Contribution of binocular vision to motor skill development and performance

手的灵巧性是人类进化的标志之一，也是感觉运动发展的巅峰。视觉为指导和协调相对简单的技能的执行提供了重要的输入，比如早晨煮一杯咖啡，以及执行外科手术过程中涉及的难以置信的具有挑战性的技能。直觉上，我们可以预测双眼视觉对于这些技能的表现一定是至关重要的。然而，我们对这种输入在开发和复杂操作任务控制中的作用的理解仍然有限。具体来说，迄今为止还没有研究调查学龄儿童双目视觉功能和精细运动技能的发展。相反，对成年人进行的研究提供了复杂的证据，证明双眼视觉在执行简单的抓握任务时所起的作用。因此，该研究计划的长期目标是确定双目视觉在3D环境中与物体互动时对运动技能学习和表现的贡献。本研究的第一个目的是评估双眼视觉功能的发展与精细运动技能之间的关系。假设儿童运动技能的提高与双眼视觉功能的成熟有关。以后的工作将集中在成年人身上，实验旨在操纵双眼视觉和触觉（触摸）信息，这样我们就可以梳理出对操纵技能的最佳表现和学习有贡献的关键变量。假设双眼视差有助于物体特征的处理，从而在物体操作过程中产生更有效的控制策略。然而，在没有双眼视差的情况下，这种控制被打乱了，因为受试者必须依赖触觉反馈。预期本研究将确立正常双眼视觉在儿童运动技能习得中的作用。有必要了解有助于精细运动技能最佳习得的潜在因素，因为灵巧任务的表现是学龄儿童学业成就的有力预测指标。提出的研究还将提高我们对中枢神经系统控制上肢运动的认识，同时与3D空间中的物体相互作用。由于许多职业活动都需要熟练的运动表现，因此了解双眼视差和视触觉整合的贡献是否重要？因此，最终，这项研究还将对需要精确执行熟练动作的专业（例如外科、牙科和工业）制定双目视觉要求的职业标准产生影响。

Manual dexterity or performance of skillful movements with our hands is one of the hallmarks of human evolution and a pinnacle of sensorimotor development. Vision provides important input for guiding and coordinating the execution of relatively simple skills, such as making your morning cup of coffee, as well as incredibly challenging skills involved in performing a surgical procedure. Intuitively, one could predict that binocular vision must be fundamentally important for the performance of these skills. However, our understanding of the role of this input during development and in the control of complex manipulation tasks remains limited. Specifically, no studies to date have examined the development of binocular visual functions and fine motor skills in school-aged children. Conversely, research conducted with adults provided mixed evidence for the role of binocular vision during execution of simple prehension tasks. Thus, the long term goal of the proposed research program is to establish the contribution of binocular vision to motor skill learning and performance when interacting with objects in a 3D environment. The first objective of the proposed research is to assess the association between the development of binocular visual functions and fine motor skills. It is hypothesized that improvements in motor skill performance in children are dependent on the maturation of the binocular visual functions. Later work will focus on the adults and the experiments are designed to manipulate binocular vision and haptic (touch) information such that we can tease out the critical variables contributing to the optimal performance and learning of manipulation skills. It is hypothesized that binocular disparity facilitates the processing of object features which leads to more effective control strategies during object manipulation. Whereas in the absence of binocular disparity this control is disrupted as subjects must rely on haptic feedback. It is anticipated that the proposed research program will establish the role of normal binocular vision in motor skill acquisition in children. It is necessary to have an understanding of the underlying factors contributing to optimal acquisition of fine motor skills because performance on dexterity tasks is a strong predictor of academic achievement in school-aged children. The proposed research will also advance our knowledge about the CNS control of upper limb movements while interacting with objects in 3D space. Is it important to understand the contribution of binocular disparity and visual-haptic integration because skilled motor performance is required in many occupational activities. Thus, ultimately, this research will also have implications for developing occupational standards for binocular vision requirements for professions that require precise execution of skilful movements, for example, surgery, dentistry and industry.