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Science 9 March 1979:
Vol. 203. no. 4384, pp. 1029 - 1031
DOI: 10.1126/science.424729
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Articles

Science, Vol 203, Issue 4384, 1029-1031
Copyright © 1979 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

On the nature of human interlimb coordination

JA Kelso, DL Southard, and D Goodman

Movement time varies as a function of amplitude and requirements for precision, according to Fitts' law, but when subjects perform two-handed movements to targets of widely disparate difficulty they do so simultaneously. The hand moving to an "easy" target moves more slowly to accommodate its "difficult" counterpart, yet both hands reach peak velocity and acceleration synchronously. This result suggests that the brain produces simultaneity of action not by controlling each limb independently, but by organizing functional groupings of muscles that are constrained to act as a single unit.


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