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Related Concept Videos

Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

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.
Muscle Coordination and Action01:24

Muscle Coordination and Action

Muscle coordination is a complex and finely tuned process essential for smooth and purposeful movements like flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, and rotation. The human body orchestrates the actions of various muscles working in concert, each with a specific role. Four functional types describe how muscles work together: agonist, antagonist, synergist, and fixator.
Agonists
Agonist muscles, often called prime movers, are the primary muscles responsible for producing a specific movement.
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

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...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Motor Units01:13

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...
Motor Units00:46

Motor Units

A motor unit consists of two main components: a single efferent motor neuron (i.e., a neuron that carries impulses away from the central nervous system) and all of the muscle fibers it innervates. The motor neuron may innervate multiple muscle fibers, which are single cells, but only one motor neuron innervates a single muscle fiber.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Measuring Motor Coordination in Mice
10:07

Measuring Motor Coordination in Mice

Published on: May 29, 2013

Understanding social motor coordination.

R C Schmidt1, Paula Fitzpatrick, Robert Caron

  • 1Department of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610, USA. rschmidt@holycross.edu

Human Movement Science
|September 7, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Joint action, or social motor coordination, is better understood through behavioral dynamics. This perspective highlights synchronization as key to understanding how individuals coordinate movements in everyday activities.

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Last Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Measuring Motor Coordination in Mice
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Published on: May 29, 2013

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12:33

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

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Published on: March 21, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Motor control
  • Social cognition
  • Dynamical systems theory

Background:

  • Growing interest in social coordination of motor movements, termed joint action.
  • Existing cognitive perspectives, like common coding/mirror neuron theory, offer explanations for joint action.
  • Limitations exist in current theories regarding the temporal coordination of interacting individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the cognitive perspective of joint action and its limitations.
  • To present the behavioral dynamics perspective as an alternative framework for understanding social motor coordination.
  • To detail how behavioral dynamics explains temporal coordination in joint action.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of cognitive and behavioral dynamics perspectives on joint action.
  • Description of the core principles of the behavioral dynamics approach.
  • Presentation of two experiments demonstrating synchronization in joint actions.

Main Results:

  • Behavioral dynamics effectively explains the temporal coordination of interacting individuals.
  • Experimental evidence shows dynamical synchronization processes in joint actions like martial arts, clapping games, and conversations.
  • Synchronization emerges as a fundamental behavioral pattern in joint action.

Conclusions:

  • The behavioral dynamics perspective provides a robust framework for understanding social motor coordination.
  • Emergent dynamic patterns, specifically synchronization, are crucial for joint action.
  • Any neural mechanisms supporting joint action must accommodate these observed dynamic behavioral patterns.