The control of interceptive arm movements

In this thesis we addressed the strategies that normal human subjects employ t o make rapid interceptive movements. In the planning and continuous control of such movements, sensory information of very different modalities has to be integrated rapidly and accurately, and has to be translated into useful movements of the hand. We addressed the problem both with and without a model. With the mass-spring model we wanted to test whether such a model gives a valid description for both manipulations of the equilibrium point and of the endpoint (chapters 2, 6 and 7; cf. Fig. 1.1). In using a mass-spring model, we supposed that subjects used one single strategy for the sensory-motor control throughout an experiment (stable control). In chapter 5 we tested the validity of this assumption of stable control. Finally we specifically addressed the question whether –and if so, how– people use velocity information (rather than only position information) to guide their action (chapters 3, 4 and 6).