Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Mechanical Manipulation of Neurons to Control Axonal Development
Published on: April 10, 2011
Threading neural feedforward into a mechanical spring: how biology exploits physics in limb control
Karl T Kalveram1, Thomas Schinauer, Steffen Beirle
1Department of Cybernetical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Duesseldorf, Universitätsstr.1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany. kalveram@uni-duesseldorf.de
Abstract:
A solution is proposed of the hitherto unsolved problem as to how neural feedforward through inverse modelling and negative feedback realised by a mechanical spring can be combined to achieve a highly effective control of limb movement. The revised spring approach that we suggest does not require forward modelling and produces simulated data which are as close as possible to experimental human data. Control models based on peripheral sensing with forward modelling, which are favoured in the current literature, fail to create such data. Our approach suggests that current views on motor control and learning should be revisited.
Related Concept Videos
Design Example: Frog Muscle Response
When the switch connecting the RL circuit is closed, a brief muscle contraction is observed. This is because, at a steady state, the inductor acts like a short circuit,...
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential...
Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...
Mechanism of Ciliary Motion
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
Hierarchy of Motor Control

