I recently wrote some code to assist a friend of mine in his chronobiology PhD.

Ze Pedro is studying the biological rhythms in education.

If we assume that:
- Many cognitive and psychomotor functions (which underlies the learning process) have variations in phase with central body temperature;
- Central body temperature is influenced by the circadian light-dark cycle.

It is admissible to think that academic performance is influenced by the interaction between chronotype (morningness, eveningness and intermediate) and the moment of the day the learning tasks are undertaken.

Only an experimental study, with cognitive and elementary psychomotor functions, will allow us to test this general hypothesis.

This is my attempt to help somehow :1

The program contains 4 tasks, all of them are carried out by a bunch of subjects in a touch screen monitor and all the answers are filed to a .xls file.

1st task : Choice reactions time.
2nd task : Signal detection
3rd task : Digit span
4th task : Trail making test “B”:

1st task : Choice reactions time.
Imagine a sequence of a 7 squares in a monitor all of them are equidistant of another square placed bellow in the middle of the screen.
Put your finger on the base square (the one that is bellow in the middle of the screen) and wait until one square lights. When this happens tap that square as fast as you can.
The aim of this task is to register the 2 types of time: the one since the light shine and the finger is raised; the other is the time taken since the finger is raised until the lit square is tapped.
Notes:
This process should be repeated 10 times.
The lights will show at random.

2nd task: Signal detection
Imagine a screen full of numbers in rows. The numbers are displayed at random.
At first the participant is asked to identify in the screen full of numbers, one (previously presented). Then he signals all the equal numbers in the screen, beginning in the left superior corner and ending in the right inferior corner. In each row there should be 30% of the numbers the participant is asked to identify.
At second stage, the participant will repeat the previous task, but he is asked to identify three different numbers. In each row there should be 10% of each of the 3 numbers the participant is asked to identify, in other words the participant and has to identify 30% of the numbers in each row.
Notes:
All the numbers the participant has to identify are sorted at random
Each row should have 20 numbers
After each row the participant must tap a bottom to inform that that row was concluded.
To accomplish this task 45 seconds are given.
The program should register the right, wrong and omissions of the concluded rows.

3rd task: Digit span
1st phase:
Imagine a screen where series of numbers is being shown. The participant should memorize that sequence and write it on a pad number in the screen
2nd phase:
The task is exactly the same. In this phase the participant has to tap the numbers in the reverse way, from the end to the beginning.
Notes:
The task begins with 2 numbers and will develop until 9 numbers.
In each phase the participant will have two chances. In case he doesn´t succeed the task will be finished. Both opportunities will be exactly the same
The program should file how far the task was successful, mentioning how many numbers were recorded.


4th task: trail making test “B”:
Imagine a screen full of spots displayed at random. On the spots will be written numbers and letters. The participant should link without raising his finger in the following sequence:
1-a-2-b-3-c-4-d-5-e-6-f-7-g-8-h
Note:
The program should register how long the participant takes to finish the task and how many mistakes he made.
The lines drawn by the participant during the task should be presented on the screen.
A print screen of the task should be filed.

Credits:

Carlos Fernandes : Professor Catedrático e Coordenador do Laboratório de Psicologia Experimental e Aplicada da Universidade de Aveiro
José Moura : Aluno de Doutoramento da Universidade de Aveiro (zepedromoura@gmail.com)