On the Nature of Human Interlimb Coordination
Authors:
- 9 March 1979
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 203 (4384) , 1029-1031
Abstract
Movement time varies as a function of amplitude and requirements for precision, according to Fitts' law, but when subjects perform two-handed movements to targets of widely disparate difficulty they do so simultaneously. The hand moving to an "easy" target moves more slowly to accommodate its "difficult" counterpart, yet both hands reach peak velocity and acceleration synchronously. This result suggests that the brain produces simultaneity of action not by controlling each limb independently, but by organizing functional groupings of muscles that are constrained to act as a single unit.Keywords
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