Error Augmentation Improves Visuomotor Adaptation during a Full-Body Balance Task.

Abstract

Visual amplification of kinematic errors has successfully been applied to improve performance for upper limb movements. In this study, we investigated whether visual error augmentation can promote faster adaptation during a full-body balance task. Healthy volunteers controlled a cursor by shifting their weight on the THERA-Trainer coro platform. Two experimental groups and one control group were asked to reach visual targets. For the two experimental groups, the cursor's deviation from the ideal straight line trajectory was augmented by a gain of 1.5 and 2, respectively, while the control group did not experience visual error amplification (gain of 1). Error augmentation with a gain of 1.5 enhanced the speed and the amount of motor adaptation, while the highest gain might have decreased the stability of adaptation. As visual feedback is commonly used in balance training, our preliminary data suggest that integrating visual error augmentation in postural exercises may facilitate balance control.