The kinaesthetic senses
Open Access
- 27 August 2009
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in The Journal of Physiology
- Vol. 587 (17), 4139-4146
- https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2009.175372
Abstract
This review of kinaesthesia, the senses of limb position and limb movement, has been prompted by recent new observations on the role of motor commands in position sense. They make it necessary to reassess the present‐day views of the underlying neural mechanisms. Peripheral receptors which contribute to kinaesthesia are muscle spindles and skin stretch receptors. Joint receptors do not appear to play a major role at most joints. The evidence supports the existence of two separate senses, the sense of limb position and the sense of limb movement. Receptors such as muscle spindle primary endings are able to contribute to both senses. While limb position and movement can be signalled by both skin and muscle receptors, new evidence has shown that if limb muscles are contracting, an additional cue is provided by centrally generated motor command signals. Observations using neuroimaging techniques indicate the involvement of both the cerebellum and parietal cortex in a multi‐sensory comparison, involving operation of a forward model between the feedback during a movement and its expected profile, based on past experience. Involvement of motor command signals in kinaesthesia has implications for interpretations of certain clinical conditions.This publication has 65 references indexed in Scilit:
- Visuokinesthetic Perception of Hand Movement is Mediated by Cerebro–Cerebellar Interaction between the Left Cerebellum and Right Parietal CortexCerebral Cortex, 2008
- Detection of simultaneous movement at two human arm jointsThe Journal of Physiology, 2007
- Impairment of human proprioception by high‐frequency cutaneous vibrationThe Journal of Physiology, 2007
- Effects of muscle conditioning on position sense at the human forearm during loading or fatigue of elbow flexors and the role of the sense of effortThe Journal of Physiology, 2007
- Kinesthesia: The role of muscle receptorsMuscle & Nerve, 2006
- Random change in cortical load representation suggests distinct control of posture and movementNature Neuroscience, 2005
- An Internal Model for Sensorimotor IntegrationScience, 1995
- ABILITY TO DETECT ANGULAR DISPLACEMENTS OF THE FINGERS MADE AT AN IMPERCEPTIBLY SLOW SPEEDBrain, 1990
- Influence of vision on vibration-induced illusions of limb movementExperimental Neurology, 1984
- THE CONTRIBUTION OF MUSCLE AFFERENTS TO KESLESTHESIA SHOWN BY VIBRATION INDUCED ILLUSIONSOF MOVEMENT AND BY THE EFFECTS OF PARALYSING JOINT AFFERENTSBrain, 1972