Abstract
The neural circuits of reward processing and interval timing (including
perception and production) are functionally intertwined, suggesting that
it might be possible for momentary reward processing to influence
subsequent timing behavior. Previous animal and human studies have
mainly focused on the effect of reward on interval perception, whereas
its impact on interval production is less clear. In this study, we
examined whether feedback, as an example of performance-contingent
reward, biases interval production. We recorded EEG from 20 participants
while they engaged in a continuous drumming task with different
realistic tempos (1728 trials per participant). Participants received
color-coded feedback after each beat about whether they were correct (on
time) or incorrect (early or late). Regression-based EEG analysis was
used to unmix the rapid occurrence of a feedback response called the
reward positivity (RewP), which is traditionally observed in more
slow-paced tasks. Using linear mixed modelling, we found that RewP
amplitude predicted timing behavior for the upcoming beat. This
performance-biasing effect of the RewP was interpreted as reflecting the
impact of fluctuations in dopaminergic activities on timing, and the
necessity of continuous paradigms to make such observations was
highlighted.