Neuromotor Synergies as a Basis for Coordinated Intentional Action
- 1 June 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Motor Behavior
- Vol. 16 (2), 135-170
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.1984.10735316
Abstract
Although neurally based units of action (neuromotor synergies) have often been proposed as a possible basis for coordinated intentional as well as automatic actions, the idea has rarely been translated into sets of testable hypotheses. This essay examines four issues which should facilitate the development of such hypotheses: (a) definitions of neuromotor synergies, (b) criteria for recognizing and comparing synergies in automatic and intentional actions, (c) problems in representing systems of synergies, and (d) models for generating intentional actions from sets of neuromotor synergies. Limitations of, and support for the neuromotor synergy hypothesis are discussed, both in general and for the specific cases of postural synergies and cervico-spinal reflexes. Although current data do not provide conclusive support for or against the neuromotor synergy hypothesis, the problem can be formulated in ways open to experimental investigation.Keywords
This publication has 65 references indexed in Scilit:
- Control of Multimovement CoordinationJournal of Motor Behavior, 1984
- Organization of stabilizing reflex responses in tibialis anterior muscles following ankle flexion perturbations of standing manBrain Research, 1983
- A Prospective Study of Three Postural ReactionsDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 1982
- A sequence of postural movements precedes voluntary movementNeuroscience Letters, 1981
- Influence of neck afferents on vestibulospinal neuronsExperimental Brain Research, 1980
- Role of Vestibular Inputs in the Organization of Motor Output to Forelimb ExtensorsPublished by Elsevier ,1979
- Effect of load disturbances during centrally initiated movementsJournal of Neurophysiology, 1978
- Responses to load disturbances in human shoulder muscles: The hypothesis that one component is a pulse test information signalExperimental Brain Research, 1975
- INTERACTION BETWEEN LIMBS DURING BIMANUAL VOLUNTARY ACTIVITYBrain, 1970
- ROLE OF EYE AND NECK PROPRIOCEPTIVE MECHANISMS IN BODY ORIENTATION AND MOTOR COORDINATIONJournal of Neurophysiology, 1961