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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.

Multi-input and Multi-variable systems

Multi-input and Multi-variable systems

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Motor Units

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Motor Units

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: Apr 16, 2026

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Published on: March 4, 2014

Multiple systems for motor skill learning.

Dav Clark¹, Richard B Ivry¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science

|March 7, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores motor learning, comparing sequence learning (serial reaction time task) and adaptation (visuomotor perturbations). It highlights how fast, resource-demanding learning differs from slow, automatic processes in skill acquisition.

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Last Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

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Published on: March 4, 2014

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Published on: February 12, 2017

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Motor Control
Skill Acquisition

Background:

Motor learning is fundamental to human abilities.
Studying skill acquisition involves understanding how we learn new movements and adapt existing ones.
Representational changes are key to motor learning processes.

Discussion:

Contrasts fast and slow motor learning processes based on their information processing costs, cognitive demands, and flexibility.
Fast learning yields representations accessible to conscious processing, offering greater flexibility.
Slow learning produces inflexible, automatic behaviors with minimal attentional demands.

Key Insights:

Distinct neural systems underlie motor learning, varying in efficiency and resource allocation.
Fast learning mechanisms are cognitively demanding but flexible; slow mechanisms are automatic and resource-light.
Understanding the interplay between these systems is crucial for explaining skill acquisition and consolidation.

Outlook:

Further research into the interaction and competition between multiple neural systems during motor learning.
Investigating how different learning representations influence behavioral flexibility and automaticity.
Exploring the consolidation of newly acquired motor behaviors.