Previous work on the coordination between the upper and lower limbs has invariably shown that its accuracy/stability is primarily determined by the mutual direction between limbs in extrinsic space and not by muscle relationships. Here we show that muscle grouping does play a critical role in coordination of the arm and leg, in addition to direction. More specifically, the simultaneous activation of isofunctional muscles and/or limb movements proceeding in the same direction, results in more successful performance than the alternated activation of isofunctional muscles and/or movements occurring in different directions. In the absence of isofunctional muscle coupling, the mutual direction between the limbs plays a more prominent role in determining coordinative accuracy. These coordination constraints can largely account for the observed differences between ipsilateral and heterolateral limb coordination. The findings are discussed in view of the coalition of coordination constraints. © Springer-Verlag 2006.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:	Human Movement and Sports Science
Research Field:	Motor Control
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
UTAS Author:	Summers, JJ (Professor Jeffery Summers)
ID Code:	40345
Year Published:	2006
Web of Science® Times Cited:	23
Deposited By:	Psychology
Deposited On:	2006-08-01
Last Modified:	2011-10-04
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