Tracking Task

Motor Duration: ~6 minutes

Description

Continuous mouse tracking task measuring visuomotor coordination and sensorimotor adaptation with axis reversal (default configuration)

About This Test

The PEBL Tracking Task assesses continuous visuomotor control by requiring participants to keep their mouse cursor aligned with a moving target across multiple trials. **Task Structure**: Participants view a white cursor and a moving red target circle. The target follows a pre-programmed trajectory (figure-8, circle, or random path). Participants must continuously adjust their mouse position to keep the cursor as close as possible to the moving target. **Adaptation Manipulation**: By default, this task includes both horizontal and vertical axis reversal (xtrans=-1, ytrans=-1), creating a challenging sensorimotor perturbation where moving the mouse right causes the cursor to move left, and moving down causes the cursor to move up. This tests participants' ability to adapt to novel visuomotor transformations, similar to prism adaptation paradigms. The axis reversal parameters can be modified to test normal mapping or single-axis reversals. **Trial Types**: Each trial lasts a fixed duration (default 30 seconds). The task typically runs 10 trials by default, allowing observation of sensorimotor adaptation across repeated exposure to the reversed mapping. **Related Task**: For discrete pointing movements with similar axis reversal manipulations, see the Move-to-Target Task (movetotarget). The two tasks complement each other by assessing continuous vs. discrete visuomotor control under perturbation. **Administration Time**: 5-10 minutes depending on number of trials **Theoretical Basis**: Continuous tracking tasks measure the integration of visual feedback with motor control systems. Axis reversal manipulations specifically target visuomotor adaptation mechanisms, revealing how the brain recalibrates internal models when sensory-motor mappings are perturbed. Performance improvement across reversed trials demonstrates adaptive learning. **Use Cases**: Motor control research, visuomotor adaptation studies, sensorimotor learning experiments, coordination assessment, neurological screening for motor deficits.

Test Details

Test ID:

tracking

Main File:

tracking.pbl

Parameters:

5 configurable parameters

Languages:

German English Spanish French Italian Dutch Portuguese

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Scientific Background

Original Task References:

These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.

Poulton, E. C. (1974). Tracking skill and manual control. Academic Press.
Krakauer, J. W. (2009). Motor learning and consolidation: The case of visuomotor rotation. Progress in Motor Control, 405-421.
Redding, G. M., & Wallace, B. (1996). Adaptive spatial alignment and strategic perceptual-motor control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 22(2), 379.

Data Output

Output File:

tracking-{subnum}.csv

Format:

CSV

Data Columns

Column Name	Description
subnum	Participant ID
trial	Trial number (1-N)
flipx	Whether horizontal axis was reversed this trial (0=normal, 1=reversed)
flipy	Whether vertical axis was reversed this trial (0=normal, 1=reversed)
targettype	Target movement pattern (0=figure-8, 1=circle, 2=random)
duration	Trial duration in milliseconds
mean_error	Mean distance between cursor and target in pixels across all samples
sd_error	Standard deviation of cursor-target distance
max_error	Maximum cursor-target distance during trial
time_on_target	Total milliseconds cursor was within threshold distance of target

Scoring and Interpretation

Primary dependent variable is mean_error (average tracking error). Lower values indicate better performance. Track learning by comparing mean_error across baseline vs. adaptation trials. Adaptation is demonstrated by decreasing error across reversed trials. Time_on_target provides complementary accuracy metric. Point-by-point data enables trajectory analysis, velocity profiles, and correction dynamics.

Example Data

example-data.csv Summary

Summary data with trial-level tracking performance metrics

subnum	trial	xtrans	ytrans	start	step	time	duration	mad	mad2
example	normal	1	1	9553	2663	39545	30	42.4337	2604.27
example	MODIFIED1	1	-1	56411	2656	86404	30	67.1192	8636.47
example	MODIFIED2	1	-1	91611	2655	121603	30	64.3306	5816.78
example	MODIFIED3	1	-1	125603	2655	155602	30	67.1457	6180.66
example	MODIFIED4	1	-1	159880	2666	189879	30	145.199	69596.8
example	MODIFIED5	1	-1	194772	2671	224765	30	62.2174	7755
example	MODIFIED6	1	-1	228372	2669	258367	30	57.5005	4798.22
example	MODIFIED7	1	-1	262268	2664	292260	30	55.1584	4341.67
example	MODIFIED8	1	-1	297010	2651	327000	30	61.7444	5581.89

View full file (12 rows) →

example-data-pts.csv

High-frequency point-by-point tracking data (~2.1 MB per subject)

subnum	trial	xtrans	ytrans	start	step	time	targx	targy	cursx	cursy	dist
example	normal	1	1	9553	1	9558	960	600	960	600	0
example	normal	1	1	9553	2	9570	960	600	960	600	0
example	normal	1	1	9553	3	9582	957.281	598.732	960	600	3
example	normal	1	1	9553	4	9593	954.562	597.464	960	600	6
example	normal	1	1	9553	5	9604	952.07	596.301	960	600	8.75
example	normal	1	1	9553	6	9615	949.578	595.139	960	600	11.5
example	normal	1	1	9553	7	9626	947.086	593.976	960	600	14.25
example	normal	1	1	9553	8	9637	944.594	592.814	960	600	17
example	normal	1	1	9553	9	9648	942.101	591.651	960	600	19.75

View full file (29268 rows) →

Sample data showing typical output format. Actual values will vary by participant.

About This Test

Continuous mouse tracking task measuring visuomotor coordination and sensorimotor adaptation with axis reversal (default configuration)

Category: Motor
Estimated Duration: 6 minutes
Available Translations: 7 languages

Documentation Sources:
Test implementation, Parameter schema

Documentation Status: Complete