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Aspects of body self-calibration
1Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory, Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. lackner@brandeis.edu
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|June 22, 2000
Summary
Our body orientation relies on sensory information. Unusual forces, like Coriolis effects during rotation, reveal how our brain recalibrates movement and position sense, even without vision.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Body orientation and movement rely on integrating sensory inputs.
- Under normal conditions, we don't perceive the forces acting on our body.
- Unusual sensory feedback during movement highlights calibration mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review normal position sense and sensory calibration mechanisms.
- To explore adaptations to transient Coriolis forces during passive body rotation.
- To understand central nervous system compensation for Coriolis forces during voluntary movement.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on position sense and sensory calibration.
- Analysis of adaptations to Coriolis forces during passive rotation.
- Examination of central nervous system compensation during voluntary rotary movements.
Main Results:
- Rapid adaptations to Coriolis forces restore movement accuracy, even without visual feedback.
- Muscle spindle activity and internal models are crucial for adaptation.
- The central nervous system automatically compensates for Coriolis forces during voluntary movements, maintaining accurate control.
Conclusions:
- The brain actively calibrates body orientation and movement based on sensory information.
- Adaptations to Coriolis forces demonstrate the brain's ability to recalibrate sensory-motor systems rapidly.
- Accurate motor control is maintained during rotation through automatic compensation for generated forces.