Interaction of Tremor and Magnification in a Motor Performance Task With Visual Feedback |
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Authors: | Konstantinon Vasilakos Leon Glass Anne Beuter |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Physiology , Center for Nonlinear Dynamics in Physiology and Medicine McGill University , Montréal;2. Département de Kinanthropology , University of Québec Center for Nonlinear Dynamics in Physiology and Medicine McGill University |
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Abstract: | In this study, the interaction between increased gain in the visual feedback loop and motor control of the periphery was investigated. Participants (N = 15) were asked to maintain a constant finger position while they used magnified visual feedback. The measure of the accuracy of each trial was the standard deviation (trial error) of the finger position. Trials performed under magnification had lower trial errors than trials without magnification. The change in trial error between trials with and without magnification proved greater than the difference between trials at any 2 magnifications. In contrast, the differences between individual subjects were often greater than the differences between performances at individual magnifications. At higher magnifications, performance seemed to be limited by the tremor; the ratio of trial error to tremor intensity was constant. When applied to microsurgery, the present results accord with those found in earlier research, including investigations that have found that the level of magnification used in microsurgery is not the most significant factor in achieving good results and that tremor is the limiting factor in microsurgical tasks. |
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Keywords: | finger position magnification postural control tremor visual feedback |
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