Perspectives in Human Motor Behavior

1983 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 785-786
Author(s):  
Beth Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Davide Piovesan ◽  
Felix C. Huang

Studies on unimpaired humans have demonstrated that the central nervous system employs internal representations of limb dynamics and intended movement trajectories for planning muscle activation during pointing and reaching tasks. However, when performing rhythmic movements, it has been hypothesized that a control scheme employing an autonomous oscillator — a simple feedback circuit lacking exogenous input — can maintain stable control. Here we investigate whether such simple control architectures that can realize rhythmic movement that we observe in experimental data. We asked subjects to perform rhythmic movements of the forearm while a robotic interface simulated inertial loading. Our protocol included unexpected increases in loading (catch trials) as a probe to reveal any systematic changes in frequency and amplitude. Our primary findings were that increased inertial loading resulted in reduced frequency of oscillations, and in some cases multiple frequencies. These results exhibit some agreement with an autonomous oscillator model, though other features are more consistent with feedforward planning of force. This investigation provides a theoretical and experimental framework to reveal basic computational elements for how the human motor system achieves skilled rhythmic movement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. e47129
Author(s):  
Dielise Debona Iucksch ◽  
Luize Bueno de Araujo ◽  
Karize Rafaela Mesquita Novakoski ◽  
Bruna Yamaguchi ◽  
Carolina Fernandez Carneiro ◽  
...  

Aquatic environment is widely used for recreational, sporting, and therapeutic activities. However, human motor functional behavior in immersion has not been sufficiently described. Such description is necessary to improve strategies used to perform movements in this environment and to possibly transfer them to land. Our goal is to offer a qualitative description of the aquatic motor behavior. We use action research to observe and describe motor behavior in water, which we systematized using the Aquatic Functional Assessment Scale, effects of water on the immersed body, its relationship with functional movements performed on land, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The results allowed the systematization of aquatic movements based on unique features of water compared to effects of activities and participation of functional movement, under a biopsychosocial view of ICF. Such systematization of aquatic behaviors enables professionals to increase their strategies and interventions in water, through that understand the complexity of this approach and improve physical and therapeutic interventions that will have an impact on health.


2008 ◽  
Vol 216 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Einspieler ◽  
Peter B. Marschik ◽  
Heinz F.R. Prechtl

The spontaneous movements of the newborn infant have a long prenatal history. From 8 weeks postmenstrual age onward the fetus moves in distinct motor patterns. There is no period of amorphic and random movements. The patterns are easily recognizable, as all of them can be seen after birth. The human neonate demonstrates a continuum of motor patterns from prenatal to early postnatal life. Around the 3rd month a major transformation of motor and sensory patterns occurs. This makes the infant more fit to meet the requirements of the extra-uterine environment. The developmental course of spontaneous movements during the first 20 weeks postterm age shows the emergence and disappearance of various movement patterns. The so-called general movements deserve special interest as they are in their altered quality a most reliable indicator of brain (dys)function with a specific prediction of later developing cerebral palsy.


1997 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Day ◽  
Vickie J. Goins

In a large rectangular room, 13 blindfolded women attempted to walk in a straight line from one end of the room to a target centered at the other end of the room. On 12 trials, the women walked forward, and on 12 trials they walked backward. On half the trials under each of these conditions, they walked toward the north, and on the other half to the south. Performance errors were highly correlated for northward and southward progression, an indication of good reliability for this veering task. Veering during forward progression was not significantly related to veering during backward progression. Individual consistency in veering was demonstrated in several ways, and approximately half the participants veered in the same direction on nearly all trials. These results indicate that veering should be considered as an additional manifestation of lateral preferences in human motor behavior.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio T. Fonseca ◽  
Christina D. C. M. Faria ◽  
Juliana M. Ocarino ◽  
Marisa C. Mancini

The objective of the present study is to introduce the philosophical position and the core concepts of the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action, emphasizing its principles and its uniqueness in relation to other theories related to motor behavior. The Ecological Approach, as opposed to other approaches, assumes the direct realism as its philosophical standpoint. Thus, the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action proposes the concepts of specificity, direct perception and affordance. By assuming the direct realism, the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action commits to the mutuality animal  environment and perception and action, and proposes that the dualism, commonly found in other theories, does not contribute to the understanding of human motor behavior. The choice of a given theory, during the process of scientific investigation, implies in a commitment to the philosophical views and to the principles and assumptions in which it is based. The knowledge about the core concepts of the Ecological Approach may support the decision making process about accepting or rejecting the ideas advanced by James Gibson and, consequently, direct the use of this theory to the development of investigations on perception and action.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (22) ◽  
pp. 7974-7980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas T. Petersen ◽  
Janet L. Taylor ◽  
Jane E. Butler ◽  
Simon C. Gandevia

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