Content area

Abstract

Many motor tasks are comprised of sequentially linked action phases, as when reaching for, lifting, transporting, and replacing a cup of coffee. During such tasks, discrete visual, auditory and/or haptic feedback are typically associated with mechanical events at the completion of each action phase, as when breaking and subsequently making contact between the cup and the table. An emerging concept is that important sensorimotor control operations, that affect subsequent action phases, are centred on these discrete multisensory events. By predicting sensory feedback at the completion of action phases, and comparing with the actual feedback that arises, task performance can be continuously monitored. If errors are detected, the sensorimotor system can quickly respond with task-protective corrective actions. The aim of this study was to investigate how discrete multisensory feedback at the completion of action phases are used in these control operations. To investigate this question, 42 healthy human participants (both male and female) performed a visually guided sequential reaching task where auxiliary discrete visual, auditory and/or haptic feedback was associated with the completion of action phases. Occasionally however, this feedback was removed in one or two modalities. The results show that although the task was visually guided, its control was critically influenced by discrete auditory and haptic feedback. Multisensory integration effects occurred, that enhanced the corrective actions, when auditory feedback was unexpectedly removed along with haptic or visual feedback. This multisensory enhancement may facilitate the ability to detect errors during sequential actions and amplify task-protective corrective actions.

Details

Business indexing term
Title
The multisensory control of sequential actions
Publication title
Volume
243
Issue
1
Pages
13
Publication year
2025
Publication date
Jan 2025
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
Place of publication
Heidelberg
Country of publication
Netherlands
ISSN
00144819
e-ISSN
14321106
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
Document type
Journal Article
Publication history
 
 
Online publication date
2024-12-05
Milestone dates
2024-11-18 (Registration); 2024-05-15 (Received); 2024-10-08 (Accepted)
Publication history
 
 
   First posting date
05 Dec 2024
ProQuest document ID
3141240095
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/multisensory-control-sequential-actions/docview/3141240095/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
Copyright Springer Nature B.V. Jan 2025
Last updated
2025-11-14
Database
ProQuest One Academic