title: Methods to explore the influence of top-down visual processes on motor behavior.
abstract: Kinesthetic awareness is important to successfully navigate the environment. When we interact with our daily surroundings, some aspects of movement are deliberately planned, while others spontaneously occur below conscious awareness. The deliberate component of this dichotomy has been studied extensively in several contexts, while the spontaneous component remains largely under-explored. Moreover, how perceptual processes modulate these movement classes is still unclear. In particular, a currently debated issue is whether the visuomotor system is governed by the spatial percept produced by a visual illusion or whether it is not affected by the illusion and is governed instead by the veridical percept. Bistable percepts such as 3D depth inversion illusions (DIIs) provide an excellent context to study such interactions and balance, particularly when used in combination with reach-to-grasp movements. In this study, a methodology is developed that uses a DII to clarify the role of top-down processes on motor action, particularly exploring how reaches toward a target on a DII are affected in both deliberate and spontaneous movement domains.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Rutgers University; jinguyen@rutgers.edujillian.nguyen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University; Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University.
authors.forename: Thomas V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Papathomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University.
authors.forename: Jay H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ravaliya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University; Department of Computer Science, Rutgers University.
authors.forename: Elizabeth B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*