Neural Bases of Motor Behaviour (NATO Science Series D: Behavioural and Social Sciences, Vol. 85)

This volume contains the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Multisensory Control of Movement" held at SISSA, Trieste (Italy), July 3-12, 1994. The ASI took the format of a Summer School that we organized with the collaboration of a scientific committee formed by A. Berthoz (Paris), H. Collewijn (Rotterdam), H. Heuer (Dortmund), M. Jeannerod (Lyon), and J. F. Stein (Oxford). The School was attended by sixty students selected from twice as many applicants from fourtheen countries. Their contribution to the discussions, and the presentation of their own ongoing research organized in informal sessions proved very stimulating. The main focus of the School was on brain mechanisms involved in multisensory control of movement. This broad topic was addressed with a multidisciplinary approach, integrating contributions from neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychophysics, neurology, and cognitive science. This choice is reflected in the content of the present volume. Lacquaniti reviews recent advances in the field of motor control, with a special emphasis on the role of reference frames and coordinate transformations. Visuomotor channels are discussed by Jeannerod within the context of the control of object­ oriented actions. Johnson, Ferraina and Caminiti describe the functional architecture of cortical networks involved in reaching under visual guidance. Fogassi, Gallese, Fadiga and Rizzolatti present new data on space coding in inferior premotor cortex (area F4). The import of neurological findings for understanding human motor control is illustrated by Freund.