Measurement of neo-Pavlovian properties of higher nervous activity by motor reaction-time tasks.

A preliminary study involving 80 paid subjects, 40 of each sex, investigated the usefulness of motor response-time tasks as measures of three neo-Pavlovian properties of higher nervous activity, excitatory strength, dynamism, and mobility. Six independent factors were extracted from a set of variables measuring those properties. These factors demonstrated the independence of the three properties, of the excitatory and inhibitory processes in dynamism and mobility, and of strength and sensitivity at least when such tasks are used as measures of properties in the auditory modality. These findings are promising, however, further investigation is required to validate these tasks against the classical tests of properties of higher nervous activity.