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

Related Concept Videos

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

Indirect Motor Pathways

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

Implicit Memories

Implicit Memories

Implicit memories, also known as non-declarative memories, are long-term memories that function outside of conscious awareness. These memories influence behavior and skills without explicit knowledge. This type of memory is evident in tasks like playing tennis, snowboarding, and texting. Implicit memory has three subsystems: procedural memory, conditioning, and priming. This type of memory is essential in various activities, from everyday tasks to specialized skills.
One key aspect of implicit...

Direct Motor Pathways

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...

Implicit Differentiation with Partial Derivatives

Implicit Differentiation with Partial Derivatives

Implicit differentiation with partial derivatives is used when a relationship between two variables is defined implicitly rather than explicitly. Instead of solving one variable in terms of the other, the variables remain connected through a single equation. In this setting, one variable is treated as depending on the other, and differentiation is applied directly to the entire relation.To differentiate an implicit relation, the chain rule is applied to every term in the equation. Because one...

Motor Units

Motor Units

The motor unit is a fundamental component of the neuromuscular system and plays a crucial role in coordinating muscle contractions. It consists of a somatic motor neuron, which connects and controls multiple skeletal muscle fibers, forming a single functional segment. The axon of the motor neuron branches out and establishes synaptic connections known as neuromuscular junctions with individual muscle fibers within the motor unit.
Motor units come in different sizes, with smaller units...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

The impact of hand dominance on haptic and visual size comparisons.

Psychological research·2026

Same author

Response Requirements Shape the Spatial Coding of Location-Specific Adjustments to Conflict Frequency.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026

Same author

Response Preparation and the Simon Effect: Experimental and Model-Based Analyses.

Journal of cognition·2026

Same author

The perils of the first try: experimental evidence for visuomotor calibration in darts and hammering.

Psychological research·2025

Same author

Perceived Multisensory Common Cause Relations Shape the Ventriloquism Effect but Only Marginally the Trial-Wise Aftereffect.

The European journal of neuroscience·2025

Same author

Blended police firearms training improves performance in shoot/don't shoot scenarios: a systematic replication with police cadets.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

Functional independence of explicit and implicit motor adjustments.

Sandra Sülzenbrück¹, Herbert Heuer

¹Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany. suelzenbrueck@ifado.de

Consciousness and Cognition

|January 13, 2009

Summary

Explicit and implicit motor control adjustments happen simultaneously and independently. Automatic, implicit processes are not replaced by explicit ones but are instead superposed during visuomotor adaptation.

More Related Videos

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Published on: December 2, 2022

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 26, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Published on: December 2, 2022

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Neuroscience
Motor control

Background:

Visuomotor adaptation to new sensory-motor mappings is crucial for daily activities like using a computer mouse.
Adaptation can be explicit (intentional, knowledge-based) or implicit (unconscious, automatic).
The interplay between explicit and implicit adaptation processes requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between explicit and implicit motor control adjustments during visuomotor adaptation.
To determine if explicit and implicit processes interact or operate independently.

Main Methods:

Participants adapted to a novel visuomotor transformation.
Explicit and implicit adaptation components were measured separately and concurrently.
Movement adjustments were quantified to assess the contribution of each process.

Main Results:

Explicit and implicit adaptation occurred simultaneously.
The total motor adjustment was the sum of isolated explicit and implicit adjustments.
These processes remained functionally independent, even when opposing each other.

Conclusions:

Automatic, implicit motor control processes are not overridden by intentional, explicit ones.
Explicit and implicit adaptation are superposed, not mutually exclusive.
This finding clarifies the dual-process nature of motor learning and adaptation.