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5: Interacting with the world

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    174304

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    Human and non-human animals are the only organisms with brains. This unique structure allows us to not only perceive the world around but also interact with it to survive and thrive. From navigating our way to school or work, to selecting the right food to eat, or the right partner to interact with, our brain integrates sensory and internal information to produce the most appropriate behavioural responses. In this section we will analyse how the motor system is organised to execute actions, from simple reflexes to complex movements. We will then review the current understanding on how the brain integrates sensory and internal state information to produce the most adaptive behaviour given the circumstances. Later editions will also focus on how the brain integrates multi-modal internal and external sensory inputs to produce motivated behaviours such as feeding and drinking.

    Learning Objectives

    After reading this section you will be able to:

    • recognise the components of the human motor system and the different structures involved in sensorimotor integration
    • discuss how the motor system is modified by development and learning, and what is the effect of specific damages along the motor system components
    • describe the participation of different brain systems in preparing and executing complex motor outputs.

    This page titled 5: Interacting with the world is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Catherine Hall via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.