The functional reaching movement under an ecological approach

Abstract

Traditional motor control theories rely on a model of internal representation responsible for the organization and regulation of reaching movements, controlled by the central nervous system (CNS). Contemporary perspectives argue the ability of the CNS alone to control and regulate voluntary movements, since actions may also be guided by environmental information, wherein control would be exerted by the individual-environment system. The detection of information is an active process: subjects explore the environment, perceive possibilities of action, and act in response to the environment. The purpose of this study is to describe development and coordination of reaching movements from a theoretical perspective based on an ecological approach to perception-action, in order to provide better understanding of human movement. This literature review discusses the development of reaching movements from infants to adults, operational functions, related extrinsic and intrinsic factors, and invariant relations between the subject and the target object. This theoretical framework allows for a better understanding on how interventions may alter system stability, leading to the emergency of new functional solutions. In an ecological approach, reaching is understood in a broad way: in order to explain movement, environment information is considered, besides subjects' intrinsic characteristics.