Transfer effects of visuomotor adaptation in various distal action spaces

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jochen Müsseler
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 235133894

Aimed movements in new technical environments (e.g. operating with a remote-controlled industrial robot or a laparoscope for minimally invasive surgery) often require learning mechanisms, in which the proximal action effect (the hand movement) is transformed to a distal action effect (usually the tool movement on the screen). This visuomotor learning process is characterized by a short-term reduction of the motor error and a long-term adaptation to the transformed environment. The acquired skills can be generalized to other areas of the distal working space and to other end effectors of the body. A preliminary study in our lab has also shown that the generalization process is influenced by the start and end points of the working space. The present project examines the characteristics of the working space, which have a positive or negative effect on the generalization process.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants