Below is the abstract of a forthcoming target article on:
"NORMAL MOVEMENTS" IN ATYPICAL POPULATIONS
by
Mark Latash & J. Greg Anson
This article has been accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain
Sciences (BBS), an international, interdisciplinary journal providing
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Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Department of Psychology
University of Southampton
Highfield, Southampton
SO17 1BJ UNITED KINGDOM
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____________________________________________________________________
WHAT ARE "NORMAL MOVEMENTS" IN ATYPICAL POPULATIONS?
Mark L. Latash
Department of Exercise and Sport Science
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802, USA
MLL11 at psu.edu
J. Greg Anson
University of Otago
Dunedin, New Zealand
ABSTRACT: Redundancy of the motor control system gives the central
control structures options for solving everyday motor problems. The
choice of particular control patterns is based on priorities
(coordinative rules) that are presently unknown. Motor patterns
observed in unimpaired young adults reflect these priorities. We
hypothesize that in certain atypical conditions, which may include
disorders in perception of the environment and decision-making,
structural or biochemical changes within the central nervous
system, and/or structural changes of the effectors, the central
nervous system may reconsider its priorities. A new set of
priorities will reflect the current state of the system and may
lead to different patterns of voluntary movement. In such
conditions, changed motor patterns should be considered not
pathological but rather adaptive to a primary disorder and may even
be viewed as optimal for a given state of the system of movement
production. Therapeutic approaches should not be directed towards
restoring the motor patterns to as close to "normal" as possible
but rather towards resolving the original underlying problem. We
illustrate this approach with movements in amputees and patients
with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and Down syndrome.
KEYWORDS: Voluntary Movement, Motor Control, Movement Disorders,
Coordination, Posture, Pre-programming, Parkinson's disease, Down
syndrome
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--
Stevan Harnad
Director, Cognitive Sciences Centre
Professor, Psychology Department
Southampton University
Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ
