Learning
Motor Sequence Task
Also called: finger sequence tapping task, sequential finger tapping, motor sequence learning task
Measure motor skill learning as participants type a five-key sequence as fast and accurately as they can in 12 timed trials, scored by correct sequences per trial.
13-14 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
- 380
- Evidence grade
- B
- Registered clinical studies
- 30
What it measures
Measures motor skill learning. Participants type the sequence 4 1 3 2 4 on the number keys with the left hand, as quickly and accurately as they can, in 12 trials of 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest between them. The main score is the number of correct sequences per trial over the last three trials.
Constructs
- Motor skill learning
- Procedural memory
- Motor speed
Research uses
- Motor learning and consolidation research
- Sleep and memory research
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The motor sequence task measures motor skill learning. Participants place the fingers of the left hand on the number keys 1 to 4 above the letters and type the sequence 4 1 3 2 4 as quickly and as accurately as they can, over and over, for 30 seconds. The sequence stays at the top of the screen, and each key press adds a dot to a row without showing whether it was right. The standard run has 12 trials with 30 seconds of rest between them, the sequence off the screen. A study can choose a second sequence (2 3 1 4 2), 6 to 16 trials, and trials and rests of 10 to 60 seconds.
More about the paradigm
A 10-second practice typing 1 2 3 4 comes first, followed by the number of correct sequences; it runs again, up to three times in all, if none was correct. Each trial saves every key press with its time from the moment the sequence appeared, presses of other keys and repeats from a held key. Presses in the first 100 ms of a trial are saved as anticipations and not scored.
Correct sequences are found in the presses in order. Presses that are not part of a correct sequence are errors, and an unfinished correct sequence at the end of a trial is neither (Brawn et al., 2010). The main score is the mean number of correct sequences per trial over the last three trials. The same mean over the first three trials, the gain between them (also as a percentage), errors per trial, the share of presses that were errors, the time between key presses inside correct sequences over the last three trials and the correct sequences in each trial are also given. The procedure follows Walker et al. (2002), who found that speed rose across the 12 training trials and rose again after a night of sleep, building on the sequence learning paradigm of Karni et al. (1995). A retest session for consolidation is the researcher's choice; each session is scored on its own. The scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Sequences, Last Three Trialscount
- Mean correct sequences per trial over the last three trials.
- Higher is faster skilled typing
- Sequences, First Three Trialscount
- Mean correct sequences per trial over the first three trials.
- Higher is faster early typing
- Gaincount
- Last three trials minus first three trials, in correct sequences per trial.
- Positive values mean typing sped up with practice
- Gain (%)%
- The gain as a percentage of the first three trials.
- Positive values mean typing sped up with practice
- Errors per Trialcount
- Mean key presses per trial that were not part of a correct sequence.
- Lower is more accurate
- Error Rate%
- Errors divided by all key presses, over all trials.
- Lower is more accurate
- Time Between Pressesms
- Mean time between key presses inside correct sequences over the last three trials.
- Lower is faster
- Total Sequencescount
- Correct sequences over all trials.
- Higher is faster
- Trials Completedtrials
- Trials with at least one key press.
- Equal to the number of trials when none was missed
- Missed Trialscount
- Trials with no key press.
- Above 0 means some trials were missed
- Other Key Pressescount
- Presses of keys other than 1 to 4 during trials.
- Lower is better
- Held Key Repeatscount
- Key repeats produced by holding a key down instead of pressing it.
- Lower is better
- Early Pressescount
- Presses in the first 100 ms of a trial, saved apart and not scored.
- Lower is better
Use and evidence
380 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 21% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 65 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 86 |
| 2024 | 78 |
| 2023 | 78 |
| 2022 | 55 |
| 2021 | 83 |
| 2020 | 65 |
| 2019 | 55 |
| 2018 | 66 |
| 2017 | 63 |
| 2016 | 66 |
| 2015 | 58 |
| 2014 | 49 |
| 2013 | 55 |
| 2012 | 48 |
| 2011 | 43 |
| 2010 | 44 |
| 2009 | 49 |
| 2008 | 28 |
| 2007 | 19 |
| 2006 | 19 |
| 2005 | 13 |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2003 | 18 |
| 2002 | 18 |
| 2001 | 10 |
| 2000 | 7 |
Use grade B
300 to 999 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade B
At least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 14
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 30
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 30
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.
- Keys
- The number keys 1 to 4 above the letters, with the left hand, matched by key position on any layout.
- Sequence
- 4 1 3 2 4 (standard) or 2 3 1 4 2, at the top of the screen during every trial.
- Trials
- 12 (standard, 6 to 16) of 30 seconds (standard, 10 to 60), timed from the moment the sequence appears.
- Rest
- 30 seconds between trials (standard, 10 to 60), with the sequence off the screen.
- Feedback
- A dot for each key press, with no sign of which presses were right.
- Practice
- A 10 second trial typing 1 2 3 4, then the number of correct sequences; it runs again, up to 3 times, if none was correct.
- Scoring
- Correct sequences are counted in the presses in order; other presses are errors, and an unfinished sequence at the end of a trial is neither.
Walker and colleagues counted complete sequences per trial and compared the first trial with the mean of the last two. Here the main score is the mean of the last three trials, as in Hardwicke, Taqi and Shanks (2016), errors follow Brawn and colleagues (2010), and a short practice with a different sequence comes first. The scores support research and do not diagnose.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: motor_sequence_test from the scored run, one per typing trial. Typing has no single correct answer to compare with chance. A trial with no key press is a missed response: more than max(3, 25%) such trials invalidate and any is flagged. A session with no correct sequence is invalid. More than half the key presses outside correct sequences, or 10 or more key repeats from holding a key down, is flagged for review.
Why these rules
There is no correct option to compare with chance, so accuracy is not judged against chance. Missed trials keep the platform's timed-test rule: more than max(3, 25%) invalidate and any is flagged. With no correct sequence the main score is zero for a reason other than speed: the keys or the order were not followed. When most presses fall outside correct sequences, or a key is held down instead of pressed, the speed score may not reflect the skill, so the session is flagged for review. A hidden tab keeps key presses from reaching the task while a trial runs, so a percentile is withheld after one.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | 4-1-3-2-4 (standard) | 4-1-3-2-4 (standard), 2-3-1-4-2 |
| Trials | 12 | 6 to 16 |
| Trial length (seconds) | 30 | 10 to 60 |
| Rest (seconds) | 30 | 10 to 60 |
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.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Motor Sequence Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Karni et al., 1995; Walker et al., 2002), with the standard settings (sequence: 4-1-3-2-4; trials: 12; trial length (seconds): 30; rest (seconds): 30). The main score was Sequences, last three trials (mean correct sequences per trial over the last three trials).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Walker, M. P., Brakefield, T., Morgan, A., Hobson, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2002). Practice with sleep makes perfect: Sleep-dependent motor skill learning. Neuron, 35(1), 205-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273(02)00746-8
- Karni, A., Meyer, G., Jezzard, P., Adams, M. M., Turner, R., & Ungerleider, L. G. (1995). Functional MRI evidence for adult motor cortex plasticity during motor skill learning. Nature, 377(6545), 155-158. https://doi.org/10.1038/377155a0The finger sequence learning paradigm.
- Brawn, T. P., Fenn, K. M., Nusbaum, H. C., & Margoliash, D. (2010). Consolidating the effects of waking and sleep on motor-sequence learning. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(42), 13977-13982. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3295-10.2010Scoring of correct sequences and errors.
- Hardwicke, T. E., Taqi, M., & Shanks, D. R. (2016). Postretrieval new learning does not reliably induce human memory updating via reconsolidation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(19), 5206-5211. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601440113The second sequence and the last three trials as the end of training.
Source papers
- Walker MP, Brakefield T, Morgan A, Hobson JA, Stickgold R (2002). Practice with sleep makes perfect: Sleep-dependent motor skill learning. Neuron, 35(1):205-211.Paradigm source, 18-25
- Karni A, Meyer G, Jezzard P, Adams MM, Turner R, Ungerleider LG (1995). Functional MRI evidence for adult motor cortex plasticity during motor skill learning. Nature, 377(6545):155-158.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Motor Sequence Task take?
About 13 to 14 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?
Sequences, Last Three Trials, Sequences, First Three Trials, Gain, Gain (%), Errors per Trial, Error Rate, Time Between Presses, Total Sequences, Trials Completed, Missed Trials, Other Key Presses, Held Key Repeats and Early Presses. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Motor Sequence Task used in research?
380 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 21% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 65 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade B). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Motor Sequence Task have?
In the published research, 14 papers report its test-retest reliability and 30 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade B in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Sequence (4-1-3-2-4 (standard), 2-3-1-4-2), trials (6 to 16), trial length (seconds) (10 to 60) and rest (seconds) (10 to 60). 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.
Every test: the full test list.
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