Motor Control

This book encompasses part of the papers presented at the Fifth International Symposium on Motor Control held in Varna, Bulgaria from 10 to 14 June 1985.

The Motor Control Symposia organized in Bulgaria became tradition following the successful initiation of Professor Gydikov and his collaborators of the previous four meetings (Sofia, 1969, Varna, 1972, Albena, 1976, Varna, 1981).

More than 140 scientists participated in the last Symposium, 40 from East Europe, 15 from West Europe, 15 from USA and Canada.

These Symposia established an opportunity for encounter of prom- inent scientists from allover the world, representatives of different schools and mainstreams.

The participation of R. Granit, W. R. Ashby, B. C. Matthews, V. S. Gurfinkel, E. V. Evarts etc., is to be mentioned. The main topics of the Symposium included: 1) Motor Unit Activity; 2) Reflex Control of Movements; 3) Central Control of Movements; 4) Posture Control; 5) Locomotion; 6) Arm Movement; 7) Motor Control Models. 43 oral presentations and 103 posters were reported, 36 of them being presented in this volume.

The presented papers deal with the complex mechanisms of movement and posture control, investigations of considerable interest in recent years.

This interest was prompted by the huge biological importance of the motor activity as a most common mechanism of adaptation to the environment.

Motor activity is also inadvertently involved in various fields of human practice: occupational activities, including extreme conditions, motor handicaps, sports, bioprosthetic devices, bionics, robotics etc.