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Anisotropic tracking: evidence for automatic synergy formation in a bimanual task
Peter D Neilson1, Megan D Neilson
1Neuroengineering Laboratory, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia. p.neilson@unsw.edu.au
Human Movement Science
|March 7, 2003
Summary
This study shows how the brain can create new bimanual coordination, or synergy, for complex movements. Practicing a specific task allowed participants to develop novel, coupled hand movements for better performance.
Area of Science:
- Motor control
- Neuroscience
- Human movement science
Background:
- Interlimb synergy research traditionally focuses on periodic movements.
- Investigating novel synergies in stochastic, spatially asymmetric movements requires new methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a computational method for studying novel synergy formation.
- To investigate how the nervous system adapts to control stochastic, coupled bimanual movements.
Main Methods:
- Nine participants performed a two degrees of freedom (2D) "etch-a-sketch" task.
- Practice involved a 1D task requiring in-phase coupled hand movements.
- Pre- and post-practice 2D tasks assessed performance using phase lag measures.
Main Results:
- Initial 2D tracking showed independent hand control with slight right-hand superiority.
- Post-practice performance showed anisotropic improvement, greatest in the practiced 45-degree direction.
- Performance shifted from independent hand control to coupled bimanual movements.
Conclusions:
- The nervous system can form task-dependent bimanual synergies.
- Novel coupling between hands can be established for controlling stochastic movements as a unified entity.