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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 94/3/2139    most recent 00312.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, Y. Articles by Swinnen, S. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, Y. Articles by Swinnen, S. P.

Effects of Interlimb and Intralimb Constraints on Bimanual Shoulder–Elbow and Shoulder–Wrist Coordination Patterns

Laboratory of Motor Control, Department of Kinesiology, Faculteit Bewegings- en Revalidatiewetenschappen, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Submitted 24 March 2005; accepted in final form 27 May 2005

The present study addressed the interactions between interlimb and intralimb constraints during the control of bimanual multijoint movements. Participants performed eight coordination tasks involving bilateral shoulder–elbow (expt I) and shoulder–wrist (expt II) movements. Three principal findings were obtained. First, the principle of muscle homology (inphase coordination), giving rise to mirror symmetrical movements with respect to the midsagittal plane, had a powerful influence on the quality of interlimb coordination. In both experiments, the accuracy and stability of inter- and/or intralimb coordination deteriorated as soon as the antiphase mode was introduced in one or both joint pairs. However, the mutual influences between bilateral distal and proximal joint pairs varied across coordination tasks and effectors. Second, the impact of intralimb coordination modes on the quality of intralimb coordination was inconsistent between adjacent (expt I) and nonadjacent joint (expt II) combinations. Third, the mode of interlimb coordination affected the quality of intralimb coordination, whereas strong support for the converse effect was not obtained. Taken together, these observations point to a hierarchical control structure whereby interlimb coordination constraints have a stronger impact on the global coordination of the system than intralimb constraints, whose impact is substantially dependent on effector and task. The finding that intralimb coordination is subordinate to interlimb coordination during the production of bimanual multijoint coordination patterns indicates that symmetry is a major organizational principle in the neural control of complex movement.