Error Augmentation: The Alternative Approach to Treat Brain Injury

Abstract

Enhancement of sensory motor performance is vital in rehabilitation after brain injury. This short communication discusses a new approach in motor learning and rehabilitation: The error augmentation (EA) which utilizes incorrect visual and proprioceptive feedback to improve motor adaptation. In EA technology, the computer distinguishes and amplifies errors in a patient's movement from a preferred trajectory, or modifies the visual feedback of the movement trajectory, and consequently gives emphasis to visual and sensory feedback. The existence of this error in visual input requires from patients to reinforce their motor control as they work against the error-driven disturbance to the movements, at the same time it enhances motivation to learn by making even little errors seem great.