Adaptive responses in eye-head-hand coordination following exposures to a virtual environment as a possible space flight analog

Virtual reality environments (VRs) offer unique training opportunities, particularly for training astronauts and preadapting them to the novel sensory conditions of microgravity. The purpose of the current research was to compare disturbances in eye-head-hand (EHH) sensorimotor coordination produced by repeated exposures to VR systems. In general, we observed significant increases in position errors for both horizontal and vertical targets. The largest decrements were observed immediately following exposure to VR and showed general recovery within 6 hours across each test session, but not across days. Subjects generally showed faster reaction times across days. These findings provide some direction for developing training schedules for VR users that facilitate adaptation and support the idea that VRs may serve as an analog for sensorimotor effects of spaceflight.