Distribution and coordination of visuomotor responses under coactivation

Determine how the nervous system distributes and coordinates rapid visuomotor responses across coactivated agonist and antagonist muscles in the upper limb following visual perturbations, specifying the roles of subcortical and cortical pathways.

Background

Visual feedback processing engages subcortical pathways (SLRvisual via the superior colliculus) and transcortical circuits (LLRvisual), producing fast responses in arm muscles. Most studies have examined single agonist muscles or used background loads, often disregarding coactivation.

The authors note that under coactivation, it remains unknown how these visuomotor responses are distributed and coordinated across both agonist and antagonist muscles.