Sensory-motor control research has recently come to provide a comprehensive account of how the central nervous system (CNS) may plan purposeful acts starting from sensory input to motor output. Thus, computational theories and models concerning human motor control and learning are being examined using a high-performance manipulandom, EMG, and non-invasive methods of investigating human brain activities (e.g. fMRI). Hopefully, it will become possible: 1) to identify how, where, and when computational problems of motor control and learning (e.g., trajectory planning, coordinate transformation, generation of motor commands, and acquisition of internal models) are solved in the CNS, and 2) to investigate whether human subjects can learn optimization principles in trajectory planning and whether the principles contribute to the perception of the human body motion. Based on our studies on human sensorimotor control, we are coming to grasp with higher order cognitive functions, such as abilities to use tools.

Research Topics

Human motor control and learning
Sensory-motor transformation
Optimization principles in trajectory planning
Cerebro-cerebellar connectivity for use of tools
Modular organization of cerebellar learning mechanism

Members

Hiroshi Imamizu (Group Leader) imamizu@atr.co.jp	Rieko Osu osu@atr.co.jp	Tomoe Tamada	Toshinori Yoshioka yosioka@atr.co.jp

Imamizu H., Miyauchi S., Tamada T., Sasaki Y., Takino R., Puetz B., Yoshioka T., Kawato M.: Human cerebellar activity reflecting an acquired internal model of a novel tool. Nature 2000 403:192-195

Osu R, Gomi H: Multi-joint muscle regulation mechanisms examined by measured human-arm stiffness and EMG signals. Journal of Neurophysiology 1999 81(4):1458-1468

Tamada T, Miyauchi S, Imamizu H, Yoshioka T, Kawato M: Cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity revealed by the laterality index in tool-use learning. NeuroReport 1999 10(2):325-331

Nakano E., Imamizu H., Osu R., Uno Y., Gomi H., Yoshioka T., & Kawato M. "Quantitative Examination of Internal Representations for Arm Trajectory Plannning: Minimum Commanded Torque Change Model" Journal of Neurophysiology 1999 81(5):2140-2155

Gomi H, Osu R Task-dependent viscoelasticity of human multijoint arm and its spatial characteristics for interaction with environments. J Neurosci 1998 18(21):8965-78

Imamizu H, Uno Y, Kawato M Adaptive internal model of intrinsic kinematics involved in learning an aiming task. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 1998 24(3):812-29

Osu R, Uno Y, Koike Y, Kawato M Possible explanations for trajectory curvature in multijoint arm movements. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 1997 23(3):890-913

Links to collaborators

Communications Research Laboratory

Prof. Youji Uno
System Application Labpratory
Toyohashi University of Technology

Dr. Hiroaki Gomi
Information Science Research Laboratory
NTT Basic Research Laboratories

Dr. Eri Nakano
Department 3
ATR Human Information Processiong Research Laboratories