Target size modifies anticipatory postural adjustments and subsequent elementary arm pointing.

We herein studied whether arm-pointing movements from an upright posture (i.e. Belenkii's paradigm) toward various targets demanding a low degree of precision could influence associated anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) and subsequent arm movements.

Timing and distance characteristics of interpersonal coordination during locomotion.

Most studies about human locomotion only tend to consider single subjects walking alone in a stationary environment. Nevertheless, human subjects have often to plan and generate their locomotor trajectories according to one another's displacements. Therefore, in the present study we address the question of the interpersonal coordination when pairs of subjects walk simultaneously.

Head motion in humans alternating between straight and curved walking path: combination of stabilizing and anticipatory orienting mechanisms.

Anticipatory head orientation relative to walking direction was investigated in humans. Subjects were asked to walk along a 20 m perimeter, figure of eight. The geometry of this path required subjects to steer their body according to both curvature variations (alternate straight with curved walking) and walking direction (clock wise and counter clock wise).

Velocity and curvature in human locomotion along complex curved paths: a comparison with hand movements.

There is extensive experimental evidence linking instantaneous velocity to curvature in drawing and hand-writing movements. The empirical relationship between these characteristics of motion and path is well described by a power law in which the velocity varies in proportion to the one-third power of the radius of curvature. It was recently shown that a similar relationship can be observed during locomotion along curved elliptical paths raising the possibility that these very different motor activities might, at some level, share the same planning strategies.