. We analyzed the variations in the amplitude of motor potentials evoked in a prime mover (flexor digitorum sublimis) by TMS delivered during the foreperiod of a visual choice RT task. In experiment 1 (n = 10), the TMS was delivered either simultaneously with the warning signal or simultaneously with the response signal in two conditions of foreperiod duration: short (500 ms) and long (2500 ms). The peak amplitude of the motor evoked potentials diminished during the short foreperiod but not during the long foreperiod. Since RT was shorter when the foreperiod lasted 500 ms than when it lasted 2500 ms, this result suggests that the excitability of the cortico-spinal structures is minimal when the subject is optimally ready to react. In experiment 2 (n = 10), the time-course of this decrement was further explored. With this aim, only the short foreperiod was used and the TMS was delivered either 500 ms, 333 ms, 167 ms or 0 ms before the response signal. Cortico-spinal excitability decreased during the first 333 ms and then remained stable until the occurrence of the response signal. In light of previous studies, the present results suggest that the decrement of cortico-spinal excitability during the short foreperiod reflects an adaptative mechanism which increases the sensitivity of the motor structures to the forthcoming voluntary command.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Why does the single neuron activity change from trial to trial during sensory-motor task?

Single neuron activities from cortical areas of a monkey were recorded while performing a sensory-motor task (a choice reaction time task). Quantitative trial-by-trial analysis revealed that the timing of peak activity exhibited large variation from trial to trial, compared to the variation in the behavioral reaction time of the task. Therefore, we developed a multi-unit dynamic neural network model to investigate the effects of structure of neural connections on the variation of the timing of peak activity. Computer simulation of the model showed that, even though the units are connected in a cascade fashion, a wide variation exists in the timing of peak activity of neurons because of parallel organization of neural network within each unit.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Stimulus preprocessing and response selection in depression: a reaction time study.

Depressed subjects are slower than normal controls in reaction time (RT) tasks. However, it is not clear whether depression affects all stages of information-processing or only some of them. In the present study, this question was addressed by using the additive factor method. Ten inpatients and ten control subjects performed a two-choice visual RT task. Stimulus intensity and stimulus-response compatibility were manipulated. The effect of intensity was similar in both groups whereas the effect of compatibility was larger for the patients than for the controls. This suggests that stimulus preprocessing is unaffected by depression whilst response selection is impaired.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Does irrelevant stimulus location affect response selection?

Reaction time (RT) is shorter when the irrelevant location of the stimulus corresponds to the relevant location of the response: When a subject is to perform a left or right keypress according to the colour of a stimulus delivered either to the left or to the right of a fixation, RT is typically shorter when the location of the stimulus corresponds to the location of the response (e.g., left stimulus/left response) than when it does not (e.g., left stimulus/right response). Umiltà and Nicoletti (1990) have suggested that this effect, known as the ¿Simon effect' in the literature, occurred at the response selection stage, a stage whose duration depends on the effectors used to perform the task. In the present study, this effect and that of the finger response repertoire (within- versus between-hand composition) were found to be additive, which does not support the response selection hypothesis of the Simon effect.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

A comparison of tactile, auditory, and visual feedback in a pointing task using a mouse-type device.

A mouse was modified to add tactile feedback via a solenoid-driven pin projecting through a hole in the left mouse button. An experiment is described using a target selection task under five different sensory feedback conditions ('normal', auditory, colour, tactile, and combined). No differences were found in overall response times, error rates, or bandwidths; however, significant differences were found in the final positioning times (from the cursor entering the target to selecting the target). For the latter, tactile feedback was the quickest, normal feedback was the slowest. An examination of the spatial distributions in responses showed a peaked, narrow distribution for the normal condition, and a flat, wide distribution for the tactile (and combined) conditions. It is argued that tactile feedback allows subjects to use a wider area of the target and to select targets more quickly once the cursor is inside the target. Design considerations for human-computer interfaces are discussed.

Attention↗

PubMed1993

Intensity to force translation: a new effect of stimulus-response compatibility revealed by analysis of response time and electromyographic activity of a prime mover.

In reaction time studies of stimulus-response compatibility, emphasis has been placed on the influence of spatial stimulus-response relationships, but what seems to be essential for the emergence of an effect of stimulus-response compatibility is the existence of a conceptual match between stimulus and response variables. This notion was at the origin of the present study to assess the compatibility relationship between the intensity of a visual stimulus and the force of a voluntary muscle contraction. A stimulus-response compatibility effect was demonstrated. This effect was entirely due to premotoric processes.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The effects of intensity and irrelevant location of a tactile stimulation in a choice reaction time task.

Simon and his colleagues have demonstrated that the location of a stimulus in the sensory field, even if it is irrelevant for the task, may critically affect reaction time. This so-called 'Simon effect' is a general phenomenon that encompasses all sensory modalities. The experiment reported here showed that the tactile version of the Simon effect was additive on reaction time with the respective effects of stimulus intensity and of the within-hand/between-hand composition of the repertoire of fingers devoted to the task. In light of recent theoretical developments, the present data suggest that the locus of the Simon effect is stimulus identification, a perceptual stage which follows stimulus encoding and precedes stimulus-response translation.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Stimulus-response compatibility and the Simon effect: toward a conceptual clarification.

The current view that the Simon effect (Simon & Small, 1969) reflects stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) is questioned. Previous accounts of the Simon effect have overlooked stimulus congruity (SC), the correspondence relation borne by the two simultaneous aspects of the stimulus, a factor inevitably confounded in the Simon paradigm with irrelevant spatial S-R correspondence. The Hedge and Marsh (1975) reversal effect, replicated in Experiment 1, is reinterpreted as decisive evidence that the Simon effect is entirely accounted for by SC. Furthermore, in Experiment 2 irrelevant S-R correspondence was manipulated in the absence of any variation of SC, and the Simon effect vanished. It is concluded that the Simon effect, contrary to current opinion, represents a spatial variant of the Stroop effect and is irrelevant to the SRC issue. The view that mental operations proceed automatically at the stage of response determination loses one of its strongest empirical arguments.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Dimensional overlap: cognitive basis for stimulus-response compatibility--a model and taxonomy.

The classic problem of stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility (SRC) is addressed. A cognitive model is proposed that views the stimulus and response sets in S-R ensembles as categories with dimensions that may or may not overlap. If they do overlap, the task may be compatible or incompatible, depending on the assigned S-R mapping. If they do not overlap, the task is noncompatible regardless of the assigned mapping. The overlapping dimensions may be relevant or not. The model provides a systematic account of SRC effects, a taxonomy of simple performance tasks that were hitherto thought to be unrelated, and suggestive parallels between these tasks and the experimental paradigms that have traditionally been used to study attentional, controlled, and automatic processes.

Arousal↗

PubMed1987

Preliminary evidence for body-centered coding of tactile motor events.

A number of experimental studies have consistently shown that on reaction time tasks with visual or auditory stimuli, the subjects code their responses in environmental rather than body-centered terms. The aim of the present study was to determine which of these two frames of reference subjects spontaneously adopt to code tactile motor events. Eight subjects were requested to respond with key-presses to mechanical stimulations delivered under the finger tips. Reaction time was analysed as a function of device- and body-centered S-R relationships. Subjects displayed a strong S-R compatibility effect that suggested their body-centered coding of tactile motor events.

Functional Laterality↗