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Referent control of action and perception pp 33–82Cite as

Referent Control as a Specific Form of Parametric Control of Actions: Empirical Demonstrations

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Abstract

In this chapter, I will describe experiments in humans and animals supporting the notion that the nervous system exercises parametric control of motor actions (see Chap. 2). It will be demonstrated that by changing task-specific parameters, the system allows physical laws to take their course to generate motor outcome without pre-programming of EMG patterns, muscle forces and kinematics. Data will be shown indicating that the nervous system exercises a specific form of parametric control by stipulating spatial thresholds for motoneuronal recruitment, i.e. the threshold muscle lengths or respective joint angles at which α-MNs begin to be activated. In this way, neural control levels pre-determine where, in the spatial domain, neuromuscular elements can work without prescribing how they should work. MNs are recruited or de-recruited depending on the difference between the actual and the threshold muscle lengths, the latter also being dependent on the rate of change in the muscle length.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Center for Interdisciplinary Reseach in Rehabilitation, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Anatol G. Feldman

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  1. Anatol G. Feldman
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Feldman, A.G. (2015). Referent Control as a Specific Form of Parametric Control of Actions: Empirical Demonstrations. In: Referent control of action and perception. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2736-4_3

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