1,212 research outputs found
Sensitivity to Hand Path Curvature during Reaching
People optimize reaching to make straight and smooth movements. We performed experiments characterizing human sensitivity to hand path deviations from a straight reach. Vision of the arm was blocked. Subjects either moved the hand along paths of constrained curvature, or a robot moved the relaxed limb along similar trajectories (active and passive conditions, respectively). Subjects responded after each trial whether or not they thought the movement curved convex right. In a series of three experiments, we tested the effects of modifying visual feedback of hand position to suppress curvature, isotonic muscle activation, and a distracter task on subjects ability to detect curvature during reaching. We found that both active reaching and artificial minimization of visual hand path deviations significantly decreased proprioceptive curvature sensitivity. Specifically, isotonic contraction of muscles antagonistic to the movement decreased sensitivity to curvature while agonistic contraction had no effect. The distracter task did not significantly affect proprioceptive sensitivity, though it did interfere with the detrimental effect of minimizing visual error feedback. These findings demonstrate that: 1) antagonist muscle activation decreases efficacy of proprioceptive feedback during hand path curvature estimation, and 2) vision\u27s dominance over proprioception can be manipulated by altering the attentional demands of the task
Visual, Motor and Attentional Influences on Proprioceptive Contributions to Perception of Hand Path Rectilinearity during Reaching
We examined how proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path straightness are influenced by visual, motor and attentional sources of performance variability during horizontal planar reaching. Subjects held the handle of a robot that constrained goal-directed movements of the hand to the paths of controlled curvature. Subjects attempted to detect the presence of hand path curvature during both active (subject driven) and passive (robot driven) movements that either required active muscle force production or not. Subjects were less able to discriminate curved from straight paths when actively reaching for a target versus when the robot moved their hand through the same curved paths. This effect was especially evident during robot-driven movements requiring concurrent activation of lengthening but not shortening muscles. Subjects were less likely to report curvature and were more variable in reporting when movements appeared straight in a novel “visual channel” condition previously shown to block adaptive updating of motor commands in response to deviations from a straight-line hand path. Similarly, compromised performance was obtained when subjects simultaneously performed a distracting secondary task (key pressing with the contralateral hand). The effects compounded when these last two treatments were combined. It is concluded that environmental, intrinsic and attentional factors all impact the ability to detect deviations from a rectilinear hand path during goal-directed movement by decreasing proprioceptive contributions to limb state estimation. In contrast, response variability increased only in experimental conditions thought to impose additional attentional demands on the observer. Implications of these results for perception and other sensorimotor behaviors are discussed
Thermoelectric properties of Zn_5Sb_4In_(2-δ)(δ=0.15)
The polymorphic intermetallic compound Zn_5Sb_4In_(2−δ) (δ = 0.15(3)) shows promising thermoelectric properties at low temperatures, approaching a figure of merit ZT of 0.3 at 300 K. However, thermopower and electrical resistivity changes discontinuously at around 220 K. Measurement of the specific heat locates the previously unknown temperature of the order-disorder phase transition at around 180 K. Investigation of the charge carrier concentration and mobility by Hall measurements and infrared reflection spectroscopy indicate a mixed conduction behavior and the activation of charge carriers at temperatures above 220 K. Zn_5Sb_4In_(2−δ) has a low thermal stability, and at temperatures above 470 K samples decompose into a mixture of Zn, InSb, and Zn_4Sb_3
Evolution of Quantum Criticality in CeNi_{9-x}Cu_xGe_4
Crystal structure, specific heat, thermal expansion, magnetic susceptibility
and electrical resistivity studies of the heavy fermion system
CeNi_{9-x}Cu_xGe_4 (0 <= x <= 1) reveal a continuous tuning of the ground state
by Ni/Cu substitution from an effectively fourfold degenerate non-magnetic
Kondo ground state of CeNi_9Ge_4 (with pronounced non-Fermi-liquid features)
towards a magnetically ordered, effectively twofold degenerate ground state in
CeNi_8CuGe_4 with T_N = 175 +- 5 mK. Quantum critical behavior, C/T ~ \chi ~
-ln(T), is observed for x about 0.4. Hitherto, CeNi_{9-x}Cu_xGe_4 represents
the first system where a substitution-driven quantum phase transition is
connected not only with changes of the relative strength of Kondo effect and
RKKY interaction, but also with a reduction of the effective crystal field
ground state degeneracy.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure
The spectrum of the random environment and localization of noise
We consider random walk on a mildly random environment on finite transitive
d- regular graphs of increasing girth. After scaling and centering, the
analytic spectrum of the transition matrix converges in distribution to a
Gaussian noise. An interesting phenomenon occurs at d = 2: as the limit graph
changes from a regular tree to the integers, the noise becomes localized.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
Heavy fermion superconductivity and magnetic order in non-centrosymmetric
is a novel heavy fermion superconductor, crystallising in the
structure as a tetragonally distorted low symmetry variant of the
structure type. exhibits antiferromagnetic order at
K and enters into a heavy fermion superconducting state at
K. Large values of T/K and T refer to heavy quasiparticles forming Cooper pairs. Hitherto, is the first heavy fermion superconductor without a center of
symmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Spin and orbital frustration in MnSc_2S_4 and FeSc_2S_4
Crystal structure, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat were measured
in the normal cubic spinel compounds MnSc_2S_4 and FeSc_2S_4. Down to the
lowest temperatures, both compounds remain cubic and reveal strong magnetic
frustration. Specifically the Fe compound is characterized by a Curie-Weiss
temperature \Theta_{CW}= -45 K and does not show any indications of order down
to 50 mK. In addition, the Jahn-Teller ion Fe^{2+} is orbitally frustrated.
Hence, FeSc_2S_4 belongs to the rare class of spin-orbital liquids. MnSc_2S_4
is a spin liquid for temperatures T > T_N \approx 2 K.Comment: 4 pages, to be published in Physical Review Letter
Poly-MTO, {(CH_3)_{0.92} Re O_3}_\infty, a Conducting Two-Dimensional Organometallic Oxide
Polymeric methyltrioxorhenium, {(CH_{3})_{0.92}ReO_{3}}_{\infty} (poly-MTO),
is the first member of a new class of organometallic hybrids which adopts the
structural pattern and physical properties of classical perovskites in two
dimensions (2D). We demonstrate how the electronic structure of poly-MTO can be
tailored by intercalation of organic donor molecules, such as
tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) or bis-(ethylendithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF),
and by the inorganic acceptor SbF. Integration of donor molecules leads to
a more insulating behavior of poly-MTO, whereas SbF insertion does not
cause any significant change in the resistivity. The resistivity data of pure
poly-MTO is remarkably well described by a two-dimensional electron system.
Below 38 K an unusual resistivity behavior, similar to that found in doped
cuprates, is observed: The resistivity initially increases approximately as
ln) before it changes into a dependence below 2 K.
As an explanation we suggest a crossover from purely two-dimensional
charge-carrier diffusion within the \{ReO\} planes at high
temperatures to three-dimensional diffusion at low temperatures in a
disorder-enhanced electron-electron interaction scenario (Altshuler-Aronov
correction). Furthermore, a linear positive magnetoresistance was found in the
insulating regime, which is caused by spatial localization of itinerant
electrons at some of the Re atoms, which formally adopt a electronic
configuration. X-ray diffraction, IR- and ESR-studies, temperature dependent
magnetization and specific heat measurements in various magnetic fields suggest
that the electronic structure of poly-MTO can safely be approximated by a
purely 2D conductor.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, 2 table
Contralateral manual compensation for velocity-dependent force perturbations
It is not yet clear how the temporal structure of a voluntary action is coded allowing coordinated bimanual responses. This study focuses on the adaptation to and compensation for a force profile presented to one stationary arm which is proportional to the velocity of the other moving arm. We hypothesised that subjects would exhibit predictive coordinative responses which would co-vary with the state of the moving arm. Our null hypothesis is that they develop a time-dependent template of forces appropriate to compensate for the imposed perturbation. Subjects were trained to make 500 ms duration reaching movements with their dominant right arm to a visual target. A force generated with a robotic arm that was proportional to the velocity of the moving arm and perpendicular to movement direction acted on their stationary left hand, either at the same time as the movement or delayed by 250 or 500 ms. Subjects rapidly learnt to minimise the final end-point error. In the delay conditions, the left hand moved in advance of the onset of the perturbing force. In test conditions with faster or slower movement of the right hand, the predictive actions of the left hand co-varied with movement speed. Compensation for movement-related forces appeared to be predictive but not based on an accurate force profile that was equal and opposite to the imposed perturbatio
- …