Nasa Motor Tasks

Background

The NASA Motor Tasks are four publicly available touchscreen-based tests ("apps") used to evaluate (astronauts') fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination; e.g. in microgravity. All four tests are described in the published documentation by Bettina L. Beard (2020) as part of a larger cognition and motor skills test battery.

1. Pointing Task: A test of motor coordination where users tap squares in a ring as they light up.
2. Dragging Task: A test of manual dexterity requiring participants to drag items across specific screen areas.
3. Tracing Task: A manual dexterity test where users follow an outline shape along the direction of an arrow.
4. Pinch Rotate Task: A manipulation test involving pinching and rotating screen objects

Millisecond implemented the first three tasks in Inquisit to allow for easy integration of these psychomotor tasks into an Inquisit test battery which can be run on several different platforms such as Windows, Mac, Ios or Android. The Millisecond versions can be run with touch or mouse response input and provide several easy to change parameters to customize the task procedure. It is important to note that the implementations differ from the originals.

Task Procedure

Pointing Task

The Pointint Task presents participants with a circle of 16 squares. Starting with the top square, the squares get highlighted in blue and participants have to press the highlighted squares as fast as possible. Each square in the sequence is 'joined' with its opposite square in such a way that once a square is highlighted, the next square participants have to press will be the square on the opposite side of the circle. Once a blue square is successfully hit, the next one in the sequence lights up immediately. An arrow indicates the direction in which the highlighted squares will rotate: clock - or counterclockwise.

After an automated task demonstrations, the Millisecond default implementation of the task runs 2 differently sized circles each in clock and counterclockwise rotation. The order of the resulting 4 conditions is selected at random. Each condition runs 5 blocks of 18 trials each (20 blocks total), followed by a self-paced break. By default, participants receive optional performance feedback at task conclusion.

Dragging Task

The Dragging Task requires participants to repeatedly drag a white square back and forth or up and down from one end of the screen ('gray wall') to the opposite one ('blue wall'). Once the blue wall has been reached, the square needs to be briefly dropped, the walls change color and the square can be dragged back. Note that during the dragging process, both the initial shape as well as the dragged shape are visible to the participant. If a shape is prematurely dropped, it should be picked up again to finish the dragging process.

After an automated task demonstrations, the Millisecond default implementation of the task runs 2 orientation conditions (left-right; up-down). The order of the two orientation conditions is selected at random. Each condition runs 6 blocks of 16 trials each (trial = completed back and forth movement), followed by a self-paced break. By default, participants receive optional performance feedback at task conclusion.

Tracing Task

The Tracing Tasks asks participants to trace the outlines of circle and squares, starting from a dedicated 'start' position. They trace along the outline in the direction indicated by an arrow. If the finger is lifted during the task, the trial is terminated and repeated.

After an automated task demonstrations, the Millisecond default implementation of the task runs 2 different tracing shapes (circle vs. square) each requiring clock and counterclockwise tracing. The order of the resulting 4 conditions is selected at random. Each condition runs 3 blocks of 5 trials each (12 blocks total), followed by a self-paced break.

What it Measures

The NASA Motor Tasks measure psychomotor speed and visual tracking

Psychological domains

• Visuomotor Coordination: The ability of the brain, eyes, and body to work together on a task
• Psychomotor Speed: Ability of brain and muscles to work together fast to complete a physical movement task

Main Performance Metrics

The main performance metrics depend on the individual task. All three tasks report summary measures that combine error and speed metrics.

• Throughput Score: A measure of the motor system's information processing capacity (reported by Pointing/Dragging Task)
• Inverse Efficiency Score (IES): A measure that represents the theoretical time needed for perfect tracing performance (Tracing Task)

Psychiatric Conditions

The following patient groups have been tested with the NASA Motor tasks

• Parkinson's Disease (PD)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Stroke

Test Variations

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Nasa Motor Tasks.

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Beard, B.L. (2019). The Cognition and Fine Motor Skills Test Batteries: Normative Data and Interdependencies.