Prism Exposure Lab Report

Introduction:
Prism adaptation is a form of visual-motor learning that triggers the visual-motor system to adapt to a new visuospatial field that has been altered by the use of prism goggles. The use of these prism goggles alters the visual field, and forces the visual cortex to integrate its feedback mechanisms to relatively correct somarosensational errors made by the body while moving. As a result of this, neural mechanisms and the fundamental principles behind this adaptation can be used clinically to treat patients who have experienced the ill effects of visual-spatial deficits. Therefore, the purpose of this lab was to examine the motor adaptation is response to altered visual inputs. I hypothesized that the prism exposure, and the post-exposure conditions will result in a greater horizontal displacement between the balls and the midline of the felt than the pre-exposure condition.

Methods:

For the first trail (pre-exposure), the subject was armed with 2-3 velcro balls, and instructed to make 15 underhand tosses towards the center of the target. After each toss the examiners noted and recorded the horizontal distance between each ball and the distance with respect to the midline in centimeters (cm). For the second trail (prism exposure), the subject was equipped with the prism goggles and instructed to make 30 underhand tosses, while the examiners observed and recorded the horizontal distance between each ball and the distance with respect to the midline in centimeters (cm). For the third trail (post-exposure), the subject removed the prism goggles and was instructed to make 15 under hand tosses, while the examiners again noted and recorded the horizontal distance between each ball and the distance with respect to the midline in centimeters (cm). All steps were repeated until each member of the group participated as a