Four Choice Reaction Time Task

Background

The Four-Choice Reaction Time Task (4CRTT) is a cognitive-behavioral assessment measuring the time taken to respond to one of four randomly selected stimuli, each mapped to a specific response button. The task evaluates processing speed, decision-making, as well as motor response coordination and is often used to study cognitive decline, fatigue, and the effects of substances like alcohol on cognitive processes.

The Millisecond 4CRTT is loosely based on the published procedure by Lawrence E. Armstrong and colleagues from 2012 who used the task to study the effects of dehydration on cognitive performance in young women in their twenties. The procedure can be run with keyboard input as well as with mouse or touch input.

Alternative choice reaction times tasks offered by Millisecond are the Deary-Liewald 4-Choice Reaction Time Task (DLC) using keyboard input and the touchscreen choice reaction time task from the touchscreen reactiontime battery. These alternative measures also provide single reaction time versions for comparison purposes.

Task Procedure

During each trial, participants see four horizontal gray boxes in the center of the screen. For the keyboard version, each box maps to one of four response keys with the same spatial relationship on the keyboard: F,G,H,J (Note: these four response keys are located next to each other on QWERTY keyboards). After 500ms, one of the boxes is randomly selected to be highlighted in red, and participants must press the corresponding response key (keyboard version) or press the highlighted box directly (mouse/touch version) as fast as possible within a fixed response window of 1000ms. The script tracks response times, premature responses, missed responses as well as incorrect responses.

After a practice block with 10 trials that provide error feedback, participants work on 100 test trials (default).

What it Measures

The Four-Choice Reaction Time Task (4CRTT) measures the time it takes to respond to one of four possible stimuli.

Psychological domains

• Processing Speed: Ability to quickly perceive a stimulus, process the information, and initiate a response
• Decision Making: Choosing the correct response from multiple alternatives.
• Selective Attention: Ability to discriminate between different stimuli and select the correct one
• Sustained Attention: Ability to maintain focus and quickly adapt one's behavior to current demands

Main Performance Metrics

• Accuracy Measures: Proportion correct and incorrect choices as well as timeout and premature responses
• Latency Measures: Mean correct response times as the main measure of processing speed with a choice component

Psychiatric Conditions

4CRTT procedures are generally used to study cognitive decline, fatigue and the effects of substances like alcohol on processing speed. The following patient groups are routinely tested with 4CRTT procedures:

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Huntington’s Disease
• Schizophrenia
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Test Variations

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Four Choice Reaction Time Task.

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Deary, Der, & Ford. (2001). Reaction times and intelligence differences: A population-based cohort study. Intelligence, 29(5), 389-399.

Armstrong, L., Ganio, M., Casa, D., Lee, E., Mcdermott, B., Klau, J., . . . Lieberman, H. (2012). Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. The Journal of Nutrition, 142(2), 382-8.

Banaschewski, T., Jennen‐Steinmetz, C., Brandeis, D., Buitelaar, J., Kuntsi, J., Poustka, L., . . . Asherson, P. (2012). Neuropsychological correlates of emotional lability in children with ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(11), 1139-1148.

Yulia Worbe, George Savulich, Valerie Voon, Emilio Fernandez-Egea, & Trevor W Robbins. (2014). Serotonin Depletion Induces ‘Waiting Impulsivity’ on the Human Four-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task: Cross-Species Translational Significance. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(6), 1519.

Xiao, Y., Ma, F., Lv, Y., Cai, G., Teng, P., Xu, F., & Chen, S. (2015). Sustained Attention is Associated with Error Processing Impairment: Evidence from Mental Fatigue Study in Four-Choice Reaction Time Task. PLoS One, 10(3), PLoS One, Mar 2015, Vol.10(3).