7 Central and Peripheral Mechanisms in Motor Control

This presentation will attempt to establish how some of the processes subserving visually guided movements are relevant to the organization of more complex arm trajectories and the role of proprioceptive feedback during the execution of these movements will be examined.

Abstract

Recent experiments concerning the control of forearm movements in man and monkeys have disclosed some of the processes subserving visually guided movements. These results are relevant to the question of what is being controlled by motor commands, and have indicated that movement may take place through a process involving the selection of a set of length-tension curves, i.e., by establishing an equilibrium point between agonist and antagonist muscles. In my presentation I will attempt to establish how these processes are relevant to the organization of more complex arm trajectories. The role of proprioceptive feedback during the execution of these movements will be examined with respect to trajectory formation and reprogramming.