Schlesinger and Domenico Parisi Multimodal Control of Reaching in Infants : The Role of Tactile Feedback

-By the onset of reaching, young infants are already able to keep track of the position of their han by using visual feedback from the target and proprioceptive feedback from the arm. How is this multimodal coordination achieved? We propose that infants learn to coordinate vision and proprioception by using tactile feedback from the target. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, we employ an evolutionarybased learning algorithm as a proxy for trial-and-error sensorimotor development in young infants. A series of simulation studies illustrate how touch (1) help coordinate vision and proprioception, (2) facilitates a efficient reaching strategy, and (3) promotes intermodal recalibration when the coordination is perturbed. We present two developmental predictions generated by the model, and discuss the relative importance of visual and tactile feedback while learning to reach. Index terms --computational model, sensorimotor development, trial-and-error learning, multimodal coordination