Adapting to Altered Sensory Input: Effects of Induced Paresthesia on Goal-Directed Movement Planning and Execution

The current study investigated how temporarily induced paresthesia in the moving limb affects the performance of a goal-directed target aiming task. Three-dimensional displacement data of 14 neurotypical participants were recorded while they pointed to a target on a computer monitor in four conditions: (i) paresthesia-full-vision; (ii) paresthesia-without-target vision; (iii) no-paresthesia-full-vision; (iv) no paresthesia-without-target vision. The four conditions were blocked and counterbalanced such that participants performed the paresthesia and no-paresthesia conditions on two separate days. To assess how aiming performance changed in the presence of paresthesia, we compared early versus late performance (first and last 20% of trials). We found that endpoint accuracy and movement speed were reduced in the presence of paresthesia, but only without target vision. With repetition, participants adjusted their movement performance strategy, such that with induced paresthesia, they used a movement strategy that included more pre-planned movements that depended less on online control.