Earticle

We developed and validated a portable tablet-based system to assess brain motor control abilities by engaging participants in a manual tracking task with both visible and invisible targets, thereby eliciting feedback and feedforward control mechanisms. We measured the accuracy of these mechanisms using error terms, comparing 1) the performance of the dominant and non-dominant hands and 2) the intervals of feedback and feedforward control. We showed that the dominant hand demonstrated greater accuracy than the nondominant hand, particularly when tracking a faster-moving visible target. Furthermore, the non-dominant hand transitioned from feedback to feedforward control at a slower target speed compared to the dominant hand. This suggests differential motor control processing between hands. We present this tablet-based system as an accessible and versatile tool for assessing feedback and feedforward control during target tracking tasks, based on feedback-error learning theory. It enables efficient analysis of motor development in children, motor decline in older adults, and stroke rehabilitation outcomes from a brain motor control perspective.