Neurocognitive Contributors to Reaching Movement Corrections Following Physical and Visual Perturbations

This study compares how young adults make rapid online reaching corrections following either physical or visual perturbations, and whether cognitive abilities predict corrective motor performance. Sixty-one participants completed an obstacle avoidance reaching task using a robotic interface that introduced either force-based physical perturbations or visually displaced cursor feedback and completed measures of cognitive performance. Behavioral analyses showed that collision rates did not differ between perturbation modalities; however, movement corrections following visual perturbations were significantly slower than those following physical, particularly when participants navigated around obstacles. Participants were also more likely to select outward corrective paths during physical perturbations. Regression analyses demonstrated that processing speed, psychomotor speed, and executive control predicted corrective movement performance, with stronger cognitive associations observed for visual perturbations. These findings suggest that although both perturbation types rely on shared corrective motor processes, responses to visual perturbations require greater cortical and cognitive involvement than responses to physical perturbations.