Finger Drumming Task
Background
The Finger Drumming Task (FDT) is a behavioral measure of fine motor skills, motor speed and lateralized brain function. It records how rapidly a person can tap a key or button sequence using their left versus right hand. The Millisecond FDT is designed for touchscreen devices. Participants are asked to adjust buttons (size and placement) on a touchscreen, separately for their right and left hand. Participants are then asked to tap specific sequences as well as random ones within a certain period.
The Finger Tapping Task published by Adam J. Parker and colleagues in 2020 as part of the Behavioural Laterality Battery (BLB), is a version of the FDT run on keyboards. Participants are asked to press a specific key sequence (e.g. TUMB with the right hand, WRXV with the left one) as often as possible during 30s. The complete Inquisit implementation of the BLB can be accessed here.
Task Procedure
BLB Tapping Task
The BLB Tapping Task runs 4 rounds of alternating RH-LH (LH-RH) blocks. In each block, participants hear a 'start' sound and see a timer appear on the screen. They then have 30s to type as many TUMB-sequences as they can with their right index finger, or type as many WRVX-sequences with their left index finger. Script waits for correct responses to move ahead with the sequence (incorrect responses are recorded but ignored). There is no practice session.
The Millisecond FDT
The Millisecond FDT runs on touch screens and uses four response fingers on each hand. Participants either start with their right hand or their left one. For each hand, they are provided with four buttons for their index, middle, ring and pinky fingers. The size of the buttons as well as their final screen positions are adjusted by each participant for their individual hands. Once the buttons have been finalized (separately for each hand), participants work on three different tasks:
- tapping the sequence index-middle-ring-pinky
- tapping the sequence pinky-ring-middle-index
- tapping a random sequence. The three tasks are randomly called. Each of the three tasks starts with a practice session. After completion of 3 sequences (one sequence = a correct tap of each of the four response fingers), the one-minute test session starts with the appearance of a timer. During tasks 1 and 2, the default gray buttons (presented on a black background) are briefly highlighted in light gray once pressed. In both versions, an incorrect tap highlights the missed button in yellow which then needs to be pressed to move ahead in the sequence. During task 3, the button that should be pressed next is hightlighted in yellow. An incorrect button press presents feedback and alerts participants that they have to press the highlighted button to move ahead.
What it Measures
The Finger Drumming Task (FDT) is a measure of fine motor skills, motor speed and motor lateralization
Psychological domains
- Motor Function: Evaluates fine motor skills, manual dexterity, and lateralized coordination. It serves as a direct indicator of the integrity of cortical motor areas and efferent motor pathways.
- Attention and Concentration: The test requires sustained focus and alertness to maintain consistent sequences over a period of time.
Main Performance Metrics
- Right Hand Score: Right-Hand Sequence Completion Sum across all three tasks (FDT) or correct Right-Hand Taps (BLB Tapping Task)
- Left Hand Score: Left-Hand Sequence Completion Sum across all three tasks (FDT) or correct Left-Hand Taps (BLB Tapping Task)
- Lateralization Score: Difference of Right-Hand Score and Left-Hand Score relative to their sum
Psychiatric Conditions
The BLB Finger Tapping Task or the Millisecond Finger Drumming Task are primarily intended and used in academic research.
Test Variations
A motor coordination task by Parker et al (2020) in which participants repeatedly tap a specific key sequence as fast as they can for 30 seconds.
A measure of motor coordination developed by Millisecond in which participants drum patterns with their fingers on a touch screen device.
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Finger Drumming Task.
Denckla, M. (1973). Development of speed in repetitive and successive finger-movements in normal children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 15(5), 635-45.
Badian, N., & Wolff, P. (1977). Manual asymmetries of motor sequencing in boys with reading disability. Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior, 13(4), 343-9.
Watter, & Burns. (1995). Repeatability of three fine motor tests. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 41(1), 21-26.
Burns, Yvonne R, Ensbey, Rosemary, O&Amp;Apos, & Callaghan, Michael. (1999). Motor Abilities at Eight to Ten Years of Children Born Weighing Less than 1,000 g. Physiotherapy, 85(7), 360-369.
Rodger, Sylvia, Watter, Pauline, Marinac, Julie, Woodyatt, Gail, Ziviani, Jenny, & Ozanne, Anne. (2007). Assessment of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD): Motor, functional, self-efficacy and communication abilities. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 35(3), 99-109.
Licari, M., Billington, K., Reid, J., Wann, S., Elliott, L., Winsor, J., . . . Bynevelt, A. (2015). Cortical functioning in children with developmental coordination disorder: A motor overflow study. Experimental Brain Research, 233(6), 1703-1710.
Adam J. Parker , Zoe V. J. Woodhead , Paul A. Thompson & Dorothy V. M. Bishop (2020): Assessing the reliability of an online behavioural laterality battery: A pre-registered study, Laterality