Response inhibition
Hold Fire
A response inhibition drill. A cue word names the rule, then a coloured shape lands: press SPACE fast for the targets, hold fire for everything else. Most shapes are targets, so stopping the press is the skill, and the rule keeps changing under a response window that tightens as you perform. Sixty stimuli in one sitting.
Settings
SaveSession
60 stimuli, one key. Two correct responses tighten the response window; an error relaxes it, so the drill settles at the pace you can control.
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Sign up →Frequently asked questions
What is Hold Fire?
Hold Fire is a response inhibition drill. Coloured shapes appear one at a time, each preceded by a cue word. After COLOUR, press SPACE only for a red shape; after SHAPE, only for a circle. For every other shape you hold fire. A session is 60 stimuli and takes around 2 to 3 minutes.
Why is not pressing so hard?
Eight stimuli in ten are targets, so your hands settle into pressing by default. That is deliberate: the drill measures whether you can stop a press your motor system has already prepared. A wrong press on a non-target (a commission error) is the signature failure of inhibition, and it costs more than a slow press.
What does the cue word change?
The cue names the dimension that matters for the next shape. After COLOUR the form is irrelevant: a red square is a target. After SHAPE the colour is irrelevant: a blue circle is a target. A shape that was a target under the old rule often is not one under the new rule, which is exactly where unread cues turn into wrong presses.
How does the difficulty adapt?
Two correct responses in a row tighten the response deadline by one step, and an error relaxes it. The drill settles at the pace where you are right about 70 percent of the time, so feeling rushed is the drill working. Your score is the number of correct responses, presses and withholds alike, out of 60.
What is Switching mode?
In Switching mode the rule changes on 8 stimuli in 10 instead of 4, so the previous stimulus tells you almost nothing and every cue must be read before the shape lands. It trains rule switching and inhibition together and is available with a premium subscription.