ABSTRACT
Isochronous rhythmic interlimb coordination is characterized by differential stability (inphase being more stable than antiphase) and an inverse relation between pattern stability and movement frequency. Little is known about the neurophysiological mechanisms that mediate the observed stability features of interlimb coordination. Although movement-related afferent signals affect the movements of the contralateral limb (Swinnen et al., 1995), the commonly-observed stability phenomena have also been demonstrated for the coordination between two hands performing rhythmic isometric contractions (Carson, 1995). This suggests that, in the coordination between homologous limbs, the stability characteristics do not critically depend on movement-elicited afference. Alternatively, it is possible that the stability characteristics result (partly) from bilateral activation effects.
