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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Influence of head orientation on visually and memory-guided arm movements
Michel Guerraz1, Sébastien Caudron, Noémylle Thomassin
1Laboratory of Psychology and NeuroCognition, UMR 5105 CNRS - University of Savoie, BP 1104, 73011 Chambéry Cedex, France. michel.guerraz@univ-savoie.fr
Acta Psychologica
|February 5, 2011
Summary
Head tilting causes arm movement deviations, even with visual guidance. An internal bias, likely from head/trunk representation, affects motor control when arm vision is blocked, regardless of visual feedback availability.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Proprioception
Background:
- Head orientation influences spatially defined movements.
- Previous research suggests visual information is crucial for accurate motor control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if head-tilt-induced arm movement deviations occur only with limited visual information.
- To determine the role of visual feedback in head-tilt-related motor errors.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments involving participants reproducing 2D figures supine.
- Conditions included visual supervision (mirror) and reproduction from memory (eyes closed).
- Participants' heads were aligned with the trunk or tilted 30° left/right.
Main Results:
- Arm movement deviations occurred in the direction opposite to head tilt, in both memory and visually-guided conditions.
- Deviations significantly decreased under visual supervision with leftward head tilt.
- Perceptual bias showed figures were perceived parallel to the trunk when tilted towards the head; no correlation between perceptual and motor responses.
Conclusions:
- Head-tilt-induced motor deviations persist even with visual feedback of the figure.
- An internal bias related to head/trunk representation impacts motor production when arm vision is absent.
- Visual feedback of the arm, not the figure, is critical for mitigating these deviations.
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