# Very briefly hiding the hand impedes goal-directed arm movements

## TL;DR

Hiding the hand for a short time slows down arm movements when reaching for a target.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that brief visual occlusion of the hand impairs goal-directed movement speed.

## Key findings

- Briefly hiding the hand increases movement time to reach a target.
- Visual feedback is crucial for real-time motor control in goal-directed actions.

## Abstract

Seeing the position and motion of one's hand helps guide the hand to objects that one wants to interact with. If the latest available visual information guides the hand at each moment, slightly delaying access to such information should impede performance. We show that increasing the average delay by a few milliseconds, by briefly hiding the hand, does indeed increase the time it takes to reach a target.