Dual Adaptation and Adaptive Generalization of the Human Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex

Robert B. Welch, NASA Ames Research Center - California
Bruce Bridgeman, University of California - Santa Cruz
Jason A. Williams, University of California - Santa Cruz
Regina Semmler, University of Clausthal - Germany

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Copyright © 1998 The Psychonomic Society.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Jason A. Williams was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

Abstract

In two experiments, we examined the possibility that the human vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is subject to dual adaptation (the ability to adapt to a sensory rearrangement more rapidly and/or more completely after repeated experience with it) and adaptive generalization (the ability to adapt more readily to a novel sensory rearrangement as a result of prior dual adaptation training). In Experiment 1, the subjects actively turned the head during alternating exposure to a visual-vestibular rearrangement (target/head gain = 0.5) and the normal situation (target/head gain = 0.0). These conditions produced both adaptation and dual adaptation of the VOR but no evidence of adaptive generalization when tested with a target/head gain of 1.0. Experiment 2, in which exposure to the 0.5 gain entailed externally controlled (i.e., passive) whole body rotation, resulted in VOR adaptation but no dual adaptation. As in Experiment 1, no evidence of adaptive generalization was found.