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Related Experiment Videos

Arm position constraints when throwing in three dimensions

J Hore1, S Watts, D Tweed

  • 1Physiology Department, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

Journal of Neurophysiology
|September 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
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Human arm movements during overarm throwing are constrained. At ball release, the arm is limited to 2 of its 7 possible degrees of freedom, simplifying control for the central nervous system (CNS).

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Motor Control
  • Human Movement Science

Background:

  • Overarm throwing is a complex motor skill involving numerous degrees of freedom in the arm.
  • The central nervous system (CNS) may simplify control by constraining these degrees of freedom.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if constraints exist on arm degrees of freedom at ball release during overarm throwing.
  • To determine if these constraints simplify the motor control problem for the CNS.

Main Methods:

  • Subjects performed overarm throws at various targets while seated with a fixed trunk.
  • Three-dimensional angular positions of arm segments (finger, hand, forearm, upper arm) were recorded using search coils.
  • Ball release was detected via microswitches on the middle finger.

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Main Results:

  • At ball release, hand orientation was consistent for each target, with torsional position being similar.
  • Arm segment angular positions at ball release were confined to a two-dimensional surface, not a three-dimensional volume.
  • This constraint reduced the arm's degrees of freedom from 7 to 2 at ball release.

Conclusions:

  • The central nervous system (CNS) constrains arm movement at ball release during overarm throwing.
  • This constraint simplifies the motor control problem by reducing the effective degrees of freedom.
  • The observed constraints are specific to the throwing action and not purely mechanical.