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Visualizing Visual Adaptation
Published on: April 24, 2017
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Multisensory and Modality-Specific Influences on Adaptation to Optical Prisms
Elena Calzolari1,2, Federica Albini1, Nadia Bolognini1,3
1Department of Psychology and NeuroMI, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|December 8, 2017
Summary
Prism adaptation (PA) effectively induces aftereffects (AEs) using visual, auditory, or audio-visual targets. This cross-modal plasticity demonstrates that auditory targets can be used for visuo-motor rehabilitation, even with fewer trials.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Sensory Plasticity
Background:
- Visuo-motor adaptation (prism adaptation, PA) investigates neural plasticity and aids in unilateral spatial neglect rehabilitation.
- Standard PA uses visual targets, but its cross-modal potential is less explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate prism adaptation (PA) and its aftereffects (AEs) using visual, auditory, and audio-visual targets.
- To determine if reduced pointing trials can induce AEs.
- To explore auditory PA as a potential rehabilitation strategy.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed pointing tasks to visual, auditory, or audio-visual targets while wearing prisms (10° rightward displacement).
- Aftereffects were measured through straight-ahead shifts in proprioceptive, visual, and auditory modalities.
- Experiments varied target modality and the number of pointing trials (92 vs. 24).
Main Results:
- Auditory and audio-visual targets induced proprioceptive, visual-proprioceptive, and auditory-proprioceptive AEs, similar to visual targets.
- A shortened PA phase (24 pointings) was sufficient to produce AEs.
- Auditory PA produced smaller AEs than visual PA, suggesting sensorimotor pointing is key.
Conclusions:
- Prism adaptation demonstrates cross-modal plasticity, extending to auditory and audio-visual targets.
- Reduced trial PA is effective, and auditory PA offers a compensatory route for patients with visual impairments.
- Auditory PA highlights the importance of sensorimotor activity in adaptation.
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