Contact Time and Contact Time Variation extend Soma’s performance picture beyond the decision itself, into how that decision is physically executed.
Reaction Time captures the full chain from stimulus to completed response. But that chain contains multiple stages: detecting the stimulus, processing the information, initiating movement, making contact with the screen, and lifting off again to prepare for the next response.
Contact Time isolates the physical interaction itself, measuring how long the finger remains in contact with the screen between touch-down and lift-off. Contact Time Variation then measures how consistent that duration is across repeated responses.
This allows Soma to move beyond simply measuring how fast an athlete reacts, and begin analysing how movement execution changes under cognitive load, fatigue, pressure, or reduced neurological efficiency.
At present, Contact Time and Contact Time Variation are available exclusively on PFTT and PVT-B.
Contact Time (CT)
Contact Time measures how long the athlete maintains contact with the screen on each response.
Once the brain has made a decision, it sends a motor command to execute the movement. Contact Time captures the execution and release of that command: how long the finger remains on screen before lifting off.
A sharp, well-regulated response lifts off cleanly. A response produced under fatigue or increased cognitive load tends to linger. The athlete has made the decision, but the system takes fractionally longer to complete and release the action.
A stable or gradually reducing Contact Time indicates clean, efficient motor output. The athlete is executing responses with control.
A rising Contact Time suggests execution is becoming less precise. The movement is taking longer to complete. This often reflects increased effort, reduced sharpness, or the system working harder to sustain output under load.
Contact Time Variation (CTV)
Contact Time Variation measures how consistent that execution is across all responses in a session.
Variability is often where early breakdown appears. An athlete may still be hitting the same average numbers, but if the execution of individual responses is becoming uneven, the system is less stable than the mean suggests.
Low Contact Time Variation means execution is consistent and controlled across responses.
High Contact Time Variation means the execution pattern is breaking down, even if average performance still looks acceptable.
This matters because Contact Time Variation typically changes before Contact Time does. Inconsistency in execution is usually the first sign of a system under strain, not the last.
How to interpret them
Contact Time and Contact Time Variation should always be read alongside Reaction Time.
Reaction Time stable, Contact Time stable, Contact Time Variation low. Clean performance. Decision and execution are aligned. The athlete is operating efficiently.
Reaction Time stable, Contact Time stable, Contact Time Variation elevated. Output is holding but execution is inconsistent. The athlete is maintaining performance, but the pattern underneath is becoming less controlled. Monitor rather than intervene.
Reaction Time Variation and Contact Time Variation both high. The system is unstable. Both decision-making and execution are becoming inconsistent. This may reflect fatigue, reduced focus, or a load that exceeds current capacity.
Reaction Time slowing, Contact Time increasing. The system is under strain. Processing is slower and execution is less precise. Reduce load and allow recovery before the next session.
