关键词: 预测运动, 节律, 时间结构, 阻断范式

Abstract: The ability to accurately estimate the arrival time of a moving object at a specific location is crucial for a variety of everyday activities, such as catching a ball or avoiding obstacles while driving. This task, known as a prediction motion (PM) task, involves judging when a moving stimulus will arrive at a target position. The current study investigates the role of time structure in the interruption paradigm of PM tasks, focusing on how time structure affects prediction performance. Experiment 1 used a continuous experiment to explore the influence of time structure on PM tasks. A total of 25 university students participated in a task where a blue square moved from a starting point towards a target location, was occluded at an interception point, and then reappeared at the target location. Participants were required to judge whether the square arrived early or late at the target position. The results revealed that when the time structure was consistent (T = 1.0), participants showed significantly better task performance compared to inconsistent time structures (T ≠ 1.0). This suggests that a consistent time structure provides a reliable cue for participants to make more accurate predictions about the motion of the stimulus. Experiment 2 aimed to isolate the influence of visual speed on PM tasks by introducing a flicker condition where the moving stimulus was occluded even before reaching the interception point. This paradigm removed visual speed cues to explore the role of time structure cues in prediction motion tasks. The findings were consistent with Experiment 1, demonstrating that a consistent time structure improved task performance, even in the absence of visual speed information. This indicates that time structure is a strong predictor of performance in PM tasks, independent of the visual speed of the moving stimulus. Experiment 3 further investigated the stability of the time structure effect by introducing random interference conditions. In this random experiment, the moving stimulus flickered at random positions between the starting point and the interception point, disrupting the formation of a stable time structure. Despite the interference, the results showed that a consistent time structure (T = 1.0) still enhanced participants' task performance, indicating the stability of the time structure effect. This suggests that even under conditions of distraction or interference, the consistency of time structure remains a significant factor in improving predictive performance. In conclusion, the three experiments conducted in this study systematically demonstrated that a consistent time structure improves task performance in prediction motion tasks. This enhancement is robust across different task conditions and has a certain degree of stability. The findings provide empirical evidence for the role of cognitive factors in prediction motion tasks and suggest that individuals may utilize the rhythm of the time structure to guide their expectations and enhance performance. Future research employing neuroimaging techniques could further explore the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of time structure on prediction motion tasks, potentially revealing how the brain integrates time information to predict motion and guide behavior.

Key words: prediction motion task, rhythm, time structure, interruption paradigm