Brain Mechanisms for the Integration of Posture and Movement (Progress in Brain Research)

This volume of Progress in Brain Research is dedicated to the scientific mentors of Shigemi Mori: Bunichi Fujimori (1910-86), John Brookhart (1913-85), and Victor Gurfinkel (1922-present). It describes the current state of knowledge on the role of parallel and distributed neuronal systems in the integration of posture and movement. The charge to the authors of the various chapters was twofold: to provide a conceptual overview of the topic that could serve as a balanced reference text for the next generation of movement neuroscientists; and, to stimulate further experimental and theoretical work in the field. Key issues are addressed in ten interrelated sections: perspectives on the overall issues; three aspects of brainstem-spinal cord interactions (developmental and comparative; motoneuron properties, pattern generation, and sensory feedback; adaptive mechanisms); biomechanical and imaging approaches; descending command issues; supraspinal sensorimotor interactions; cerebellar interactions and control mechanisms; eye-head-neck coordination; and, higher control from the basal ganglia, sensorimotor cortex, and frontal lobe. Relevant chapters are cross-referenced, but no attempt has been made to adjudicate current disparities between the authors' results and their interpretations. These differences bring out the lively state of current work in the aspects of movement neuroscience addressed in this volume.