Motor control are information processing

Information processing

Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...

 related activities carried out by the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...

 that organize the musculoskeletal system

Musculoskeletal system

A musculoskeletal system is an organ system that gives animals the ability to move using the muscular and skeletal systems...

 to create coordinated movements

Motor coordination

thumb|right|Motor coordination is shown in this animated sequence by [[Eadweard Muybridge]] of himself throwing a diskMotor coordination is the combination of body movements created with the kinematic and kinetic parameters that result in intended actions. Such movements usually smoothly and...

 and skilled actions. Motor control is also the name of a thriving field within Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...

 that analyzes how people, animals and their nervous system controls movement.

Simple tasks such as reaching for a cup of coffee are actually surprisingly complex. They arise from a complex coordination between:

• muscles
• limbs
• neural circuitry

The involved processes are complex and may be roughly divided as follows:

• perception
• motor planning
• motor execution
• feedback
• biomechanics

Motor control is the process that must be performed in order to achieve movement. In other words, motor coordination is essentially the complex set of interactions between neural processes involved in moving a limb, and the actual limb in movement.

Aspects of Motor Control

Motor control can be thought to concern two types of movements: volitional and reflexive.

Beyond anatomical divisions, motor coordination studies often seek to explore one of the following questions:

• What are the physics and mathematical modeling of the limb movement involved?
• How complicated and coordinated is the limb movement? How are movements of several joints coordinated?

Fortunately for researchers, multi-limb movements can often be modeled by simple mathematical models. A single limb can be broken down into components such as muscles, tendons, bones, and nerves. The physics are then derived with the aid of modern computers. The study of multi-limb movement is then only slightly more complicated. The development of elementary models of intelligence, along with a gambit of built-in reflexive reactions, is suited to the modeling of this system.

Theoretical frameworks about motor control

• Coordination Dynamics framework emphasizes the dynamical and time-continuous interplay between brain, body, and environment as a holistic system.
• Equilibrium point approaches emphasize that biomechanics and in particular the elastic properties of muscles and reflexes in the spinal cord can render many movement problems easy.
• Reinforcement learning based approaches emphasize the learning of movement from motor errors.
• Optimal control and estimation frameworks (see Bayesian brain
  Bayesian brain
  Bayesian brain is a term that is used to refer to the ability of the nervous system to operate in situations of uncertainty in a fashion that is close to the optimal prescribed by Bayesian statistics. This term is used in behavioural sciences and neuroscience and studies associated with this term...
  
  ) start from the computational problem
  Computational problem
  In theoretical computer science, a computational problem is a mathematical object representing a collection of questions that computers might want to solve. For example, the problem of factoring...
  
  s that need to be solved and ask which solutions would be optimal. Many internal model
  Internal model
  An internal model is a postulated neural process that simulates the response of the motor system in order to estimate the outcome of a motor command....
  
   studies fall into this framework.

See also

• Motor learning
  Motor learning
  Motor learning is a “relatively permanent” change, resulting from practice or a novel experience, in the capability for responding...
  
  
• Sensory integration
  Sensory integration
  Sensory integration is defined as the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and the environment, thus making it possible to use the body effectively within the environment. Specifically, it deals with how the brain processes multiple sensory modality inputs into usable...
  
  
• Motor skill
  Motor skill
  A motor skill is a learned sequence of movements that combine to produce a smooth, efficient action in order to master a particular task. The development of motor skill occurs in the motor cortex, the region of the cerebral cortex that controls voluntary muscle groups.- Development of motor skills...
  
  
• Motor system
  Motor system
  The motor system is the part of the central nervous system that is involved with movement. It consists of the pyramidal and extrapyramidal system....
  
  
• Motor coordination
  Motor coordination
  thumb|right|Motor coordination is shown in this animated sequence by [[Eadweard Muybridge]] of himself throwing a diskMotor coordination is the combination of body movements created with the kinematic and kinetic parameters that result in intended actions. Such movements usually smoothly and...