Motor & Digital Markers20–60 secBurden: LowEMA: High

Finger Tapping Variability

A repeated tapping task that captures digital motor timing features linked to cognitive and executive performance.

Motor timingDigital markersExecutive-motor integration
Category
Motor & Digital Markers
Typical duration
20–60 sec
Participant burden
Low
EMA suitability
High

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Include practice trials

Shown with feedback before the main task

Task parameters

Outputs: total taps, inter-tap interval mean and SD, fatigue slope, tap rate. Alternating mode also records alternation errors.

20–60 secBurden: LowEMA: High

This is a researcher preview. No participant data is recorded.

Simulated participant view

9:41

Finger Tapping Variability

A repeated tapping task that captures digital motor timing features linked to cognitive and executive performance.

No data is recorded

Participant experience on smartphone

Repeated tapping on one large target or alternating taps between two targets.

When to use

Useful in aging, neurology, fatigue, and intervention studies that benefit from motor timing markers.

When not to use

Less suitable if the study only wants classical cognitive tasks and wishes to avoid motor-marker interpretation.

How to use in a study

Treat it as a digital marker task and prioritize interval-based metrics, not just raw tap counts.

Researcher-configurable parameters

  • Single-target versus alternating-target
  • Trial duration
  • Hand / side condition
  • Practice enabled / disabled

Outputs collected

  • Total taps
  • Intertap interval mean
  • Intertap interval variability
  • Fatigue slope
  • Optional asymmetry metrics

Interpretation notes

Should be described as a motor-related digital assessment, not as a standalone cognitive diagnosis tool.

Scientific evidence

  • Recent smartphone cohort research shows tapping variability features are associated with multiple cognitive domains.

Read more

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