Neurobiological tensegrity: The basis for understanding inter-individual variations in task performance?

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomechanics
• Motor Control

Background:

• Bernstein's levels of movement organization highlight tonus as crucial for coordinating movement.
• Tensegrity systems, reliant on haptic perception, are proposed to underpin neurobiological perception and action.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the conceptualization of the musculoskeletal system as a neurobiological tensegrity system.
• To investigate how this system supports individual adaptation in dynamic performance contexts.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing hypotheses on tensegrity and movement organization.
• Analysis of evidence from manual hefting tasks assessing object properties.
• Examination of individual differences in musculoskeletal architecture.

Main Results:

• The hypothesis that tonus architecture is a multi-fractal tensegrity system is supported.
• Individual musculoskeletal tensegrity is unique, influencing adaptation to task, environment, and organismic constraints.
• This unique tensegrity facilitates transitions between coordination states for skill adaptation.

Conclusions:

• The musculoskeletal system can be viewed as a neurobiological tensegrity system.
• Individual differences in tensegrity are fundamental to adaptation and skill learning.
• Tensegrity dynamics evolve with skill acquisition and learning over time.