Distinct Cognitive Computational Strategies in the Visuomotor Rotation and Mirror Reversal Tasks

Abstract

Sensorimotor learning is an intrinsic facet of the motor skills that make up everyday activity. Understanding how cognitive computations are used in visuomotor adaptation will provide further insight into the underlying neural and cognitive mechanisms of motor skill acquisition. While the visuomotor rotation task has been widely explored as a tool in this area of research, much less is known about the neural computations underlying the mirror reversal task. The current study aims to further knowledge of motor learning by closely examining the mirror reversal task, especially as it relates to the rotation task. Analyzing the computational demands of these tasks through reaction time allowed for a deeper understanding of the processes that underlie distinct forms of visuomotor adaptation. Experiment 1 found that neither angular nor horizontal distance of visual targets are used in task computations. Experiment 2 performed a conceptual replication of the free task in Experiment 2 of McDougle and Taylor (2019) and again showed no relationship between angular distance and reaction time, strengthening the notion that different cognitive processes are being employed during rotation and mirror reversal tasks. Experiment 3 directly compared rotation data (from McDougle & Taylor, 2019) and mirror reversal data, revealing that mirror reversal trials had faster reaction times than rotation trials. Together, these results support a model for a discrete-cost, flip computation in the mirror reversal task.