Cognitive spatial-motor processes. 4. Specification of the direction of visually guided isometric forces in two-dimensional space: information transmitted and effects of visual force-feedback

The information transmitted (Ti) by the direction of two-dimensional (2-D) isometric forces at different stereoscopic depths was studied in 50 naive human subjects using an isometric manipulandum and random dot stereograms generated in a color display (Massey et al. 1988). Subjects viewed the display through appropriate color filters and perceived the image of a disk rotated about a horizontal axis on the frontal plane; the top of the disk was rotated around that axis by 15, 45, 60 and 80 degrees away from the subject. Each of these disks involved a different amount of stereoscopic depth perception which was lowest for the 15 degrees and highest for the 80 degrees tilt. Subjects were instructed to exert force in the direction of a visual target presented on the disk in a reaction time task. The instantaneous force exerted by the subjects on the manipulandum was shown on the disk in the form of a feedback cursor. Information transmitted, reaction time (RT) and systematic directional deviations were calculated. We found the following. (a) Ti increased with input information but at a lower rate; at the highest level of input information studied (5.91 bits), Ti was 4.1 bits at the 15 degrees tilt. This high value of Ti suggests that directional information for isometric force is processed very efficiently. However, this Ti was consistently lower than that transmitted by the direction of movement (Georgopoulos and Massay, 1988). (b) Ti did not differ significantly among the 15-60 degrees tilt but was 0.19 bits less for the 80 degrees tilt. RT did not differ among the 15-80 degrees tilts.