Predicting the consequences of our own actions: The role of sensorimotor
context estimation.
Journal of Neuroscience, (1998)Abstract
During self-generated movement it is postulated that an efference
copy of the descending motor command, in conjunction with an internal
model of both the motor system and environment, enables us to predict
the consequences of our own actions. Such a prediction is evident
in the precise anticipatory modulation of grip force seen when one
hand pushes on an object gripped in the other hand. Here the authors
show that self-generation is not in itself sufficient for such a
prediction. Two robots were used to simulate virtual objects held
in one hand (of 14 adults aged 21-30 yrs) and acted on by the other.
Precise predictive grip force modulation of the restraining hand
was highly dependent on the sensory feedback to the hand producing
the load. The results show that predictive modulation requires not
only that the movement is self-generated, but also that the efference
copy and sensory feedback are consistent with a specific context;
in this case, the manipulation of a single object. A novel computational
mechanism is proposed whereby the CNS uses multiple internal models,
each corresponding to a different sensorimotor context, to estimate
the probability that the motor system is acting within each context.
Description
diverse cognitive systems bib