visuomotor

Visuomotor refers to the coordinated interaction between visual perception and motor action. It encompasses the neural and cognitive processes by which visual information about objects, space, and motion guides movements of the eyes, hands, and body, and how those movements provide ongoing sensory feedback to refine perception and action.

Neural basis for visuomotor control lies largely in the dorsal visual stream, which connects occipital and parietal regions to frontal areas and the cerebellum. Key structures include the posterior parietal cortex, intraparietal sulcus, premotor and primary motor cortices, and the cerebellum. Subcortical circuits such as the basal ganglia and superior colliculus also contribute to planning and selection of eye and limb movements. Together, these networks perform sensorimotor transformations that convert visual coordinates into motor commands and use predictive models to anticipate the consequences of actions.

Operations and learning in visuomotor control depend on integrating visual input with proprioceptive and vestibular information, while employing feedforward predictions and online feedback corrections. The system exhibits plasticity; visuomotor adaptation experiments, including prism adaptation, show that mappings between sight and movement can be recalibrated when visual input is altered. This adaptation relies on cerebellar circuits and parietal-frontal interactions.

Tasks and clinical relevance: common visuomotor activities include reach-to-grasp movements, interception, eye–hand coordination, and various eye movements such as saccades and smooth pursuit. Visuomotor deficits can arise from dorsal stream damage (optic ataxia), stroke, or neurodegenerative disease, leading to challenges in reaching, grasping, or manual dexterity despite intact basic vision. Rehabilitation often targets recalibration of visuomotor mappings through practice and feedback.

See also: visuomotor integration, sensorimotor integration, optic ataxia.