Toward a Probabilistic Framework of Human Motor Control: Integrating Variability, Entropy, and Complex Systems Principles
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Human motor control has long been described within traditionally deterministic frameworks that emphasize consistency and error minimization. However, accumulating evidence across motor learning, coordination dynamics, and information theory suggests that variability and uncertainty are not merely sources of noise but fundamental resources for adaptive behavior. This review synthesizes theoretical, empirical, and methodological advances to propose an integrative probabilistic framework for motor control. Drawing on complex-systems theory, entropy-based analyses, and hierarchical coordination models, motor behavior is conceptualized as a self-organizing process that continuously balances stability and flexibility under uncertainty. Variability is reinterpreted as functionally regulated, supporting exploration, reorganization, and context-sensitive adaptation rather than reflecting control failure. To formalize this perspective, a Probabilistic Landscape Model is introduced, in which motor behaviors are represented as trajectories within a dynamic landscape of multiple attractors. Within this framework, entropy captures the structured organization of uncertainty, metastability enables rapid transitions between coordination states, and probabilistic stability characterizes the system’s capacity to maintain effective performance across changing constraints. Beyond synthesizing existing research, this review introduces the Probabilistic Landscape Model (PLM), a conceptual framework that integrates nonlinear coordination dynamics, entropy-based variability analysis, and probabilistic interpretations of motor behavior. By integrating insights from motor learning, sports performance, rehabilitation, and predictive processing, this review provides a unified account of adaptive motor control as an inherently probabilistic and self-organizing system. The proposed framework offers conceptual and practical implications for training design, rehabilitation strategies, and human–machine interaction in uncertain environments.
Source: Complexities
Author: Hiroki Murakami
Institution: Kinjo University
Language: English
Topic: Motor Control and Adaptation
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W7148500799