Part A: Types of Movement and Feedback
LG1] What are the differences between closed- and open loop control system?
Open-loop control system:
An open loop system has no feedback or mechanisms for error regulation.
Some movements occur too quickly to integrate sensory information, and instead must rely
on feed forward control. Open loop control is a feed forward form of motor control, and is
used to control rapid, ballistic movements that end before any sensory information can be
processed.
Closed-loop control system:
Closed loop control is a feedback based mechanism of motor control, where any act on the
environment creates some sort of change that affects future performance through feedback.
Closed loop motor control is best suited to continuously controlled actions, but does not work
quickly enough for ballistic actions. Ballistic actions are actions that continue to the end
without thinking about it. Because feedback control relies on sensory information, it is as
slow as sensory processing. These movements are subject to a speed/accuracy trade-off,
because sensory processing is being used to control the movement, the faster the
movement is carried out, the less accurate it becomes.