movement preperation

movement (action) preparation

the specific preparation the motor control system makes just prior to initiating movement

• What occurs during the intention to act and the initiation of movement?

what does the information processing model look like?

picture

what is the path of information flow when an individual makes a conscious decision

to perform a specific movement?

decision in frontal lobes, motor association areas, basal nuclei & cerebellum

what is the ecological approach to the information processing model?

picture! perception based on affordances

Bernstein’s Hierarchy of Movement Construction

a hierarchical, multi-level model to explain how the nervous system constructs goal-directed movements. His model is built bottom-up by evolutionary age (with older, subcortical/spinal structures at the base) and operates top-down (with younger, higher cortical levels utilizing lower-level automatisms to free up cognitive attention)

what is tonus of the Bernstein’s Hierarchy of Movement Construction and where does it take place?

Change the excitability of sensory and motor cells

• Spinal cord

• Definition: The most fundamental, evolutionary oldest level of movement construction, residing primarily in the spinal cord and lower brain structures. [1, 2, 3]

• Core Function: Prepares the motor apparatus—speaking what Bernstein called the "muscle language"—by regulating muscle tone, posture, and basic readiness. [1, 2]

• Role: It establishes background tension and fine-tunes stretch reflexes to ensure the body is tuned and primed to receive and execute higher-level commands.

what is synergies of the Bernstein’s Hierarchy of Movement Construction and where does it take place?

constrains the DOF for coherence in controlling large “choirs” of muscles

• Mid-brain

• Core Function: Coordinates groups of muscles into functional units (synergies or coordinative structures) to act together. [1, 2]

• Solving the Degrees of Freedom Problem: Bernstein identified that the body has far too many mechanical variables (joints, muscles, and degrees of freedom) to control individually. The Level of Synergies solves this motor redundancy by grouping elements together, simplifying control, and ensuring dynamic stability in changing environments

what is space of the Bernstein’s Hierarchy of Movement Construction and where does it take place?

how one performs a goal-directed movement in one’s surroundings. 

• Space field: perception of the external space based on different sensory sources and previous experiences

• Role: Maps movement relative to external 3D space, coordinates trajectories, timing, and navigation through the environment.

• Function: Relies on telereceptors (vision, hearing) to orient the body, dealing with objects and topological/metric space rather than just internal muscle states

what is action of the Bernstein’s Hierarchy of Movement Construction and where does it take place?

Control sequences of actions

• Frontal cortex

• Role: Controls object manipulation, tool use, and goal-directed action sequences tailored to the semantic and functional properties of objects.

• Function: Focuses on the "what" and "how" of interacting with an object or task in the immediate environment

what occurs during preparation?

•postural preperatioin

•Limb movement characteristics

•Movements for object control

• Force control

• End-state comfort control

•Sequences of movements

•Rhythmicity prep

what’s an important aspect of preperation?

•Motor control system needs to prepare before it can initiate action (Donders, 1868-1969!)

•Planned movement does not occur instantaneously

•REACTION TIME!