Response delay and spatial representation in pointing movements

Pointing movements decrease in accuracy when target information is removed before movement onset. This time effect was analyzed in relation with the spatial representation of the target location, which can be egocentric (i.e. in relation to the body) or exocentric (i.e. in relation to the external world) depending on the visual environment of the target. The accuracy of pointing movements performed without visual feedback was measured in two delay conditions: 0 and 5-s delay between target removal and movement onset. In each delay condition, targets were presented either in the darkness (egocentric localization) or within a structured visual background (exocentric localization). The results show that pointing was more accurate when targets were presented within a visual background than in the darkness. The time-related decrease in accuracy was observed in the darkness condition, whereas no delay effect was found in the presence of a visual background. Therefore, contextual factors applied to a simple pointing action might induce different spatial representations: a short-lived sensorimotor egocentric representation used in immediate action control, or a long-lived perceptual exocentric representation which drives perception and delayed action.