Nature of Perceptual Encoding of Hand Positions According to Subjects' Perceptuomotor Expertise
Résumé
We investigated whether the nature of the perceptual information encoded for the memorization of successive hand positions varied according to subjects' perceptuomotor expertise. The experimental task used perceptual conflicts, induced by prisms, between visual and proprioceptive afferences during the encoding of various static hand positions. Control subjects were compared with skilled fencers, whose expertise was derived from the optimization, required and developed with practice, of the perceptuomotor processes involved in movement control. The analysis of spatial errors observed in a remembered target location test indicated that control subjects were dependent on the use of static visual information for the encoding of hand positions, whereas skilled fencers were not. Results are discussed in the light of the role of expertise in sensory integration and perceptual dominance.