Motor noise and sensorimotor control

Movements are characterized by variance and variability in both the execution and the achieved result. This can be attributed to, among other things, the noise in motor control signals, which is unavoidable due to biological constraints. In current motor theory, internal estimation of this variance is thought to support goal-directed movements in a functional manner (e.g., Todorov & Jordan, 2002). Studies examining finger-pointing movements have shown that individuals optimally adapt their aimpoints based on their motor variance in high-risk conditions (Trommershäuser et al., 2008). In order to transfer these findings to more complex situations, we developed a virtual paradigm to examine movement and gaze behavior in a throwing task (see video). In this task, participants win points by hitting a target circle and lose points by hitting an overlapping penalty circle. The aim is thus to investigate how people adapt their behavior and strategies to changing conditions; which are caused by, for example, experimentally varied motor noise.

Literature:

Todorov, E. & Jordan, M. I. (2002). Optimal feedback control as a theory of motor coordination. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 1226–1235. 10.1038/nn963

Trommershäuser, J., Maloney, L. T. & Landy, M. S. (2008). Decision making, movement planning and statistical decision theory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(8), 291–297. 10.1016/j.tics.2008.04.010

Contact:

Stephan Zahno

Ralf Kredel

Damian Beck