Background: When we move along in time with a piece of music, we synchronise the downward phase of our gesture with the beat. While it is easy to demonstrate this tendency, there is considerable debate as to its neural origins. It may have a structural basis, whereby the gravitational field acts as an orientation reference that biases the formulation of motor commands. Alternatively, it may be functional, and related to the economy with which motion assisted by gravity can be generated by the motor system

A Hufnagel

AM Gordon

C Schneider

CM Harris

D Lee

DR Humphrey

F Mechsner

G Luppino

G Schlaug

J McIntyre

JA Rathelot

Jan Lauwereyns

JAS Kelso

JM Mayville

JR Binder

KJ Jantzen

M Blinkenberg

PJ Beek

R Arnheim

R Gentili

R Lemon

RA Schmidt

RG Carson

Richard G. Carson

RS Turner

S Riek

Stephan Riek

T Pozzo

TJ Carroll

W Prinz

WD Byblow

Yalchin Oytam

PLoS ONE

English

PubMed

When we move along in time with a piece of music, we synchronise the downward phase of our gesture with the beat. While it is easy to demonstrate this tendency, there is considerable debate as to its neural origins. It may have a structural basis, whereby the gravitational field acts as an orientation reference that biases the formulation of motor commands. Alternatively, it may be functional, and related to the economy with which motion assisted by gravity can be generated by the motor system.We used a robotic system to generate a mathematical model of the gravitational forces acting upon the hand, and then to reverse the effect of gravity, and invert the weight of the limb. In these circumstances, patterns of coordination in which the upward phase of rhythmic hand movements coincided with the beat of a metronome were more stable than those in which downward movements were made on the beat. When a normal gravitational force was present, movements made down-on-the-beat were more stable than those made up-on-the-beat.The ubiquitous tendency to make a downward movement on a musical beat arises not from the perception of gravity, but as a result of the economy of action that derives from its exploitation

Carson Richard G.

Oytam Yalchin

Riek Stephan

Public Library of Science (PLOS)

Artificial Gravity Reveals that Economy of Action Determines the Stability of Sensorimotor Coordination

Crossref

Background: When we move along in time with a piece of music, we synchronise the downward phase of our gesture with the beat. While it is easy to demonstrate this tendency, there is considerable debate as to its neural origins. It may have a structural basis, whereby the gravitational field acts as an orientation reference that biases the formulation of motor commands. Alternatively, it may be functional, and related to the economy with which motion assisted by gravity can be generated by the motor system. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used a robotic system to generate a mathematical model of the gravitational forces acting upon the hand, and then to reverse the effect of gravity, and invert the weight of the limb. In these circumstances, patterns of coordination in which the upward phase of rhythmic hand movements coincided with the beat of a metronome were more stable than those in which downward movements were made on the beat. When a normal gravitational force was present, movements made down-on-the-beat were more stable than those made up-on-the-beat. Conclusions/Significance: The ubiquitous tendency to make a downward movement on a musical beat arises not from the perception of gravity, but as a result of the economy of action that derives from its exploitation

CiteSeerX

BACKGROUND: When we move along in time with a piece of music, we synchronise the downward phase of our gesture with the beat. While it is easy to demonstrate this tendency, there is considerable debate as to its neural origins. It may have a structural basis, whereby the gravitational field acts as an orientation reference that biases the formulation of motor commands. Alternatively, it may be functional, and related to the economy with which motion assisted by gravity can be generated by the motor system. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a robotic system to generate a mathematical model of the gravitational forces acting upon the hand, and then to reverse the effect of gravity, and invert the weight of the limb. In these circumstances, patterns of coordination in which the upward phase of rhythmic hand movements coincided with the beat of a metronome were more stable than those in which downward movements were made on the beat. When a normal gravitational force was present, movements made down-on-the-beat were more stable than those made up-on-the-beat. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The ubiquitous tendency to make a downward movement on a musical beat arises not from the perception of gravity, but as a result of the economy of action that derives from its exploitation

Richard G Carson

Directory of Open Access Journals

Artificial gravity reveals that economy of action determines the stability of sensorimotor coordination.

Carson, Richard G.

Oytam, Yalchin

Riek, Stephan

University of Queensland eSpace

Artificial gravity reveals that economy of action determines the stability of sensorimotor coordination

BackgroundWhen we move along in time with a piece of music, we synchronise the downward phase of our gesture with the beat. While it is easy to demonstrate this tendency, there is considerable debate as to its neural origins. It may have a structural basis, whereby the gravitational field acts as an orientation reference that biases the formulation of motor commands. Alternatively, it may be functional, and related to the economy with which motion assisted by gravity can be generated by the motor system.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe used a robotic system to generate a mathematical model of the gravitational forces acting upon the hand, and then to reverse the effect of gravity, and invert the weight of the limb. In these circumstances, patterns of coordination in which the upward phase of rhythmic hand movements coincided with the beat of a metronome were more stable than those in which downward movements were made on the beat. When a normal gravitational force was present, movements made down-on-the-beat were more stable than those made up-on-the-beat.Conclusions/SignificanceThe ubiquitous tendency to make a downward movement on a musical beat arises not from the perception of gravity, but as a result of the economy of action that derives from its exploitation

Riek, Stefan

Queen's University Belfast Research Portal

http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid%3DPMC2664928%26blobtype%3Dpdf

Artificial Gravity Reveals that Economy of Action Determines the Stability of Sensorimotor Coordination

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