The microstructure of intra- and interpersonal coordination.

Area of Science:

• Motor Control
• Human Movement Science
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Human movements are composed of submovements, recurrent speed pulses (2-3 Hz).
• These submovements may reflect intermittent feedback-based motor adjustments.
• In visuomotor tasks, partners often alternate submovements, suggesting mutual coregulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether submovement coordination differs between and within individuals.
• To determine how different types of sensory information are utilized for intrapersonal and interpersonal coordination.
• To explore the role of visual feedback in shaping submovement timing.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed bimanual tasks individually or in pairs.
• Tasks were conducted with and without visual feedback (for solo tasks).
• The relative timing of submovements was analyzed between own hands and between partners' hands.

Main Results:

• Distinct submovement coordination patterns emerged based on visual feedback relevance.
• Relative submovement timing shifted from alternation to simultaneity and mixed patterns.
• These shifts occurred depending on whether coordination relied on vision, proprioception/efference-copy, or both.

Conclusions:

• Submovement coordination serves as a behavioral indicator of adaptive sensory information weighting in action-perception loops.
• The microstructure of movement reveals shared principles for sensorimotor control in both intra- and interpersonal coordination.
• Visual feedback significantly modulates the timing and coordination of submovements.