Sensorimoteurs

Sensorimoteurs, or sensorimotor, refers to the functional relationship between sensory input and motor output. It describes how perception guides action and how movement in turn alters sensory signals, enabling coordinated behavior in dynamically changing environments.

The sensorimotor system relies on perception–action loops, sensorimotor contingencies, and predictive models. It integrates visual, proprioceptive, tactile, and vestibular information with motor planning to produce precise movements, adapt to new tasks, and learn from errors. This integration supports timing, force control, and spatial coordination essential for everyday actions.

Neuroanatomically, the system involves the primary motor cortex, premotor and supplementary motor areas, the primary somatosensory cortex, and associations in the posterior parietal cortex. The cerebellum and basal ganglia contribute to timing, coordination, and learning, while brainstem pathways and peripheral receptors provide ongoing sensory feedback. Concepts such as efference copy and forward models describe how the brain predicts sensory consequences of actions to optimize performance.

Developmentally, sensorimotor abilities emerge in infancy and refine with experience and practice. The framework is central to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage, which emphasizes exploration and adaptive interaction with the environment. Neuroplasticity underpins lifelong improvement through training, rehabilitation, and skill acquisition.

Clinically and technologically, sensorimotor processes are central to rehabilitation after stroke or injury, management of neurodegenerative conditions, and the design of prosthetics, robots, and human–computer interfaces. Understanding sensorimotor integration informs therapies that restore coordination, perception, and purposeful movement.