Authors: Matthias Hartmann Sarah Furrer Michael H Herzog Daniel M Merfeld Fred W Mast
Publish Date: 2013/02/08
Volume: 226, Issue: 2, Pages: 231-240
Abstract
We investigated perceptual learning in selfmotion perception Blindfolded participants were displaced leftward or rightward by means of a motion platform and asked to indicate the direction of motion A total of eleven participants underwent 3360 practice trials distributed over twelve Experiment 1 or 6 days Experiment 2 We found no improvement in motion discrimination in both experiments These results are surprising since perceptual learning has been demonstrated for visual auditory and somatosensory discrimination Improvements in the same task were found when visual input was provided Experiment 3 The multisensory nature of vestibular information is discussed as a possible explanation of the absence of perceptual learning in darkness
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