Can Wii ® remap far into near space?

Abstract

Background: healthy subjects show in the near space a slight attentional bias toward left (pseudoneglect) that shifts toward right when the task is performed in the far space. This bias moves back again to the left when the subject uses a tool, according to its ability to remap far into near space. On the other hand, when a laser pointer is used to this aim, no significant effects are observed as compared to no-tool condition. This phenomenon has been interpreted as due to the lack of tactile-proprioceptive feedback. Objective: the aim of the present study was to investigate if the use of an interactive tool without tactile- proprioceptive feedback, a three axis accelerometer that works with gesture recognition (wiimote®), can remap far into near space. Methods: fifteen right-handed healthy subjects performed a line length judgment task in the near space and in four conditions in the far space, differing for the use (or not) of three different tools (a stick, a wiimote® used as laser pointer – ‘wiilaser’, and a wiimote®). Results: the visuospatial performance shifted toward left (pseudoneglect) when the task was performed in near space and in the far space with the use of stick, wiimote and, surprisingly, ‘wiilaser’ too. Conclusions: wiimote is able to remap far into near space, as much as ‘wiilaser’. Our hypothesis is that remapping depends on potential use and hardware features rather than on effective tool use.