Fig. 6. Loading had no effect on the initial velocity of movement. (A) Over the first 200 ms of movement, the median velocity was between 8.7 and 10.3 cm s^–1 for all movements to the anterior stimulus site (horizontal lines in open boxes) and between 10.2 and 11.1 cm s^–1 for movements to the posterior site (horizontal lines in grey boxes), irrespective of load condition. The variances were large so the interquartile ranges overlapped almost completely (boxes). The whiskers indicate the range containing 90% of values. (B) Movement velocity during the cyclic part of each scratch (`Loop velocity') was similarly unaffected by load on the proximal femur (8.7–9.6 cm s^–1), but was faster when the leg was loaded on the distal femur or tibia, at least for movements to the posterior stimulus site (12.9–13.3 cm s^–1; medians fall outside the interquartile range for unloaded movements). Numbers indicate the number of trials at each site and load condition.

Return to article