Low vision impairs implicit sensorimotor adaptation in response to small errors, but not large errors

Successful goal-directed actions require constant fine-tuning of the motor
system. This fine-tuning is thought to rely on an implicit adaptation
process that is driven by sensory prediction errors (i.e., where you see
your hand after reaching versus where you expected it to be). Individuals
with low vision experience challenges with visuomotor control, but whether
low vision disrupts motor adaptation is unknown. To explore this question,
we assessed individuals with low vision and matched controls with normal
vision on a visuomotor task designed to isolate implicit adaptation. We
found that low vision was associated with attenuated implicit adaptation
only for small visual errors, but not for large visual errors. This result
highlights important constraints underlying how low-fidelity visual
information is processed by the sensorimotor system to enable successful
implicit adaptation.