A joint research project between the psychology departments of Bowling Green State University and Ohio State University are studying perceptual and motor timing in children and adults.

The primary purpose of the study is to better understand the changes that occur in perceptual-motor timing across the lifespan of an individual.

Many would ask however, what exactly are perceptual-motor timing skills?

“Perceptual and motor timing skills permit an individual to coordinate their behavior with events in the environment,” said Dr. Devin McAuley, an assistant professor of psychology at the University. McAuley is one of the primary investigators in the study. “A good example of perceptual and motor timing is dancing,” McAuley said. “To dance to music you have to both perceive the beat of music and coordinate your movements to match it.”

According to McAuley, one reason it is important to understand developmental changes in timing behavior is because it is easier to identify and characterize timing disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder.

Before timing disorders can be characterized however, “we really need to get a better handle on what normal developmental profiles look like,” McAuley said. “That is what this project is about.”

In addition to perceptual-motor timing, researchers have also been studying the impulsivity, mood and spatial skills of their participants. This is in order to examine their relationships with perceptual motor-timing.

The study has been conducted over the past two years and has surveyed approximately 300 participants ranging in the ages of 4-80.

All participants received a free hearing screening and $25. Participants in the study came from Bowling Green, Toledo and other surrounding areas. Letters were sent to local schools and advertisements were placed around Bowling Green explaining the need for participants.

“Word of mouth played a lot into it,” Nathan Miller, a graduate student and assistant to the study of two years, said.

“This is the first study [in perceptual-motor timing] to look at several different tasks across such a wide range of ages, making it a really important developmental study,” Shayla Holub, a graduate student and assistant to the study, said.

Both children and adults that participated in the study were given a series of tasks to test three specific skills.

One skill was the participant’s ability to perceive and produce specific durations, such as being able to imitate a clapping rhythm. A second skill tested was the ability to synchronize movements as well as adjust and correct responses.

The third test was to determine whether people prefer a fast or slow speed when given the choice to listen to a range of speeds, and if they could recognize their preferred speed while listening to a range of speeds.

Tests for children were revised forms of adult tests. They were made to be more colorful and interactive, so as to hold the child’s attention.

According to the researchers, both children and adults were enthusiastic about participating.

“Adults were interested in what we were doing,” Miller said. “I think they had a good time.”

Although the interviewing process is not complete, some general observations have been made concerning developmental changes in perceptual-motor timing skills.

Some of these findings include that as children get older their favorite speed slows down, and they are also able to synchronize their actions better and within a larger range.

Another finding is that there is very little decline in performance for older adults.

“Simple perceptual and motor timing skills are done almost as well as young adults,” McAuley said.

McAuley and fellow researchers hope to be done collecting data at the end of the semester and will analyze and write reports on all of their formal findings this summer.