Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026
06:31
Force and Position Control in Humans - The Role of Augmented Feedback
Published on: June 19, 2016
Suppression of proprioceptive feedback control in movement sequences through intermediate targets
C Minos Niu1, Daniel M Corcos, Mark B Shapiro
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, 1042 Downey Way, Rm. 140, Los Angles, CA 90089, USA. chuanxin@usc.edu
Experimental Brain Research
|November 11, 2011
Summary
Neural control of movement sequences preserves feedback suppression, even with intermediate targets. This suggests a modular organization for complex actions, similar to simple movements.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Neural control of complex actions may retain features of simpler movements.
- Proprioceptive feedback is known to be suppressed during initial single-joint movements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate proprioceptive feedback suppression during sequential movements.
- To determine if feedback suppression is maintained at intermediate targets within a movement sequence.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed two-segment 30° elbow movements with an intermediate stop.
- Unexpected perturbations were applied early or late in each segment.
- Response latencies in muscle electromyography were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Response latency to late perturbations was shorter than to early perturbations in both segments, indicating feedback suppression.
- Response latencies were similar to single-target movements and sequential movement segments.
- Initial proprioceptive feedback suppression is preserved in sequential movements.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a modular organization of neural control for movement sequences.
- Proprioceptive feedback suppression is a fundamental feature maintained across simple and complex movements.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Indirect 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...
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
01:18Hierarchy 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.
00:46Feedback Inhibition
Biochemical reactions are occurring constantly in cells, converting starting substances to different products, usually with the help of enzymes that speed the reactions. Without enzymes, it would take far too long for most reactions to occur to be useful to the cell!
01:11Direct 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...
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...
01:27Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay
The thalamus, often called “the gateway to the cerebral cortex,” is vital in processing and directing sensory and motor signals throughout the brain. Almost all inputs destined for the cerebral cortex, except for olfactory signals, are relayed through the thalamus. The thalamus is a sophisticated relay station, channeling information from various brain regions to the cerebral cortex, as well as a filter, prioritizing certain signals over others based on current physiological states or needs.
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...