Disproportionate positive feedback facilitates sense of agency and performance for a reaching movement task with a virtual hand

Abstract

This study investigated the generalized effects of positive feedback (PF) versus negative feedback (NF) during training on performance and sense of agency for a reach-to-touch task with a virtual hand. Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly employed for rehabilitation after neuromuscular traumas such as stroke and spinal cord injury. However, VR methods still need to be optimized for greater effectiveness and engagement to increase rates of clinical retention. In this study, we observed that training with disproportionate PF subsequently produced greater reaching performance (minimizing path length) and greater agency (perception of control) than with disproportionate NF. During PF training, there was also progressive increase in agency, but conversely a decrease in performance. Thus, the increase in performance after training may not be due to positively bolstered learning, but rather priming higher confidence reflected in greater agency. Agency was positively measured as compression in perceived time-intervals between the action of touch to a sound consequence, as standard with intentional binding paradigms. Positive feedback desirably increased agency (~180 msec) and reduced path length (1.8 cm) compared to negative feedback, which itself showed insignificant, or neutral, effects. Future investigations into optimizing virtual reality paradigms for neuromotor rehabilitation should consider agency as a driving factor for performance. These studies may serve to optimize how feedback is better presented with performance results for complex motor learning. Investigators should also ponder how personal characteristics, both cognitive and physical, may further affect sensitivity to feedback and the rate of neuromotor rehabilitation.

Control Modification of Grasp Force Covaries Agency and Performance on Rigid and Compliant Surfaces

“…Improved motor control may be enacted from training the person to move better independently or with the assistance of a powered device. Regardless of the rehabilitation approach, the person should be cognitively engaged and integrated with the therapeutic platform or the assistive device ( Moore and Fletcher, 2012 ; Nataraj, 2017 ; Nataraj et al, 2020a , b , c ). Improved perception of involvement and control of movement should better ensure continued participation and positive functional outcomes ( Doyle, 2002 ; Behrman et al, 2005 ).…”

“…Agency is naturally implicated with rehabilitation through perception of neuromuscular action and related functional consequences ( Moore and Obhi, 2012 ). Agency contributes to the performance of functional movements such as reaching ( Nataraj et al, 2020c , d ) and is impaired in the presence of neurological disorders ( Jeannerod, 2009 ; Ritterband-Rosenbaum et al, 2012 ). Agency can also be compromised during the use of powered assistive devices, such as exoskeletons ( Hartigan et al, 2015 ) or sensorimotor prostheses ( Antfolk et al, 2013 ; Hebert et al, 2013 ), due to distortions in embodiment ( Kilteni et al, 2012 ; Caspar et al, 2015 ).…”

Modified sensory feedback enhances the sense of agency during continuous body movements in virtual reality

“…Such judgment may also be influenced by higher level factors such as intentions, beliefs, and inferences, besides lower levels of feeling of control 51 . Visually improved task-performance feedback can boost the rating of agency [52][53][54] . The positive taskperformance feedback probably also contributed to the enhanced sense of agency.…”

The Interplay Between Affective Processing and Sense of Agency During Action Regulation: A Review

“…For intentional binding, the evidence for affect-specific influences is mixed. Some studies found that negative compared to neutral or positive action outcomes decrease temporal binding (Takahata et al, 2012 ; Yoshie and Haggard, 2013 ; Barlas and Obhi, 2014 ; Borhani et al, 2017 ; Haggard, 2017 ; Nataraj et al, 2020 ). Since less temporal binding is assumed to indicate lower sense of agency, these findings are consistent with studies employing explicit agency measures, which found that negative action outcomes were associated with lower sense of agency.…”

“…Outcome agency : Since our actions are usually aimed at producing specific effects, such as obtaining rewards, we are more likely to feel in control when we can reliably produce the desired outcome (Moscarello and Hartley, 2017 ; Ly et al, 2019 ). Accordingly, some experiments manipulate agency experience by ensuring either that it is possible to produce a positive outcome (e.g., via highly reliable action-effect contingencies; high outcome agency), or giving participants no reliable chance to achieve the desired outcome (e.g., via random action-effect contingencies, low outcome agency; e.g., Nataraj et al, 2020 ; Li et al, 2021 ). Agency here means the ability to influence the environment in a way which is desirable to the agent.…”