Title:
Is movement duration predetermined in visually guided reaching?
A comparison of finite- and infinite-horizon optimal feedback control (poster)

Speaker:
LI, Longchuan (JAIST)

Abstract:
Every movement takes some time, but how such a movementduration is determined in the brain is still not well understood. The fact that humans exhibit task-dependent laws of movement duration suggests that there should be a computational principle that determines a movement duration. There are hitherto two distinct principles proposed. One is finite-horizon optimal control, in which a movement duration is predetermined and then movement is optimized during that period.  The other is infinite-horizon optimal control, in which movement duration is not predetermined and movement is optimized over infinite movement period. These models predict distinct, experimentally testable predictions regarding movement corrections against external perturbations. We performed a behavioral test and report a preliminary result here.