A cross-species neural integration of gravity for motor optimisation

Abstract

Recent kinematic results, combined with model simulations, have provided support for the hypothesis that the human brain uses an internal model of gravity to shape motor patterns that minimise muscle effort. Because many different muscular activation patterns can give rise to the same trajectory, here we analyse muscular activation patterns during single-degree-of-freedom arm movements in various directions, which allow to specifically investigating gravity-related movement properties. Using a well-known decomposition method of tonic and phasic electromyographic activities, we demonstrate that phasic EMGs present systematic negative phases. This negativity demonstrates that gravity effects are harvested to save muscle effort and reveals that the brain implements an optimal motor plan using gravity to accelerate downward and decelerate upward movements. Furthermore, for the first time, we compare experimental findings in humans to monkeys, thereby generalising the Effort-optimization strategy across species.