The effect of visual and tactile information in motor preparation of climbing.

In rock climbing, an appropriate motor preparation to a given climbing hold(s) is crucial for a fluent climbing. We investigated the influence of visual-tactile information in motor preparation of climbing, particularly the effect of the number of the holds and the tactile input of an actual hold was examined. Reaction times (RTs) under the priming paradigm were compared for climbers and non-climbers. Participants were asked to respond to a visual target (left or right arrow) after the presentation of a picture of a single climbing hold (Single-Prime condition: ) or two holds (Double-Prime condition: ). Before commencing each trial block, the participants were also asked to touch or watch an actual hold ( / condition). The response based on the congruity between the orientation of the hold and that of the arrow was categorised as either or . An ANOVA performed on the RTs showed the c effect, but this was observed only in the . An additional analysis revealed a marginally significant climbing experience-related interaction. In the , the RTs in the condition were slower than those in the condition but this was only in the condition. In the condition, the RTs of were slower than those of . These results therefore suggest that the motor preparation is mediated by visual and tactile inputs of a given hold. The time needed for motor preparation, particularly in highly experienced climbers, may be modulated by the representational complexity of climbing movements through tactile information. The number of the holds visually presented affected the motor preparation.The tactile input of the climbing hold modulated the motor preparation only in the highly experienced climbers.Our findings imply that climbing-specific context (i.e. combination of the given holds) and experience (i.e. action competency) are involved in the motor preparation of climbing.