Visuomotor tracking performance and task-induced modulation of alpha activity.
This study is an attempt at clarifying the relationships between defined environmental demands, the efficiency of corresponding visuomotor behaviour and the EEG. We made use of a laboratory paradigm which was devised to closely represent a common man-machine system process, i.e, maintaining of a road vehicle on a predetermined track when squally wind is blowing from the flank. The deviation of the ideal track represents the input signal for the component system man, the compensating steering motion its output signal. This performance is modelled by a visuomotor tracking task which has been developed as a means of ascertaining subtle effects of psychotropic drugs and described elsewhere. We found that the higher the efficiency of test performance, the lower was the task-induced modulation of alpha-activity.