An upper temporal limit of action-effect integration as reflected by motor adaptation

TL;DR

The study shows that motor adaptation to action effects is limited to a 290 ms window and is not related to schizotypy traits.

Contribution

The study confirms a temporal limit of action-effect integration and explores its relationship with schizotypy for the first time.

Findings

Motor adaptation to action effects occurs within a 290 ms window.

There is no correlation between motor optimization window size and schizotypy traits.

Force applied during actions increases as the delay between action and effect increases.

Abstract

Motor parameters of simple, repetitive actions like tapping, pinching, or pushing a button differ as a function of their action effects – adding a consistent, immediate sound-effect to such actions leads to a decrease in applied force. This action-effect related motor adaptation occurs only, however, when the sound-effect follows actions within about 200 ms, which has been hypothesized to reflect a temporal limit of action-effect integration. Using a university student sample, the present study replicated the effect of action-sound effect delays on force application. Furthermore, given that the perception of action-effect contingencies, and that of temporal relations are deteriorated in schizophrenia, we explored the relationship between the schizotypy trait and the duration of the action-effect related motor optimization window. Participants pinched a force sensitive device every 3 s on their own volition, which elicited a tone with a delay increasing from block to block in 70 ms steps from 0 to 560 ms. The applied force gradually increased with action-effect delay, with an estimated force optimization window size of 290 ms, confirming the importance of temporal contiguity in action-effect related motor adaptation. A Bayes-factor based analysis provided evidence for no correlation between the motor optimization window size and schizotypy.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00426-025-02121-4.

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