Chapter 6

Touch, Proprioception and Vision

Concept: Touch, proprioception and vision are important components of motor control

Introduction
Sensory information is essential for all theories of motor control and learning
Provides pre-movement information Provides feedback about the movement in progress Provides post-movement information about action goal achievement

Focus of current chapter is three types of sensory information

Touch, vision, and proprioception

Touch and Motor Control

Describe some ways we use touch to help us achieve action goals Neural basis of touch [see Fig. 6.1]
Skin receptors
Mechanoreceptors located in the dermis layer of skin Greatest concentration in finger tips Provide CNS with temperature, pain, and movement info

Touch and Motor Control, contd

Roles of Tactile Info in Motor Control
Typical research technique
Compare performance of task involving finger(s) before and after anesthetizing finger(s)

Research shows tactile sensory info influences:

Movement accuracy Movement consistency Movement force adjustments
See an example of research for typing A Closer Look, p. 109

Proprioception and Motor Control

Proprioception: The sensory systems detection and reception of movement and spatial position of limbs, trunk, and head
We will use the term synonymously with the term kinesthesis

Neural Basis of Proprioception

CNS receives proprioception information from sensory neural pathways that begin in specialized sensory neurons known as proprioceptors
Located in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints

Three primary types of proprioceptors

Muscle spindles Golgi tendon organs Joint receptors

Neural Basis of Proprioception: Proprioceptors

1. Muscle spindles
In most skeletal muscles in a capsule of specialized muscle fibers and sensory neurons
Intrafusal fibers [see Fig. 6.2] Lie in parallel with extrafusal muscle fibers

Mechanoreceptors that detect changes in muscle fiber length (i.e. stretch) and velocity (i.e. speed of stretch)
Enables detection of changes in joint angle

Function as a feedback mechanism to CNS to maintain intended limb movement position, direction, and velocity

Neural Basis of Proprioception: Proprioceptors, contd

2. Golgi-Tendon Organs (GTO) In skeletal muscle near insertion of tendon Detect changes in muscle tension (i.e. force)
Poor detectors of muscle length changes

3. Joint Receptors Several types located in joint capsule and ligaments Mechanoreceptors that detect changes in
Force and rotation applied to the joint, Joint movement angle, especially at the extreme limits of angular movement or joint positions

Techniques to Investigate the Role of Propioception in Motor Control

Deafferentation techniques
Surgical deafferentation
Afferent neutral pathways associated with movements of interest have been surgically removed or altered

Deafferentation due to sensory neuropathy

Sometimes called peripheral neuropathy Large myelinated fibers of the limb are lost, leading to a loss of all sensory information except pain and temperature

Temporary deafferentation
Nerve block technique Inflate blood-pressure cuff to create temporary disuse of sensory nerves

Techniques to Investigate the Role of Propioception in Motor Control, contd

Tendon vibration technique
Involves high speed vibration of the tendon of the agonist muscle Proprioceptive feedback is distorted rather than removed

Role of Proprioceptive Feedback in Motor Control

Research using the deafferentation and tendon vibration techniques has demonstrated that proprioception influences:
Movement accuracy Target accuracy Spatial and temporal accuracy for movement in progress Timing of onset of motor commands Coordination of body and/or limb segments Postural control Spatial-temporal coupling between limbs and limb segments Adapting to new situations requiring non-preferred movement coordination patterns

Vision and Motor Control

Vision is our preferred source of sensory information Evidence from everyday experiences
Beginning typists look at their fingers Beginning dancers look at their feet

Evidence from research

The classic moving room experiment

The Moving Room Experiment

Lee & Aronson (1974) Results Participants stood in a room in which the walls moved toward When the walls moved, people adjusted their or away from them but floor did posture to not fall, even not move though they werent Situation created a conflict moving off balance between which two sensory WHY? systems? Vision & proprioception

Neurophysiology of Vision
Basic Anatomy of the Eye See Figure 6.6 for the following anatomical components
Cornea Iris Lens Sclera Aqueous humor Vitreous humor

Neurophysiology of Vision, contd

Neural Components of the Eye and Vision Retina [see Fig. 6.6]
Fovea centralis Optic disk Rods Cones

Optic nerve (cranial nerve II) [Fig. 6.7]

From the retina to the brains visual cortex

Techniques for Invesigating the Role of Vision in Motor Control

Eye movment recording
Tracks foveal visions point of gaze
i.e. what the person is looking at

Temporal occlusion techniques

Stop video or film at various times Spectacles with liquid crystal lenses

Event occlusion technique

Mask view on video or film of specific events or characteristics

Role of Vision in Motor Control

Evidence comes from research investigating specific issues and vision characteristics: 1. Monocular vs. Binocular Vision Binocular vision important for depth-perception when 3-dimensional features involved in performance situation, e.g.
Reaching grasping objects Walking on a cluttered pathway Intercepting a moving object

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
2. Central and Peripheral Vision Central vision
Sometimes called foveal vision
Middle 2-5 deg. of visual field

Provides specific information to allow us to achieve action goals, e.g.

For reaching and grasping an object specific characteristic info, e.g. size, shape, required to prepare, move, and grasp object For walking on a pathway specific pathway info needed to stay on the pathway

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
2. Central and Peripheral Vision, contd. Peripheral vision
Detects info beyond the central vision limits
Upper limit typically ~ 200 deg.

Provides info about the environmental context and the moving limb(s) When we move through an environment, peripheral vision detects info by assessing optical flow patterns
Optical flow = rays of light that strike the retina

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
2. Central and Peripheral Vision, contd Two visual systems Vision for perception (central vision)
Anatomically referred to as the ventral stream from visual cortex to temporal lobe For fine analysis of a scene, e.g. form, features Typically available to consciousness

Vision for action (peripheral vision)

Anatomically referred to as the dorsal stream from visual cortex to posterior parietal lobe For detecting spatial characteristics of a scene and guiding movement Typically not available to consciousness

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
3. Perception Action Coupling As discussed in ch. 5, refers to the coupling (i.e. linking together) of a perceptual event and an action Example of research evidence:
See experiments by Helsen et al. (1998 & 2000) described in textbook (pp.127 128) Results show that spatial and temporal characteristics of limb movements occurred together with specific spatial and temporal characteristics of eye movements

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
4. Amount of Time Needed for Movement Corrections?
Concerns visions feedback role during movement Researchers have tried to answer this question since original work by Woodworth in 1899 Typical procedure: Compare accuracy of rapid manual aiming movements of various MTs with target visible and then not visible just after movement begins
Expect accurate movement with lights off when no visual feedback needed during movement Currently, best estimate is a range of 100 160 msec. (The typical range for simple RT to a visual signal)

Role of Vision in Motor Control,

contd.
5. Time-to-Contact: The Optical Variable tau
Concerns situations in which
Object moving to person must be intercept Person moving toward object needs to contact or avoid contact with object

Vision provides info about time-to-contact object which motor control system uses to initiate movement
Automatic, non-conscious specification based on changing size of object on retina At critical size, requisite movement initiated

David Lee (1974) showed the time-to-contact info specified by an optical variable (tau), which could be mathematically quantified Motor control benefit Automatic movement initiation