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Related Experiment Videos

Manipulating objects with internal degrees of freedom: evidence for model-based control.

Jonathan B Dingwell1, Christopher D Mah, Ferdinando A Mussa-Ivaldi

  • 1Sensory Motor Performance Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. jdingwell@mail.utexas.edu

Journal of Neurophysiology
|July 2, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Humans use internal models to control external objects, not just their own arms. This study shows motor control adapts to object dynamics, suggesting predictive internal models for external systems.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Robotics
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Humans possess internal models for arm dynamics during movement control.
  • It remains unclear if model-based strategies extend to controlling external dynamical systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate human strategies for controlling simple mass-spring objects.
  • To determine if motor control adapts to external object dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Subjects performed reaching movements with a robotic manipulandum simulating mass-spring dynamics.
  • Analysis of hand and object kinematics during interaction and after unexpected parameter changes.

Main Results:

  • Motor commands were tailored to specific object dynamics, not simply adapting free reaching.

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  • Kinematic deviations after unexpected parameter changes aligned with a model incorporating an inverse dynamics model.
  • Behavior could not be explained by impedance modulation alone.

    • Conclusions:

    • Humans form internal models of manipulated object dynamics for precise motor control.
    • These findings support the hypothesis of predictive internal models for external systems.