Nomen est omen: Serial reaction time task is not a motor but a visuomotor learning task

Abstract

The serial reaction time task is a widely used task in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience to assess human and animal learning. Many publications refer to this task as a 'motor learning task', but it is also a perceptual learning task. We emphasize here that the incorrect use of the term 'motor learning' misleads researchers and medical doctors by emphasizing the motor cortex's exclusive role. It has the potential to lead to the misinterpretation of neuroscientific, neuroimaging and clinical studies. The domino effect has the potential to generate more flawed hypotheses and theories.

Keywords: SRT; implicit learning; motor learning; perceptual learning; serial reaction time task; statistical learning; visuomotor learning.