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

5.9K
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.
5.9K
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

4.1K
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...
4.1K
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

6.8K
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....
6.8K
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

3.0K
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...
3.0K
Muscle Coordination and Action01:24

Muscle Coordination and Action

3.0K
Muscle coordination is a complex and finely tuned process essential for smooth and purposeful movements like flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, and rotation. The human body orchestrates the actions of various muscles working in concert, each with a specific role. Four functional types describe how muscles work together: agonist, antagonist, synergist, and fixator.
Agonists
Agonist muscles, often called prime movers, are the primary muscles responsible for producing a specific movement....
3.0K
Motor Units00:46

Motor Units

61.7K
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.
61.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Error Cancellation During Early Task Performance.

Experimental psychology·2026
Same author

Mental health in challenging situations: how experienced agency affects coping and mental distress.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same author

Agents' awareness of visuo-motor incongruency determines changes in haptic sensitivity.

Experimental brain research·2026
Same author

Response activation in error processing: Assessing leakage into upcoming action episodes.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same author

Binding continuous response features of extended movements: Integration with discrete response but not stimulus features.

Psychological research·2026
Same author

Playing With Matches: Preparatory Cognitive Processing Shapes Affective Evaluation.

Journal of cognition·2026
Same journal

Executive function and social behavior: Causal evidence from loading working memory and inhibitory control.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Correction to "Your research is public engagement: A case for more intentional science communication in research with human subjects" by Vaughn (2026).

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Correction to "Costs and benefits of acting extraverted: A randomized controlled trial" by Jacques-Hamilton et al. (2019).

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Conveying (discrete) emotionality with novel words.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Physical actions shape moral choices: Environment-directed movements reduce cheating in young children.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

From chunks to schemas: Learning in the Hebb repetition paradigm.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 12, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
10:39

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

9.0K

Evidence for transitional coding of human motor representations.

Moritz Schaaf1, Solveig Tonn1, Katharina A Schwarz1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Trier University.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|November 6, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The mind represents body movements by anticipating perceptual changes, not just end goals. This finding clarifies how we control our actions through sensory feedback.

More Related Videos

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

3.8K
Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice
06:04

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

Published on: March 4, 2014

22.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
10:39

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

9.0K
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

3.8K
Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice
06:04

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

Published on: March 4, 2014

22.0K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Motor Control
  • Perception

Background:

  • Body movement control is thought to involve anticipating perceptual effects.
  • The precise nature of these anticipated effects (end states vs. changes) is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether anticipations represent desired perceptual end states or intended perceptual changes.
  • To differentiate between these two representational codes for body movements.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a novel experimental method to distinguish between end-state and transitional codes.
  • Conducted three preregistered experiments applying this new methodology.

Main Results:

  • Results consistently supported transitional codes over end-state codes.
  • Evidence indicates the brain uses perceptual changes to represent and control movement.

Conclusions:

  • Body movements are represented and controlled via the perceptual changes they produce.
  • This supports a transitional coding mechanism in motor control.