<p><strong>Short answer</strong><br>
From what I know from the literature, adapting to prism glasses mainly finds it origins in adaptation of behavioral motor control.</p>

<p><strong>Background</strong><br>
The adaptation to wearing prism glasses is often ascribed to the adaptation of the proprioceptive system, i.e., subjects adapt their motor behavior to compensate for the visual field shift (e.g., <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-002-1097-6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Richter <em>et al</em>. (2002)</a>, <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-005-0159-y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hatada &amp; Rosetti (2006)</a>), or through shifts in their egocentric reference frame. Admittedly, some subtle, short-lasting after-effects do seem to occur in the visual domain <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0381-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Hatada <em>et al</em>., 2006)</a>, but gross adaptation is mainly centered on behavioral adaptations of motor control, at least as far as I am aware. </p>

<p>In four human subjects that wore prism glasses for about 36 days it was shown that after a week or two, also their ipsilateral visual cortices were activated, while normally only the contralateral cortex is activated <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef47/04066c958c74bfd1e7344d36fe7966dd16ec.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Miyauchi <em>et al</em>., 2004)</a>. So there is a definite visuo-neurophysiological correlate of wearing prism glasses. Nonetheless The authors conclude that... </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[The] changes observed [in] adaptation to left–right reversing may be associated with the process of [...] strategic <strong>perceptual-motor control</strong>. [...]. For example, when the subjects wearing left–right reversing goggles pick up an object located in the left visual field, they have to use their right hand which is normally located in the right visual field [...].   </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Note that the <a href="http://www.awz.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/archive/film_photo_and_tone_archives/video_documents/th_erismann_ikohler" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link you provide</a> describes mainly anecdotal reports from a single researcher. Above studies included multiple subjects. </p>

<p><sub><strong>References</strong><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0381-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hatada <em>et al</em>., <em>Exp Brain Res</em> (2006); <strong>173</strong>(3): 415–24</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0437-3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hatada <em>et al</em>., <em>Exp Brain Res</em> (2006); <strong>174</strong>(1): 189–98</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-005-0159-y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hatada &amp; Rosetti, <em>Exp Brain Res</em> (2006); <strong>169</strong>(3): 417–26</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef47/04066c958c74bfd1e7344d36fe7966dd16ec.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Miyauchi <em>et al</em>., <em>J Physiol - Paris</em> (2004); <strong>98</strong>: 207–19</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-002-1097-6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Richter <em>et al</em>., <em>Exp Brain Res</em> (2002); <strong>144</strong>(4): 445–57</a></sub>   </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T15:45:22.343Z
@Probably no worries and thanks for the question :-)
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T12:49:30.270Z
2017-04-20T12:49:30.270Z
AliceD
<p>When a person wears glasses that reverse the image upside-down, it is possible to adjust your vision in a matter of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/nov/12/improbable-research-seeing-upside-down" rel="nofollow noreferrer">days</a>. What are the suggestions behind the neurological process?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T07:02:53.537Z
Hi Probably. Could you provide a little more context? What have you learned from some initial research yourself, and why are you interested in researching this? You may edit it into your question.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T07:35:35.870Z
@RobinKramer I haven't done my own research yet, so I'm hoping to get a very rough answer of what I could focus on.
Probably
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-21T05:17:32.787Z
[This is the most recent work I know on the topic](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6904/full/nature01002.html). If you could start with this paper and come back to the site with the specific questions you have, as well as the level of detail you expect in an answer, that would be awesome.
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-21T23:07:42.423Z
https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/a/339/7604 may help to answer your question too
Chris Rogers
<cognitive-neuroscience><vision><perceptual-learning>
What is the neural adaptation underlying the habituation to reversed visual images?
Probably
# What is the neural adaptation underlying the habituation to reversed visual images?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-19)

When a person wears glasses that reverse the image upside-down, it is possible to adjust your vision in a matter of [days](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/nov/12/improbable-research-seeing-upside-down). What are the suggestions behind the neurological process?

**Tags:** cognitive-neuroscience, vision, perceptual-learning

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi username_0. Could you provide a little more context? What have you learned from some initial research yourself, and why are you interested in researching this? You may edit it into your question.  
> **username_0**: @RobinKramer I haven't done my own research yet, so I'm hoping to get a very rough answer of what I could focus on.  
> **username_2**: [This is the most recent work I know on the topic](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6904/full/nature01002.html). If you could start with this paper and come back to the site with the specific questions you have, as well as the level of detail you expect in an answer, that would be awesome.  
> **username_3**: https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/a/339/7604 may help to answer your question too  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-04-20. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

**Short answer**  
From what I know from the literature, adapting to prism glasses mainly finds it origins in adaptation of behavioral motor control.

**Background**  
The adaptation to wearing prism glasses is often ascribed to the adaptation of the proprioceptive system, i.e., subjects adapt their motor behavior to compensate for the visual field shift (e.g., [Richter *et al*. (2002)](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-002-1097-6), [Hatada & Rosetti (2006)](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-005-0159-y)), or through shifts in their egocentric reference frame. Admittedly, some subtle, short-lasting after-effects do seem to occur in the visual domain [(Hatada *et al*., 2006)](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0381-2), but gross adaptation is mainly centered on behavioral adaptations of motor control, at least as far as I am aware.

In four human subjects that wore prism glasses for about 36 days it was shown that after a week or two, also their ipsilateral visual cortices were activated, while normally only the contralateral cortex is activated [(Miyauchi *et al*., 2004)](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef47/04066c958c74bfd1e7344d36fe7966dd16ec.pdf). So there is a definite visuo-neurophysiological correlate of wearing prism glasses. Nonetheless The authors conclude that...

> [The] changes observed [in] adaptation to left–right reversing may be associated with the process of [...] strategic **perceptual-motor control**. [...]. For example, when the subjects wearing left–right reversing goggles pick up an object located in the left visual field, they have to use their right hand which is normally located in the right visual field [...].

Note that the [link you provide](http://www.awz.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/archive/film_photo_and_tone_archives/video_documents/th_erismann_ikohler) describes mainly anecdotal reports from a single researcher. Above studies included multiple subjects.

**References**  
**-** [Hatada *et al*., *Exp Brain Res* (2006); **173**(3): 415–24](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0381-2)  
**-** [Hatada *et al*., *Exp Brain Res* (2006); **174**(1): 189–98](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-006-0437-3)  
**-** [Hatada & Rosetti, *Exp Brain Res* (2006); **169**(3): 417–26](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-005-0159-y)  
**-** [Miyauchi *et al*., *J Physiol - Paris* (2004); **98**: 207–19](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef47/04066c958c74bfd1e7344d36fe7966dd16ec.pdf)  
**-** [Richter *et al*., *Exp Brain Res* (2002); **144**(4): 445–57](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-002-1097-6)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: @username_0 no worries and thanks for the question :-)  

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