Sensory perception is often impaired by self-generated movements. This effect of sensory suppression has been commonly observed in voluntary hand-movement-induced tactile sensation during the period of motor preparation and execution. However, it remains unclear whether such suppression also occurs in the visual domain and if it can be induced by the preparation of other body movements. To extend our knowledge about sensory suppression, the present study investigated visual sensitivity during the preparation of head rotation. Participants wore virtual reality goggles and rotated their heads horizontally according to a visual cue presented on the goggles screens. Before the start of head rotation, a target of Landolt C was displayed at a peripheral location that was directed by the head-rotation cue or a symmetric location in the opposite visual field. After each head rotation, participants reported the target's orientation, allowing the measurement of the discrimination threshold. Besides, the discrimination sensitivity was also measured in two head-still conditions with or without the presentation of a visual cue. The results showed that the discrimination performance was largely impaired by the preparation of head rotation. This effect of sensory attenuation increased with the approach of head-motion onset. However, the attenuation was not found on the discrimination of auditory stimuli during the preparation of head rotation, thus excluding the account of general dual-task requirement. In contrast to the previous findings of improved perception by preparation of saccade or reach, our findings indicate that sensory suppression rather than attention shift plays a major role during the preparation of head movement.

中文翻译：

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头部旋转准备过程中对视觉感知的感觉抑制越来越多

自我产生的运动通常会损害感官知觉。在运动准备和执行期间，在随意的手部运动引起的触觉中通常观察到这种感觉抑制的效果。然而，目前尚不清楚这种抑制是否也发生在视觉领域，以及是否可以由其他身体运动的准备引起。为了扩展我们关于感觉抑制的知识，本研究调查了头部旋转准备过程中的视觉敏感性。参与者戴着虚拟现实护目镜，并根据护目镜屏幕上显示的视觉提示水平旋转头部。在头部旋转开始之前，Landolt C 的目标显示在由头部旋转提示指示的外围位置或相对视野中的对称位置。每次头部旋转后，参与者报告目标的方向，允许测量辨别阈值。此外，还在有或没有视觉提示的两种头部静止条件下测量了辨别灵敏度。结果表明，头部旋转的准备在很大程度上削弱了辨别性能。这种感觉衰减的影响随着头部运动开始的临近而增加。然而，在头部旋转准备期间对听觉刺激的辨别没有发现衰减，因此排除了一般双任务要求的解释。