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The stability of rhythmic movement coordination depends on relative speed: the Bingham model supported

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Abstract

Following many studies showing that the coupling in bimanual coordination can be perceptual, Bingham (Ecol Psychol in 16:45–53, 2001; 2004a, b) proposed a dynamical model of such movements. The model contains three key hypotheses: (1) Being able to produce stable coordinative movements is a function of the ability to perceive relative phase, (2) the information to perceive relative phase is relative direction of motion, and (3) the ability to resolve this information is conditioned by relative speed. The first two hypotheses have been well supported (Wilson and Bingham in Percept Psychophys 70:465–476, 2008; Wilson et al. in J Exp Psychol Hum 36:1508–1514, 2010a), but the third was not supported when tested by de Rugy et al. (Exp Brain Res 184:269–273, 2008) using a visual coordination task that required simultaneous control of both the amplitude and relative phase of movement. The purposes of the current study were to replicate this task with additional measures and to modify the original model to apply it to the new task. To do this, we conducted two experiments. First, we tested the ability to produce 180° visual coordination at different frequencies to determine frequencies suitable for testing in the de Rugy et al. task. Second, we tested the de Rugy et al. task but included additional measures that yielded results different from those reported by de Rugy et al. These results were used to elaborate the original model. First, one of the phase-driven oscillators was replaced with a harmonic oscillator, so the resulting coupling was unidirectional. This change resulted in the model producing less stable 180° coordination behavior beyond 1.5 Hz consistent with the results obtained in Experiment 1. Next, amplitude control and phase correction elements were added to the model. With these changes, the model reproduced behaviors observed in Experiment 2. The central finding was that the stability of rhythmic movement coordination does depend on relative speed and, thus, all three of the hypotheses contained in the original Bingham model are supported.

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Notes

  1. By normalized velocity, we mean one that is dimensionless and of relative magnitude in the range ±1. This is appropriate for optical information specifying visual events in terms of visual angle per second. Angular measure (radians or degrees) is dimensionless. Relative magnitudes are required because optical velocities vary independently of event velocities as the viewing distance changes and thus, for a given event, the absolute speeds are arbitrary although their pattern of variation is not. Event motions are visually identifiable whether viewed up close or from afar as long as they are visible i.e. above threshold (Bingham 1995).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 East Tenth Street (A326), Bloomington, IN, 47405-7007, USA

    Winona Snapp-Childs & Geoffrey P. Bingham

  2. Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Institute of Membrane and Systems Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Andrew D. Wilson

Authors
  1. Winona Snapp-Childs
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  2. Andrew D. Wilson
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  3. Geoffrey P. Bingham
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Correspondence to Winona Snapp-Childs.

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Snapp-Childs, W., Wilson, A.D. & Bingham, G.P. The stability of rhythmic movement coordination depends on relative speed: the Bingham model supported. Exp Brain Res 215, 89–100 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2874-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2874-x

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