Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another
Published on: September 18, 2017
Congruent visual and proprioceptive information results in a better encoding of initial hand position
Louis-Nicolas Veilleux1, Luc Proteau
1Département de Kinésiologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada. lnveilleux@shriners.mcgill.ca
Abstract:
Goal-directed movements performed in a virtual environment pose serious challenges to the central nervous system because the visual and proprioceptive representations of one's hand position are not perfectly congruent. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the vision of one's hand or upper arm, compared with that of a cursor representing the tips of one's index finger and thumb, optimizes the planning and modulation of one's movement as the cursor nears the target. The participants performed manual aiming movements that differed by the source of static visual information available during movement planning and the source of dynamic information available during movement execution. The results revealed that the vision of one's hand during the movement planning phase results in more efficient online control processes than when the movement planning was based on a virtual representation of one's initial hand location. This observation was seen regardless of the availability of online visual feedback during movement execution. These results suggest that a more reliable estimation of the initial hand position results in more accurate estimation of the position of the cursor/hand at any one time resulting in more accurate online control.
Related Concept Videos
Vision
Somatosensation
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
The Vestibular System

