Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Chaos in Human Rhythmic Movement.

S Mitra¹, M A Riley¹, M T Turvey¹

¹a Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action , University of Connecticut , Storrs.

Journal of Motor Behavior

|November 28, 2002

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Electromagnetic Moments of Radioactive ^{136}Te and the Emergence of Collectivity 2p⊕2n Outside of Double-Magic ^{132}Sn.

Physical review letters·2017

Same author

Isomeric Character of the Lowest Observed 4^{+} State in ^{44}S.

Physical review letters·2017

Same author

Direct Evidence of Octupole Deformation in Neutron-Rich ^{144}Ba.

Physical review letters·2016

Same author

Symmetry and order parameter dynamics of the human odometer.

Biological cybernetics·2014

Same author

On the short-term retention of serial, tactile stimuli.

Memory & cognition·2013

Same author

Laterality of quiet standing in old and young.

Experimental brain research·2013

Same journal

Expertise Modulates Anticipatory Synergy Adjustments in a Rapid Motor Skill Under Temporal Constraints.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

Same journal

A Boundary of Ideomotor Control: Semantic Labels Bias Selection but Do Not Tune Motor Execution.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

Same journal

Strategies When Choosing Between Movement Options in a Sequential Task.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

Same journal

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined with Neurofunctional Motor Training in Autistic Children: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Trial.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

Same journal

Individualized Virtual Angle Offset Training for Patients with Stroke.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

Same journal

The Role of Exploratory Procedures in Perceiving Affordances in a Bimanual Wielding Task.

Journal of motor behavior·2026

See all related articles

Human rhythmic movements exhibit complex dynamics beyond simple periodic models. Variability in locomotion may arise from low-dimensional chaotic motion rather than just physiological noise.

Area of Science:

Biomechanics
Dynamical Systems Theory
Human Motor Control

Background:

Rhythmic movements, like locomotion, are often modeled using limit cycle dynamics.
Deviations from periodicity are typically attributed to physiological noise.
Existing models may not fully capture the complexity of human movement variability.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the underlying dynamics of human rhythmic movements.
To determine if limit cycle dynamics adequately explain movement variability.
To explore alternative explanations for observed movement patterns.

Main Methods:

Analysis of human rhythmic movement data.
Application of dynamical systems theory concepts.
Calculation of Lyapunov exponents and fractal dimensions.

Keywords:

degrees of freedom dynamics phase space reconstruction rhythmic movement

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

Human rhythmic movements involve more than the two dynamically active variables predicted by simple limit cycle models.
The number of active variables correlated with the size of the limb oscillator.
Positive Lyapunov exponents and fractal attractor dimensions were observed.

Conclusions:

The gross variability in human rhythmic movements likely originates from low-dimensional chaotic motion.
Strange attractors characterize the dynamics of human rhythmic movements.
Movement variability is not solely explained by stochastic physiological noise.