Perspectives on the Coordination of Movement

Is there a `right way' to study coordination? What experimental paradigms are appropriate? Are there laws and principles that the biological system uses to coordinate movement? Do all biological systems - human and otherwise - share these same principles? Is coordination inherited or acquired? Is it a central nervous system, muscular, or mechanical problem? Indeed, what is coordination and how can it be quantified? This volume attempts to help to answer some of these questions by bringing together a collection of conceptual approaches to and empirical investigations of the coordination of movement. The authors of the chapters are well known and respected researchers from a variety of disciplines. New theoretical developments such as in synergetics and dynamic pattern formation are presented together with extensive reviews and new experimental work on infant motor behavior, and the coordination of prehension, multi-limb, gait and speech movement. The volume contains perspectives on the problem of movement coordination relevant to various disciplines such as psychology, biology, engineering and robotics, physical education, physical therapy, kinesiology and physiology and so will be of interest to all students and scientists working in such fields.

Conceptual Approaches to the Study of Coordination. The Dynamic Pattern Approach to Coordinated Behavior: A Tutorial Review (J.J. Jeka, J.A.S. Kelso). Elements of Coordinated Arm Movements in Three-Dimensional Space (J.F. Soechting). Search Strategies and the Acquisition of Coordination (K.M Newell, P.N. Kugler, R.E.A. van Emmerik, P.V. MacDonald). Absolute Coordination: An Ecological Perspective (R.C. Schmidt, M.T. Turvey). Motor Coordination for Functional Human Behaviors: Perspectives from a Speech Motor Database (J.H. Abbs, N.P. Connor). Comparative Coordination (A Story of Three Little P's in Behavior) (J.C. Fentress). Developmental Issues. Mastering Reaching and Grasping: The Development of Manual Skills in Infancy (C. von Hofsten). Evolving and Dissolving Synergies in the Development of Leg Coordination (E. Thelen). Coordination of Adult Motor Behavior. Knowledge-Directed Coordination in Reaching for Objects in the Environment (S. Athènes, A.M. Wing). The Coordination of Simultaneous Actions (D.E. Sherwood). Coordination of Motor Tasks in Human Gait (D.A. Winter).Coordination and Movement Disorder. Movement Disorders and the Neural Basis of Motor Control (J.G. Phillips. F. Müller, G.E. Stelmach). The Concept and Measurement of Coordination in Speech Disorders (R.D. Kent, S.G. Adams). Acknowledgement. Index.