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The effect of target modality on visual and proprioceptive contributions to the control of movement distance

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine whether the sensory nature of a target influences the roles of vision and proprioception in the planning of movement distance. Two groups of subjects made rapid, elbow extension movements, either toward a visual target or toward the index fingertip of the unseen opposite hand. Visual feedback of the reaching index fingertip was only available before movement onset. Using a virtual reality display, we randomly introduced a discrepancy between actual and virtual (cursor) fingertip location. When subjects reached toward the visual target, movement distance varied with changes in visual information about initial hand position. For the proprioceptive target, movement distance varied mostly with changes in proprioceptive information about initial position. The effect of target modality was already present at the time of peak acceleration, indicating that this effect include feedforward processes. Our results suggest that the relative contributions of vision and proprioception to motor planning can change, depending on the modality in which task relevant information is represented.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ewelina Styczynska for help in data collection. This research was funded by the National Institute of Health (NICHD Grant R01HD39311).

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  1. Department of Kinesiology, The Huck Institute of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 29, Recreation Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Fabrice R. Sarlegna & Robert L. Sainburg

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  1. Fabrice R. Sarlegna
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  2. Robert L. Sainburg
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Correspondence to Robert L. Sainburg.

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Sarlegna, F.R., Sainburg, R.L. The effect of target modality on visual and proprioceptive contributions to the control of movement distance. Exp Brain Res 176, 267–280 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0613-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0613-5

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