Processing Speed
Mirror Tracing Task
Also called: mirror drawing task, mirror star tracing, reversed cursor tracing
Measure visuomotor skill: participants trace a star with a dot whose movement is reversed, as in a mirror, scored by exits from the path and time per trace.
6-10 minTimed: desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 49
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 23
What it measures
Measures visuomotor skill under a mirror reversal. Participants trace a star drawn as a band with a dot whose movement is reversed, up and down as standard, as in a mirror. The main score is the number of times the dot leaves the band per trace, with the time each trace takes.
Constructs
- Visuomotor skill learning
- Procedural memory
- Hand and eye coordination under a reversed view
Research uses
- Motor learning and procedural memory research
- Aging and development studies
- Sleep and memory consolidation studies
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The mirror tracing task measures visuomotor skill under a reversed view: participants trace a figure while their movement is seen as in a mirror. In the classic task a figure, typically a star, lies between two lines and is drawn by hand while seen only in a mirror, and the score counts the times the drawing leaves the lines (Julius and Adi-Japha, 2016; Garrido and colleagues, 2026). Performance improves over repeated trials, and this skill learning was intact in patients with amnesia and with Alzheimer's disease (Gabrieli, Corkin, Mickel and Growdon, 1993).
More about the paradigm
Here the figure is on screen. A five-pointed star drawn by our code is shown as a gray band, and the participant moves a small dot with the mouse or trackpad while the usual pointer is hidden. The dot's up and down movement is reversed as standard, the view of a mirror standing beyond the drawing; a setting reverses left and right instead. A click on the green dot at the top point starts a trace, which goes clockwise all the way round and ends back at the start, or at the time limit, 120 seconds as standard. The standard session has 8 traces of the same star, after one practice trace of a square with normal movement and feedback on time and errors. Every pointer sample of the dot is kept with its time.
The main score is the mean number of exits from the band per trace: each time the dot goes from inside the band to outside it counts once, and the dot's trail turns red outside. This version also times each trace, from the start click back to the start, and reports the traces completed, the share of tracing time outside the band, start clicks under 100 ms after the path appeared (anticipations, which do not start a trace) and the times the pointer left the window. No score compares one trace with another or with earlier sessions; each trace's errors and time are saved, so a study can plot learning across traces. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Mean Errorscount
- Exits from the band per trace, averaged over the traces that were started.
- Lower is better
- Mean Timeseconds
- Time from the start click back to the start, averaged over started traces; a trace stopped by the time limit counts the time it ran.
- Lower is faster
- Traces Completedcount
- Traces that got back to the start before the time limit.
- Higher is better; an unfinished trace is flagged for review
- Time Outside the Band%
- Share of tracing time the dot spent outside the band.
- Lower is better
- Anticipationscount
- Start clicks under 100 ms after the path appeared. They did not start a trace.
- Lower is better
- Interruptionscount
- Times the pointer left the window during a trace.
- Informational
- Planned Tracestrials
- Test traces the session planned to show.
- Informational
- Total Tracestrials
- Test traces shown in the scored run.
- Fewer than planned is flagged for review
Use and evidence
49 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 17% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 256 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2023 | 10 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2018 | 20 |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2016 | 11 |
| 2015 | 11 |
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2012 | 18 |
| 2011 | 15 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2009 | 12 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2007 | 10 |
| 2006 | 11 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2003 | 8 |
| 2002 | 8 |
| 2001 | 7 |
| 2000 | 2 |
Use grade D
30 to 99 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade C
At least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 5
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 16
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 23
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Path
- A five-pointed star drawn by our code, its inner points at half the outer radius, shown as a gray band 0.12 of the radius wide. Each trace starts at the top point and goes clockwise all the way round.
- Mirror
- The dot follows the mouse or trackpad with the usual pointer hidden, its up and down movement reversed (standard) or its left and right. A click on the green dot starts a trace; no button needs holding down.
- Errors
- Each time the dot leaves the band counts as one error, and its trail turns red. It is back on the path once within 0.9 of the band's half-width. Progress counts only inside the band, at most 0.3 of the radius at once.
- Session
- 8 traces of the same star (standard; 4 to 12), after one practice trace of a square with normal movement and feedback.
- Time
- 120 seconds per trace (standard; 60 to 180) from the moment the path appears, with 500 ms of blank screen before each trace. A finished trace stays for 800 ms.
- Data
- Every pointer sample of the dot while tracing, with its time, and the time and place of each exit, so each trace can be replayed.
In the classic task a figure, typically a star, lies between two lines and is drawn by hand while seen only in a mirror. Here the figure is on screen and the dot's movement is reversed instead. Percentiles are not computed, and no score compares one trace with another; each trace's errors and time are kept for analyses of learning.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: mirror_tracing_test from the scored run, one per trace. A trace has no correct option, so accuracy is not judged against chance. A trace that was never started before the time limit is a missed response: more than max(3, 25%) invalidate and any is flagged. A trace stopped by the time limit before it got back to the start, or a short run, is flagged for review.
Why these rules
Every score comes from the traced path, so a trace never started is not an attempt and signals non-engagement, under the platform's timed-test rule for missed responses. A trace stopped by the time limit counts only part of the path, so its errors and time do not compare with complete traces.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of traces | 8 | 4 to 12 |
| Time per trace (seconds) | 120 | 60 to 180 |
| Reversed movement | Up and down (standard) | Up and down (standard), Left and right |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Mirror Tracing Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Gabrieli et al., 1993; Julius and Adi-Japha, 2016), with the standard settings (number of traces: 8; time per trace (seconds): 120; reversed movement: Up and down). The main score was mean errors (exits from the band per trace, averaged over the traces that were started).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Gabrieli, J. D. E., Corkin, S., Mickel, S. F., & Growdon, J. H. (1993). Intact acquisition and long-term retention of mirror-tracing skill in Alzheimer's disease and in global amnesia. Behavioral Neuroscience, 107(6), 899-910. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.107.6.899Mirror tracing as a skill learned over trials and kept over days.
- Julius, M. S., & Adi-Japha, E. (2016). A developmental perspective in learning the mirror-drawing task. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, 83. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00083A figure between two lines, seen only in a mirror, with every crossing of the lines counted.
- Garrido, P. F., Bråthen, A. C. S., Falch, E. S., Kransberg, J., Fjell, A. M., Sørensen, Ø., & Walhovd, K. B. (2026). Unwrapping the mirror tracing task. Behavior Research Methods, 58(3), 80. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-025-02845-6The traditional score: the times the drawing goes outside the borders of a star.
Source papers
- Gabrieli JDE, Corkin S, Mickel SF, Growdon JH (1993). Intact acquisition and long-term retention of mirror-tracing skill in Alzheimer's disease and in global amnesia. Behavioral Neuroscience, 107(6):899-910.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Mirror Tracing Task take?
About 6 to 10 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Mean Errors, Mean Time, Traces Completed, Time Outside the Band, Anticipations, Interruptions, Planned Traces and Total Traces. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Mirror Tracing Task used in research?
49 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 17% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 256 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade D). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Mirror Tracing Task have?
In the published research, 5 papers report its test-retest reliability and 23 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade C in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Number of traces (4 to 12), time per trace (seconds) (60 to 180) and reversed movement (Up and down (standard), Left and right). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
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