Torso movement constraint in stability of bimanual coordination

This study investigated the relation between postural movement and upper-limb coordination stability. Adults produced bimanual circles using in-phase and anti-phase coordination patterns in time to an increasing rate metronome (i.e., movement-time instruction) in the horizontal (e.g., tabletop) and vertical (e.g., 'wall' perpendicular to body) planes. All participants produced the instructed in- and anti-phase patterns. Coordination stability (i.e., SD of relative phase) was larger for anti-phase than in-phase patterns in both planes; however, anti-phase coordination stability was lower in the vertical plane than in the horizontal plane. Torso movement was larger during anti-phase coordination patterns in the horizontal plane, whereas it was larger during in-phase coordination patterns in the vertical plane. These results indicate that different orientations of the same task can produce different results for stability of coordination. This information may be important for performing and learning complex motor-coordination movements (e.g., playing musical instruments).