Lack of interlimb transfer following visuomotor adaptation in a person with congenital mirror movements despite the awareness of the visuomotor perturbation

Abstract

There is a controversy regarding whether visuomotor adaptation heavily involves both implicit and explicit learning processes or not. Likewise, another controversy exists regarding whether interlimb transfer of visuomotor adaptation is related to explicit processes or not. To address the latter issue, we examined interlimb transfer of visuomotor adaptation in an individual with congenital mirror movements, ‘DB’. DB has been tested previously using an experimental paradigm in which neurologically intact individuals demonstrated substantial transfer. DB, however, showed no transfer due to impaired interhemispheric communications. In that study, DB was unaware of the visuomotor perturbation. Here, we informed him of the perturbation prior to the experiment to determine whether providing the information would increase interlimb transfer. DB first adapted to a visuomotor rotation with the left arm, then with the right arm during reaching movements. Data from the present study were compared against those from our previous study. Results indicate no transfer across the arms despite the fact that he was aware of the perturbation. Considering overall findings in the literature, we suggest that interlimb transfer does not depend on one’s awareness, although its extent can increase when individuals rely on cognitive strategies to deal with perturbations (c.f., Werner et al., 2019).