Respiratory, postural and spatio-kinetic motor stabilization, internal models, top-down timed motor coordination and expanded cerebello-cerebral circuitry: a review

Abstract

Human dexterity, bipedality, and song/speech vocalization in Homo are reviewed within a motor evolution perspective in regard to (i) brain expansion in cerebello-cerebral circuitry, (ii) enhanced predictive internal modeling of body kinematics, body kinetics and action organization, (iii) motor mastery due to prolonged practice, (iv) task-determined top-down, and accurately timed feedforward motor adjustment of multiple-body/artifact elements, and (v) reduction in automatic preflex/spinal reflex mechanisms that would otherwise restrict such top-down processes. Dual-task interference and developmental neuroimaging research argues that such internal modeling based motor capabilities are concomitant with the evolution of (vi) enhanced attentional, executive function and other high-level cognitive processes, and that (vii) these provide dexterity, bipedality and vocalization with effector nonspecific neural resources. The possibility is also raised that such neural resources could (viii) underlie human internal model based nonmotor cognitions.