Motor Planning as an Optimization of Command Representation

Abstract — A fundamental problem in the field of motor neuroscience is to understand how our brain generates ap-propriate motor commands for precise movements effortlessly. The problem seems difficult since there are infinitely many possible trajectories and our musculo-skeltal system is generally redundant. We focus on the motor command representation and show that a simple strategy can solve the problem for a planar two-joints arm model. We also discuss the emergence of the muscle synergies, which may enable us to make natural motor behaviors with smaller degrees of freedom. I