title: Generalization of force-field adaptation in proprioceptively-deafferented subjects.
abstract: Humans have the remarkable ability to adapt their motor behaviour to changes in body properties and/or environmental conditions, based on sensory feedback such as vision and proprioception. The role of proprioception has been highlighted for the adaptation to new upper-limb dynamics, which is known to generalize to the opposite, non-adapted limb in healthy individuals. Such interlimb transfer seems to depend on sensory feedback, and the present study assessed whether the chronic loss of proprioception precludes interlimb transfer of dynamic adaptation by testing two well-characterized proprioceptively-deafferented subjects. These had to reach toward visual targets with vision of the limb. For both deafferented subjects, we observed adaptation of the dominant arm to Coriolis forces and after-effects on non-dominant arm movements in different movement directions, thus indicating interlimb transfer. Overall, our findings show that motor learning can generalize across limbs and movement directions despite the loss of proprioceptive afferents.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13009 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Hannah Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Lefumat
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: R Chris
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Miall
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurophysiology, Poole Hospital, Poole, BH15 2JB, UK; School of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13009 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bringoux
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13009 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bourdin
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13009 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vercher
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13009 Marseille, France. Electronic address: fabrice.sarlegna@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Fabrice R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Sarlegna
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D056228:Feedback, Sensory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009068:Movement; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011434:Proprioception; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012399:Rotation; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D014796:Visual Perception
keywords: Coriolis force adaptation; Deafferentation; Human motor learning; Intermanual transfer; Proprioception; Vision