Visually-updated hand state estimates modulate the proprioceptive reflex independently of motor task requirements.

Abstract

Fast signaling from vision and proprioception to muscle activation plays essential roles in quickly correcting movement. Though many studies have demonstrated modulation of the quick sensorimotor responses as depending on context in each modality, the contribution of multimodal information has not been established. Here, we examined whether state estimates contributing to stretch reflexes are represented solely by proprioceptive information or by multimodal information. Unlike previous studies, we newly found a significant stretch-reflex attenuation by the distortion and elimination of visual-feedback without any change in motor tasks. Furthermore, the stretch-reflex amplitude reduced with increasing elimination durations which would degrade state estimates. By contrast, even though a distortion was introduced in the target-motor-mapping, the stretch reflex was not simultaneously attenuated with visuomotor reflex. Our results therefore indicate that the observed stretch-reflex attenuation is specifically ascribed to uncertainty increase in estimating hand states, suggesting multimodal contributions to the generation of stretch reflexes.