Generalization of stochastic visuomotor rotations

Abstract

Generalization studies examine the influence of perturbations imposed on one movement onto other movements. The strength of generalization is traditionally interpreted as a reflection of the similarity of the underlying neural representations. Uncertainty fundamentally affects both sensory integration and learning and is at the heart of many theories of neural representation. However, little is known about how uncertainty, resulting from variability in the environment, affects generalization curves. Here we extend standard movement generalization experiments to ask how uncertainty affects the generalization of visuomotor rotations. We find that although uncertainty affects how fast subjects learn, the perturbation generalizes independently of uncertainty. © 2012 Fernandes et al.