Time course of allocentric decay, egocentric decay, and allocentric-to-egocentric conversion in memory-guided reach

Allocentric cues can be used to encode locations in visuospatial memory, but it is not known how and when these representations are converted into egocentric commands for behaviour. Here, we tested the influence of different memory intervals on reach performance toward targets defined in either egocentric or allocentric coordinates, and then compared this to performance in a task where subjects were implicitly free to choose when to convert from allocentric to egocentric representations. Reach and eye positions were measured using Optotrak and Eyelink Systems, respectively, in fourteen subjects. Our results confirm that egocentric representations degrade over a delay of several seconds, whereas allocentric representations remained relatively stable over the same time scale. Moreover, when subjects were free to choose, they converted allocentric representations into egocentric representations as soon as possible, despite the apparent cost in reach precision in our experimental paradigm. This suggests that humans convert allocentric representations into egocentric commands at the first opportunity, perhaps to optimize motor noise and movement timing in real-world conditions.

Research highlights▶ Egocentric representations of reach target location degrade over a delay of several seconds. ▶ Allocentric representations of reach target location remain stable over the same time scale. ▶ Mandatory allocentric-to-egocentric conversion occurs at the first possible opportunity.