Reproduction of End-Location and Distance of Movement in Early and Later Blinded Subjects

This study examined the ability of early and later blinded subjects to reproduce the end location and distance of preselected arm movements of two different amplitudes (approximately 30 degrees and approximately 60 degrees). Both groups were found to reproduce end location with greater accuracy and less variability than distance. The early blinded subjects were less accurate however and more variable in their reproductions of both movement cues than the later blinded subjects. The complications of these findings for the role of visual representation in memory for movement are discussed.