Human perception is derived from multi-sensory integration and multiple reference frames that allow us to effectively control and adapt our movements to an ever-changing environment. The ability of the motor system to adapt to these changes is crucial, yet little is known about how the congruence/incongruence of visual and kinesthetic reference frames may affect adaptation. In order to address this knowledge gap, we used a visuomotor adaptation paradigm with the added condition of lateral head tilt. We hypothesized that congruence between direction of head tilt and orientation of the stimulus display would facilitate adaptation while incongruence would have the opposite effect. Thirty-nine participants completed a center-out reaching task under various conditions of monitor, head, and cursor rotation. The results showed that visual congruence enhanced the adaptation of feedback control, whereas visual incongruence hindered it. These findings suggest that congruent reference frame shifts provide robust sensory information for online control of movements.
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