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Jeroen Smeets

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Other aspects of motor control

My view on motor control is that it consists of several more or less independent levels of description. Motor behaviour is in my view mainly shaped by the requirements of the task, combined with a general tendency to smooth (damped mass-spring like) behaviour. This is why mass-spring models and the minimum jerk model are so successful in describing behaviour (see also my work on interception and prehension) One level below is the description at the level of muscles and joints (see my publications up to 1995 in the list below). The question at this level is how the nervous system activate the muscles in such a way that the task-determined behaviour emerges. Muscle co-ordination, reflexes, degrees of freedom, and interaction torques are terms that are important at this level of description. These properties are in healthy adult humans not important for the shape of behaviour: the nervous system is able to deal with them to yield optimal skilled behaviour. The two levels interact only when the limits of the nervous systems capabilities are reached in a task. This occurs more frequently in patients.

Selected publications

  • Brenner E, Vlasblom ML, Rap I, Smeets JBJ (2025)Do people only adjust ongoing movements vigorously when it is advantageous to do so? Experimental Brain Research 243:121 (reprint, DOI)
  • Brenner E, Hardon H, Moesman R, Crowe EM, Smeets JBJ. (2021) The influences of target size and recent experience on the vigour of adjustments to ongoing movements. Experimental Brain Research, on line (reprint, DOI)
  • Crowe EM, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E, (2021) The response to background motion: characteristics of a movement stabilization mechanism. Journal of Vision 21(11):3, 1-15 (reprint, DOI)
  • Zhang Y, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E, Duysens J, Verschueren S (2021) Effects of ageing on responses to stepping-target displacements during walking. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 121:127-140 ( reprint, DOI)
  • Brenner E, de Graaf M, Stam M, Schonwetter M, Smeets JBJ, van Beers RJ When is moving a cursor with a computer mouse intuitive? Perception, 49:484-487 (reprint, DOI)
  • Zhang Y, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E, Duysens J, Verschueren S (2020) Fast responses to stepping-target displacements when walking. Journal of Physiology, 598:1987-2000 (reprint, DOI)
  • Zhang Y, Brenner E, Duysens J, Verschueren S, Smeets JBJ (2019) Is the manual following response an attempt to compensate for inferred self-motion? Experimental Brain Research, 237:2549-2558 (reprint, DOI)
  • Zhang Y, Brenner E, Duysens J, Verschueren S, Smeets JBJ (2018) Postural responses to target jumps and background motion in a fast pointing task. Experimental Brain Research, 236:1573-1581 (reprint, DOI). Correction in: (reprint, DOI)
  • Zhang Y, Brenner E, Duysens J, Verschueren S, Smeets JBJ (2018) Effects of aging on postural responses to visual perturbations during fast pointing. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10:401:1-10 (reprint, DOI)
  • Smeets JBJ, Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E (2016) Movement adjustments have short latencies because there is no need to detect Anything. Motor Control, 20:137-148. (reprint, DOI) (Target article)
  • Smeets JBJ, Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E (2016) Reacting with or without detecting. Motor Control, 20: 200-205. (reprint, DOI)
  • Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2014) Analysis of methods to determine the latency of online movement adjustments. Behavior Research Methods, 46:131-139 (reprint, DOI)
  • Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2014) Online manual movement adjustments in response to target position changes and apparent target motion. Motor Control, 18:44-54 (reprint, DOI)
  • Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2013) Comparing Online Adjustments to Distance and Direction in Fast Pointing Movements. Journal of Motor Behavior, 45:395-404 (reprint, DOI)
  • Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2011) Fast and fine-tuned corrections when the target of a hand movement is displaced. Experimental Brain Research, 214:453-462 (reprint, DOI)
  • Pinter IJ, Bobbert MF, van Soest AJ, Smeets JBJ (2010) Isometric torque-angle relationships of the elbow flexors and extensors in the transverse plane. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 20:923–931 (reprint, DOI)
  • Van Mierlo CM, Louw S, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E (2009) Slant cues are processed with different latencies for the online control of movement. Journal of Vision 9(3):25, 1-8 (reprint, JOV)
  • Veerman MM, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2008) The latency for correcting a movement depends on the visual attribute that defines the target. Experimental Brain Research (on-line) (reprint, DOI)
  • Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2006) Two eyes in action. Experimental Brain Research 170:302-311 (reprint)
  • de Lussanet MHE, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E (2002) Relative damping improves linear mass-spring models of goal-directed movements. Human Movement Science 21:85-100. (reprint)
  • Brenner E, Smeets JBJ, Remijnse-Tamerius HCM (2002) Curvature in hand movements as a result of visual misjudgements of direction. Spatial Vision 15:393-414. (reprint)
  • Biegstraaten M, Smeets JBJ, Brenner E (2003) Impact forces cannot explain the one-target-advantage in rapid aimed hand movements. Human Movement Science 22:365-376 (reprint)
  • Aivar MP, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (2005) Correcting slightly less simple movements. Psicológica 26:61-79 (preprint)
  • Slijper HP, Richter J, Smeets JBJ, Frens MA (2007) The effects of pause software on the temporal characteristics of computer use. Ergonomics 50:178-191(reprint, DOI).
  • Brenner E, Smeets JBJ (1995) Moving one's finger to a visually specified position: target orientation influences the finger's path. Experimental Brain Research 105:318-320. (reprint)
  • Smeets JBJ (1995) Two joints are more than twice one joint. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 18:779-780
  • Smeets JBJ, Erkelens CJ, Denier van der Gon JJ (1995) Perturbations of fast goal-directed arm movements: different behaviour of early and late EMG-responses. Journal of Motor Behavior 27:77-88. (reprint)
  • Smeets JBJ (1994) Biarticular muscles and the accuracy of motor control. Human Movement Science 13:587-600. (reprint)
  • Smeets JBJ, Denier van der Gon JJ (1994) An unsupervised neural network model for the development of reflex co-ordination. Biological Cybernetics 70:417-425. (reprint)
  • Smeets JBJ (1992) What do fast goal-directed movements teach us about equilibrium-point control? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 15:796-797.
  • Smeets JBJ Erkelens CJ (1991) Dependence of autogenic and heterogenic stretch reflexes on preload activity in the human arm. Journal of Physiology 440:455-465.(reprint)
  • Smeets JBJ, Erkelens CJ, Denier van der Gon JJ (1990) Adjustments of fast goal-directed arm movements in response to an unexpected inertial load Experimental Brain Research 81:303-312. (reprint)

My other areas of research are:

 
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