Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

Hierarchy of Motor Control

5.8K
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.
5.8K
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

2.2K
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...
2.2K
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

4.0K
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...
4.0K
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

2.9K
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...
2.9K
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

6.6K
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....
6.6K
Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay01:27

Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay

3.5K
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...
3.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Disinformation elicits learning biases.

eLife·2026
Same author

A Model-Free Reinforcement Learning Implementation of Decision Making Under Uncertainty by Sequential Sampling.

Neural computation·2026
Same author

Using Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials to Characterize Wide-Ranging Retinopathy Linked to <i>CRB1</i>: Implications for Clinical Trials.

Computational and structural biotechnology journal·2026
Same author

Broad skill generalization with an extra robotic body part.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same author

Global remapping of the sensory homunculus emerges early in childhood development.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

From Restoration to Augmentation: New Approaches to Haptic Feedback for Artificial Limbs.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

26.8K

Motor control drives visual bodily judgements.

Roni O Maimon-Mor1, Hunter R Schone2, Rani Moran3

  • 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK; WIN Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.

Cognition
|January 17, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Motor control significantly influences how we visually judge our bodies. Even without hands, motor control, not just visual experience, shapes our body perception and judgment.

Keywords:
AmputeesBody representationEmbodied cognitionMotor simulationPhantom limbVisuomotor

More Related Videos

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles
09:27

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

Published on: August 25, 2020

4.7K
In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior
07:52

In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior

Published on: November 22, 2021

3.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

26.8K
An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles
09:27

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

Published on: August 25, 2020

4.7K
In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior
07:52

In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior

Published on: November 22, 2021

3.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Embodied Cognition
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The embodied cognition framework posits that motor systems shape perception.
  • Studies on individuals without hands challenge the necessity of motor control for visual body representation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of motor control in visual hand laterality judgments.
  • To compare individuals with congenital absence of a hand, acquired amputation, and typical two-handed controls.

Main Methods:

  • Hand laterality judgment task administered to three groups: controls, congenital one-handers, and amputees.
  • Analysis of error rates and reaction times for visual hand judgments.
  • Computational modeling to simulate group performance based on hand representation mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Congenital one-handers showed impaired performance (more errors, slower reaction times) compared to controls.
  • Amputees performed similarly to controls, with reaction times correlating with phantom limb motor control.
  • Computational model replicated empirical findings by simulating a single hand representation in congenital one-handers.

Conclusions:

  • Motor control, not solely visual experience, is crucial for visual body judgments.
  • Phantom limb motor control in amputees supports the role of motor efference in body representation.
  • Findings challenge purely visual-centric models of body perception and support motor-driven frameworks.