Sensorimotor adaptation to rotated visual input: different mechanisms for small versus large rotations

The present study investigates if sensorimotor adaptation to large visual rotations is achieved by a continuous angular change of the internal representation of space. Human subjects performed manual tracking movements under rotated visual feedback in two sessions; the magnitude of rotation in the second session was 45 degrees larger or smaller than in the first. We found mostly a facilitatory effect of the first adaptation on the second, which supports the view that the internal representation can gradually shift from one angular transfor-mation to another. However, no facilitation was found for visual rotations in the 80-120 degrees range, suggesting that the internal model changes gradually only up to a limiting angle. A subsidiary experiment, employing small stepwise changes of visual rotation throughout a testing session, confirmed this view and placed the limiting angle near 120 degrees for an increasing, and near 70 degrees for a decreasing visual rotation. We conclude that adaptation to large-magnitude rotations may be achieved in two stages: a polarity inversion of both axes (=180 degrees rotation), followed by a "backward" shift toward somewhat smaller angles.