Correlations between Motor Learning and Visual and Arm Adaptation under Conditions of Computer-Simulated Visual Distortion

Abstract

Adaptation to visual distortion, simulated with a computer-generated display, was studied under conditions of (a) S falsely believing a real prism to be present and the nature of the distortion produced by the prism explained to him, and (b) S not given an optical rationale for the distortion but merely told about the nature of the distortion. The computer technique allowed measurements of visual adaptation, arm adaptation, and of motor learning in a manual guidance task. In (a) visual adaptation was different from zero but no difference between (a) and (b) was found. On one measure, arm adaptation was significantly different from zero in both conditions. On the same measure, arm adaptation in (b) was greater than that in (a). In (a) a positive correlation was found between motor learning and visual adaptation. For (a) and (b) combined there was a negative correlation between one measure of motor learning and one measure of arm adaptation.