An empirical note on attaining a spatial target after distorting the initial conditions of movement via muscle vibration.
Can one's limb be accurately positioned to a spatial location without a veridical estimate of the initial conditions of movement? The experiment reported here examined this question by distorting perception of a limb's starting position via muscle vibration. Subjects executed rapid flexion movements under no-vibration, contralateral arm vibration, and ipsilateral arm vibration conditions. Vibration was applied to the biceps for 10 sec prior to the start of a reproduction movement. The results showed that vibration on the ipsilateral arm caused a significant increase in reproduction error, relative to the no-vibration and contralateral-vibration conditions. This finding provides additional evidence that accurate knowledge about the initial conditions of movement is a necessary component in positioning a limb.
Larish
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Motor Behavior Laboratory, S301 Fieldhouse, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Volp
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CM
Wallace
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SA