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

3.1K
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.
3.1K
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

1.6K
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...
1.6K
Motor Units01:13

Motor Units

4.2K
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...
4.2K
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

1.1K
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...
1.1K
Relative Motion Analysis - Velocity01:24

Relative Motion Analysis - Velocity

401
A stroke engine has a slider-crank mechanism that converts rotational motion from the crank into linear motion of the slider or vice versa. This mechanism consists of three main parts: the crank, the connecting rod, and the slider.
When an external force is exerted, it sets the crank into a rotational movement. This, in turn, instigates the motion of the connecting rod, leading to what is referred to as a general plane motion. This process involves two key points - point A on the connecting rod...
401
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

4.2K
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....
4.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Superficial Ventral Premotor Pathways to Primary Motor Cortex Shape the Temporal Coordination of Precision Grasping.

The European journal of neuroscience·2026
Same author

Exposure to false cardiac feedback alters pain perception and anticipatory cardiac frequency.

eLife·2026
Same author

Gaze dynamics prior to navigation support hierarchical planning.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Limb apraxia and active inference in the visuomotor pathways.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same author

The continuous dynamics of planning and acting in a virtually embodied task.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

False but phonologically plausible linguistic priors induce cross-linguistic auditory illusions and attenuate electrophysiological markers of surprise.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 19, 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

25.9K

Motor invariants in action execution and perception.

Francesco Torricelli1, Alice Tomassini2, Giovanni Pezzulo3

  • 1Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara, 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center for Translational Neurophysiology of Speech and Communication, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Fossato di Mortara, 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.

Physics of Life Reviews
|December 3, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Our nervous system models the world to predict dynamics. Understanding kinematic invariants in human movement aids social prediction, revealing goals and intentions.

Keywords:
Action perceptionBayesian inferenceBiological motionInternal modelsKinematic invariantsMotor control

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality
10:14

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality

Published on: May 10, 2024

1.1K
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
12:33

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

9.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 19, 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

25.9K
Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality
10:14

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality

Published on: May 10, 2024

1.1K
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
12:33

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

9.0K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Computational Neuroscience
  • Human Motor Control

Background:

  • The nervous system builds internal models to predict environmental dynamics based on statistical regularities.
  • Human behavior is inherently social, necessitating reliable predictive models of others' actions for successful interaction.
  • Human motor control research shows movements possess kinematic invariants, which observers can use to reduce uncertainty in social exchanges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of salient regularities in biological motion.
  • To examine the role of kinematic invariants in recognizing others' actions.
  • To explore how anchoring perceptual decisions to kinematic invariants offers a computational advantage for inferring conspecifics' goals and intentions.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on biological motion and kinematic invariants.
  • Analysis of evidence from human motor control research.
  • Theoretical examination of computational advantages in social perception.

Main Results:

  • Biological motion exhibits salient statistical regularities and kinematic invariants.
  • These invariants are crucial for observers in recognizing and predicting the actions of others.
  • Utilizing these invariants aids in reducing uncertainty during social interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Kinematic invariants in biological motion are fundamental for social prediction.
  • Anchoring social perception to these invariants provides a computational advantage for inferring intentions.
  • This mechanism is key for successful social interaction and understanding conspecifics.