Abstract
Before the execution of a sequence of voluntary movements, a memory representation with instructions for the entire sequence is thought to be established in the central nervous system. There are three main sources of support for the existence of such a memory representation, or motor program, as it has been called. First, animals whose sensory feedback systems are impaired can often perform movements skillfully (see Evarts, Bizzi, Burke, Delong, & Thach, 1971; Glencross, 1977; Keele, 1968; Summers, 1981). Second, anticipatory errors in movement production (e.g., Spoonerisms in speech) indicate that information about segments of a sequence may often be available in memory well before the time of their execution (see Fromkin, 1973, 1980; Garrett, 1975, 1982; Norman, 1981). Third, the time to initiate a sequence of movements can depend on characteristics of the sequence, such as its timing (Klapp, 1978; Rosenbaum & Patashnik, 1980a,b) or length (e.g., Henry & Rogers, 1960; Sternberg, Monsell, Knoll, & Wright, 1978).
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References Notes
Rosenbaum, D.A. Inhoff, A.W., & Gordon, A. Choosing bet2ween movement sequences: A hierarchical editor model. Manuscript submitted for publication, 1983.
Rosenbaum, D.A., & Saltzman, E. Level of choice in the production of movement sequences. Paper presented at the Twenty-third Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Minneapolis, MN, November 1982.
Klapp, S.T. Personal communication, December 1982.
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Rosenbaum, D.A., Saltzman, E. (1984). A Motor-Program Editor. In: Prinz, W., Sanders, A.F. (eds) Cognition and Motor Processes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69382-3_4
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