Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles
Published on: August 25, 2020
The role of vision in the control of continuous multijoint movements
Caroline J Ketcham1, Natalia V Dounskaia, George E Stelmach
1Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4243, USA. ketcham@hlkn.tamu.edu
Abstract:
The authors investigated whether visual fixations during a continuous graphical task were related to arm endpoint kinematics, joint motions, or joint control. The pattern of visual fixations across various shapes and the relationship between temporal and spatial events of the moving limb and visual fixations were assessed. Participants (N=16) performed movements of varying shapes by rotating the shoulder and elbow joints in the transverse plane at a comfortable pace. Across shapes, eye movements consisted of a series of fixations, with the eyes leading the hand. Fixations were spatially related to modulation of joint motion and were temporally related to the portions of the movement where curvature was the highest. Gathering of information related to modulation of interactive torques arising from passive forces from movement of a linked system occurred when the velocity of the movement (a) was the lowest and (b) was ahead of the moving limb, suggesting that that information is used in a feedforward manner.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Muscle Coordination and Action
Agonists
Agonist muscles, often called prime movers, are the primary muscles responsible for producing a specific movement.
Hierarchy of Motor Control
Vector Functions and Motion: Problem Solving
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
One-Degree-of-Freedom System
A one-degree-of-freedom system is defined by an independent variable that determines its state and behavior. One example of a one-degree-of-freedom system is a simple harmonic oscillator, such as a...
Indirect Motor Pathways
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

