Brain-information Processing for Quick and Stable Human Movements—Stretch-reflex Regulation Based on Visually Updated Body Representation

From the extraordinary performances of athletes to our most common everyday actions, human body movements are heavily governed by unconscious and automatic information processing of sensory-motor flow, some of which is known as a reflex. Our resent research has demonstrated that the brain flexibly regulates stretch reflexes, using body information shaped by integrating multiple sensory cues, including vision. This finding suggests that there is sophisticated brain processing underlying reflex control, in contrast to the classical view of reflexes as simple and primitive. © 2020 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.. All rights reserved.