scholarly journals Fast sensory–motor reactions in echolocating bats to sudden changes during the final buzz and prey intercept

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (13) ◽  
pp. 4122-4127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Geberl ◽  
Signe Brinkløv ◽  
Lutz Wiegrebe ◽  
Annemarie Surlykke
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Ultrasonic Signals ◽  
Acoustic Feedback ◽  
Sensory Motor ◽  
Air Capture ◽  
High Emission ◽  
Myotis Daubentonii

Echolocation is an active sense enabling bats and toothed whales to orient in darkness through echo returns from their ultrasonic signals. Immediately before prey capture, both bats and whales emit a buzz with such high emission rates (≥180 Hz) and overall duration so short that its functional significance remains an enigma. To investigate sensory–motor control during the buzz of the insectivorous bat Myotis daubentonii, we removed prey, suspended in air or on water, before expected capture. The bats responded by shortening their echolocation buzz gradually; the earlier prey was removed down to approximately 100 ms (30 cm) before expected capture, after which the full buzz sequence was emitted both in air and over water. Bats trawling over water also performed the full capture behavior, but in-air capture motions were aborted, even at very late prey removals (<20 ms = 6 cm before expected contact). Thus, neither the buzz nor capture movements are stereotypical, but dynamically adapted based on sensory feedback. The results indicate that echolocation is controlled mainly by acoustic feedback, whereas capture movements are adjusted according to both acoustic and somatosensory feedback, suggesting separate (but coordinated) central motor control of the two behaviors based on multimodal input. Bat echolocation, especially the terminal buzz, provides a unique window to extremely fast decision processes in response to sensory feedback and modulation through attention in a naturally behaving animal.

scholarly journals The critical stability task: quantifying sensory-motor control during ongoing movement in nonhuman primates

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 2164-2181
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Quick ◽  
Jessica L. Mischel ◽  
Patrick J. Loughlin ◽  
Aaron P. Batista
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Good Control ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Feedback Systems ◽  
Critical Stability ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Vibrotactile Feedback ◽  
Sensory Motor

Everyday behaviors require that we interact with the environment, using sensory information in an ongoing manner to guide our actions. Yet, by design, many of the tasks used in primate neurophysiology laboratories can be performed with limited sensory guidance. As a consequence, our knowledge about the neural mechanisms of motor control is largely limited to the feedforward aspects of the motor command. To study the feedback aspects of volitional motor control, we adapted the critical stability task (CST) from the human performance literature (Jex H, McDonnell J, Phatak A. IEEE Trans Hum Factors Electron 7: 138–145, 1966). In the CST, our monkey subjects interact with an inherently unstable (i.e., divergent) virtual system and must generate sensory-guided actions to stabilize it about an equilibrium point. The difficulty of the CST is determined by a single parameter, which allows us to quantitatively establish the limits of performance in the task for different sensory feedback conditions. Two monkeys learned to perform the CST with visual or vibrotactile feedback. Performance was better under visual feedback, as expected, but both monkeys were able to utilize vibrotactile feedback alone to successfully perform the CST. We also observed changes in behavioral strategy as the task became more challenging. The CST will have value for basic science investigations of the neural basis of sensory-motor integration during ongoing actions, and it may also provide value for the design and testing of bidirectional brain computer interface systems. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Currently, most behavioral tasks used in motor neurophysiology studies require primates to make short-duration, stereotyped movements that do not necessitate sensory feedback. To improve our understanding of sensorimotor integration, and to engineer meaningful artificial sensory feedback systems for brain-computer interfaces, it is crucial to have a task that requires sensory feedback for good control. The critical stability task demands that sensory information be used to guide long-duration movements.

EFFECTS OF A ROBOTIC THERAPY GAME ON THE SENSORY-MOTOR CONTROL OF HEALTHY ADULTS' ANKLE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Silva Couto ◽  
Thiago Russo ◽  
Gabriela Lopes dos Santos ◽  
Adriano Siqueira
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Robotic Therapy ◽  
Sensory Motor

scholarly journals The emulation theory of representation: Motor control, imagery, and perception

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Grush
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
The Body ◽  
Feedback Delay ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Effects Of Feedback ◽  
The Brain

The emulation theory of representation is developed and explored as a framework that can revealingly synthesize a wide variety of representational functions of the brain. The framework is based on constructs from control theory (forward models) and signal processing (Kalman filters). The idea is that in addition to simply engaging with the body and environment, the brain constructs neural circuits that act as models of the body and environment. During overt sensorimotor engagement, these models are driven by efference copies in parallel with the body and environment, in order to provide expectations of the sensory feedback, and to enhance and process sensory information. These models can also be run off-line in order to produce imagery, estimate outcomes of different actions, and evaluate and develop motor plans. The framework is initially developed within the context of motor control, where it has been shown that inner models running in parallel with the body can reduce the effects of feedback delay problems. The same mechanisms can account for motor imagery as the off-line driving of the emulator via efference copies. The framework is extended to account for visual imagery as the off-line driving of an emulator of the motor-visual loop. I also show how such systems can provide for amodal spatial imagery. Perception, including visual perception, results from such models being used to form expectations of, and to interpret, sensory input. I close by briefly outlining other cognitive functions that might also be synthesized within this framework, including reasoning, theory of mind phenomena, and language.

Sensory-Motor Control and Balance: A Behavioural Perspective

1986 ◽  
pp. 247-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Williams ◽  
B. McClenaghan ◽  
D. Ward ◽  
W. Carter ◽  
C. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Sensory Motor
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