Unseen and Unheard Potential: Visual and Auditory Cues Affect Motor Plans and Coordination

During daily life activities we not only gather information regarding the environment, but also regarding other humans which are performing similar actions. Even if not specifically required by the task, people affect other motion plans through different sensory modalities and may align their plans in a subtle way even if not required. This study explores the role of visual and auditory feedback in tasks with a sensory connection between partners. We used a dual robotic interface to test various visual and auditory coupling modalities, translating the spatial dynamics of the partners into distinctive feedback. Results from visual experiment showed that the explicit representation of the partner position along with own position greatly improves coordination between them. The auditory experiment emphasized the effectiveness of binaurally presented spatio-temporally discrete auditory cues. The current study provides insights relevant to the design of novel enriched rehabilitative protocols which rely on the mechanisms underlying interaction.