Clear vision despite a heavy head: Model explains the choice of simple movements
November 9, 2011 in Neuroscience
The brain likes stereotypes - at least for movements. Simple actions are most often performed in the same manner. A mathematical model explains why this is the case and could be used to generate more natural robot movements and to adapt prosthetic movements.
In one respect, handling a computer mouse is just like looking in the rearview mirror: well established movements help the brain to concentrate on the essentials. But just a simple gaze shift to a new target bears the possibility of an almost infinite number of combinations of eye and head movement: how fast do we move eye and head? How much does the eye rotate, how much the head? Until now, it was unclear why the brain chooses a particular movement option from the set of all possible combinations.
A team led by Dr. Stefan Glasauer (LMU Munich, Germany), project leader at the Bernstein Center Munich, has now developed a mathematical model that accurately predicts horizontal gaze movements. Besides eye and head contribution to the gaze shift it also predicts movement duration and velocity.
In contrast to most previous models, the researchers considered the movement of head and eye to the target as well as the counter-movement of the eye after the gaze has reached the target, but the head is still moving. "The longer the movement, the more perturbations add up," says Glasauer. "However, the faster the movement, the more errors arise from acceleration and large muscle forces." On the basis of this information, the Munich researchers calculated eye and head movements and determined the movement combination that caused the fewest disturbances. This movement matched that chosen by healthy volunteers not only in natural conditions but also in an experiment where subjects' head movements were altered by an experimental increase in the head's rotational inertia (see picture).
These findings could help teach robots humanoid movements and thus facilitate interaction with service robots. It may also be helpful in the construction of "smart" prostheses. These devices could offer the carrier a choice of movements that come closest to the natural human ones. For the next step, Glasauer and colleagues want to examine three-dimensional eye-head movements and aim to better understand simple movement learning.
More information: Saglam M., Lehnen N., Glasauer S. (2011): Optimal control of natural eye-head movements minimizes the impact of noise. J Neurosci. 31(45):16185
Provided by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
-
Car or pedestrian -- How we can follow objects with our eyes
Oct 02, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Researchers uncover behavioral process anticipating the results of rapid eye movements
Jan 10, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Eye movement differs in British and Chinese populations: study
Mar 24, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Leicester breakthrough in eye disease
Dec 13, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Sleep deprivation affects eye-steering coordination when driving
Jun 11, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
7 hours ago
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
-
Alcohol and acetaminophen
May 13, 2013
-
Marie Curie's leukemia
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
Neuroscience
9 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Temporal processing in the olfactory system
The neural machinery underlying our olfactory sense continues to be an enigma for neuroscience. A recent review in Neuron seeks to expand traditional ideas about how neurons in the olfactory bulb might encode information about ...
Neuroscience
20 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Melon focus headband turns to Kickstarter for rollout plans
(Medical Xpress)—What if the quality of your work depends more on your focus on the piano keys or canvas or laptop than your musical or painting or computing skills? If target users can be convinced, they ...
Neuroscience
21 hours ago |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work
Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone
If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Neuroscience
May 16, 2013 |
2 / 5 (2) |
0
|
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
New colonoscope provides ground-breaking view of colon
A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week(DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal ...
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bacteria
In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as ...
Individuals who drink heavily and smoke may show 'early aging' of the brain
Treatment for alcohol use disorders works best if the patient actively understands and incorporates the interventions provided in the clinic. Multiple factors can influence both the type and degree of neurocognitive abnormalities ...
College women exceed NIAAA drinking guidelines more frequently than college men
In order to avoid harms associated with alcohol consumption, in 2009 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism issued guidelines that define low-risk drinking. These guidelines differ for men and women: no more ...