An Empirical Note on Attaining a Spatial Target after Distorting the Initial Conditions of Movement via Muscle Vibration |
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Authors: | Douglas D. Larish Catia M. Volp Stephen A. Wallace |
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Affiliation: | 1. Motor Behavior Laboratory, University of Iowa;2. Department of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Colorado |
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Abstract: | 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. |
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