title: Prism adaptation in virtual and natural contexts: Evidence for a flexible adaptive process.
abstract: Prism exposure when aiming at a visual target in a virtual condition (e.g., when the hand is represented by a video representation) produces no or only small adaptations (after-effects), whereas prism exposure in a natural condition produces large after-effects. Some researchers suggested that this difference may arise from distinct adaptive processes, but other studies suggested a unique process. The present study reconciled these conflicting interpretations. Forty participants were divided into two groups: One group used visual feedback of their hand (natural context), and the other group used computer-generated representational feedback (virtual context). Visual feedback during adaptation was concurrent or terminal. All participants underwent laterally displacing prism perturbation. The results showed that the after-effects were twice as large in the "natural context" than in the "virtual context". No significant differences were observed between the concurrent and terminal feedback conditions. The after-effects generalized to untested targets and workspace. These results suggest that prism adaptation in virtual and natural contexts involves the same process. The smaller after-effects in the virtual context suggest that the depth of adaptation is a function of the degree of convergence between the proprioceptive and visual information that arises from the hand.
authors.affiliation: a Département de kinésiologie , Université de Montréal , Montréal , QC , Canada.
authors.forename: Louis-Nicolas
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Veilleux
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Proteau
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D056228:Feedback, Sensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: After-effects; Object unity assumption; Prism adaptation; Realignment and recalibration; Virtual and natural contexts