Local stability in coordinated rhythmic movements: fluctuations and relaxation times

COURT, M L J, BENNETT, S J, WILLIAMS, A M and DAVIDS, K (2002). Local stability in coordinated rhythmic movements: fluctuations and relaxation times. Human Movement Science, 21 (1), 39-60.

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Abstract

An experiment was conducted to examine the stability of the anti-phase and in-phase modes of coordination by means of both fluctuations and relaxation times. Participants (n=6) performed a rhythmic bimanual forearm coordination task that required them to oscillate their forearms in-phase and anti-phase while grasping two manipulanda at fixed frequencies ranging from 0.6 to 1.8 Hz. Relaxation times were measured as the time taken to return to a stable mode following the application of a transient mechanical torque. It was found that relaxation times were not different statistically across participants, frequencies, and coordinative modes. However, fluctuations, as indicated by the mean S.D. of relative phase across individual frequency plateaus, were significantly greater in the anti-phase than in the in-phase mode of coordination, p<0.05. Whilst providing new empirical support for the notion that relaxation times should be of the same order of magnitude at frequencies outside transition regions, the findings suggest that the level of stochastic noise in the anti-phase mode is greater than that of the in-phase mode. Implications are made for the future assessment of local pattern stability.

Item Type:	Article
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018:	Centre for Sports Engineering Research
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-9457(02)00078-7
Page Range:	39-60
Depositing User:	Carole Harris
Date Deposited:	19 Apr 2011 08:39
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2021 00:31
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/3359

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