Symmetry and synchrony of bimanual movements are not predicated on interlimb control coupling

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology Vol. 131; no. 6; pp. 982 - 996
• Main Authors: Yuk, Jisung, Kitchen, Nick M, Przybyla, Andrzej, Scheidt, Robert A, Sainburg, Robert L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Reaching; Interlimb coupling; Bimanual; Coordination
• ISSN: 0022-3077; 1522-1598; 1522-1598
• DOI: 10.1152/jn.00476.2023

Previous studies suggest that bimanual coordination recruits neural mechanisms that explicitly couple control of the arms, resulting in symmetric kinematics. However, the higher symmetry for actions that require congruous joint motions compared to non-congruous joint motions calls into question the concept of control coupling as a general policy. An alternative view proposes that co-dependence might emerge from an optimal feedback controller that minimizes control effort and costs in task performance. Support for this view comes from studies comparing conditions in which both hands move a shared or independent virtual objects. Because these studies have mainly focused on congruous bimanual movements, it remains unclear if kinematic symmetry emerges from such control policies. We now examine movements with congruous or non-congruous joint motions (inertially symmetric or asymmetric, respectively) under a shared or independent cursors conditions. We reasoned that if a control policy minimizes kinematic differences between limbs, spatiotemporal symmetry should remain relatively unaffected by inertial asymmetries. Since shared tasks reportedly elicit greater interlimb co-dependence, these conditions should elicit higher bilateral covariance regardless of inertial asymmetries. Our results indicate a robust spatiotemporal symmetry only under inertially symmetric conditions, regardless of cursor condition. We simulated bimanual reaching using an optimal feedback controller with and without explicit costs of kinematic asymmetry, finding that only the latter mirrored our empirical data. Our findings support the hypothesis that bimanual control policies do not include kinematic asymmetry as a cost when it is not demanded by task constraints suggesting that kinematic symmetry depends critically on mechanical movement conditions.