Object Manipulation and Motion Perception: Evidence of an Influence of Action Planning on Visual Processing

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated the bidirectional coupling of perception and action in the context of object manipulations and motion perception. Participants prepared to grasp an X-shaped object along one of its 2 diagonals and to rotate it in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction. Action execution had to be delayed until the appearance of a visual go signal, which induced an apparent rotational motion in either a clockwise- or a counterclockwise direction. Stimulus detection was faster when the direction of the induced apparent motion was consistent with the direction of the concurrently intended manual object rotation. Responses to action-consistent motions were also faster when the participants prepared the manipulation actions but signaled their stimulus detections with another motor effector (i.e., with a foot response). Taken together, the present study demonstrates a motor-visual priming effect of prepared object manipulations on visual motion perception, indicating a bidirectional functional link between action and perception beyond object-related visuomotor associations.