Predictable Failure Patterns in Non-Habitual Movement: Evidence for Undertrained Degrees-of-Freedom Control

Abstract

Predictable Failure Patterns in Non-Habitual Movement: Evidence for Undertrained Degrees-of-Freedom Control

Ksenia Shcherbakova, PhD — Baseworks

Healthy adults coordinate movements with apparent ease yet fail predictably in a specific class of tasks: those requiring control of degrees of freedom (DOF) typically assigned to the uncontrolled manifold. These failures are invisible in ordinary movement contexts but consistently observable under explicit DOF constraints, regardless of general movement experience.

We document these patterns using data from Baseworks—a movement methodology whose decade-long optimization for movement communicability across 10,000+ learners identified specific tasks where failures cluster predictably: maintaining multi-point trunk organization through weight transfer, holding body segment alignment while executing distal movements, and reproducing unfamiliar configurations without visual feedback.

Our observations are consistent with recent evidence that repositioning accuracy is independent of peripheral receptor input, pointing to a central process whose nature remains uncharacterized. We propose this capacity is systematically undertrained in healthy adults; the predictability of these failure patterns suggests they are experimentally tractable for investigating the underlying mechanism.

References

Proske U, Weber BM. Measures of human position sense do not always include contributions from peripheral sensory receptors. Eur J Neurosci. 2026;63:e70444.

Scholz JP, Schöner G. The uncontrolled manifold concept: identifying control variables for a functional task. Exp Brain Res. 1999;126:289-306.

Note for PDF

I am an independent researcher in my 10th year of systematic observation within the Baseworks methodology. The current work grew directly from questions raised during my presentation at the Brenda Milner Neuropsychology Day last year — specifically, why certain apparently simple movement tasks produce consistent failure in healthy adults. I have since had the opportunity to discuss the underlying mechanisms with Paul Cisek (Université de Montréal), whose feedback significantly sharpened the framing. Related work has been accepted for presentation at the 8th Annual BRNet Meeting in Padua this June. Presenting at Brenda Milner Neuropsychology Day again would allow me to test these refined ideas with the Montreal neuroscience community, and to continue developing the research relationships that may enable future experimental investigation of these questions.

Notes

• Accepted — poster presentation confirmed
• Submitted March 26 (deadline was March 23 — form still open, response confirmed via Google Form)
• Poster format; visual plan: 3 movement examples with joint-marker diagrams (possibly footage from Montreal study group first day)
• Candidate movements: Star Tilt, squat (ribcage/pelvis stack), single-leg weight transfer (pelvis parallel), lunge-to-stand (front knee), T-arms twist/tilt
• Citations omitted from submitted text (150-word limit) but included in PDF version
• Related: Neuro 2025 Abstract, BRNet 2026 Abstract