Sensory integration in the learning of an aiming task.

Abstract

Results of recent research on motor control indicate that in an aiming task, visual information remains of primary importance for optimal accuracy even after extended practice. One of the points that is yet unclear is whether it is solely the dynamic visual information about the moving limb that is important for movement control. To shed some light on this issue, subjects practiced an oscilloscope aiming task. In a transfer test, the dynamic information regarding the displacement of the to-be-moved object could be withdrawn without altering the static visual information that had been available during the learning of the task. The results indicated that, after 200 trials of practice, withdrawing dynamic visual information regarding the displacement of the to-be-moved object produced a deterioration in the accuracy of the subjects' responses. This indicates that the role played by the dynamic visual information for aiming control does not diminish with practice. Moreover, although visual cues available before or after movement execution have been shown to help better plan an upcoming movement, the static cues available during movement execution do not appear to play an important role in the movement representation thought to develop through practice.