How the senses guide goal-directed and defensive actions. Common principles of organization

High-level motor functions such as reaching, grasping, object construction and tool use are classically described as being subserved by internal models which combine sensory signals with motor outflow operations. In contrast, internal models of rapid defensive behavior have been mostly considered to be minimally accessible to cognitive control, and thus rarely discussed in the context of motor cognition. In this chapter we propose, instead, that injury avoidance is based on cortical areas, anatomical connections and functional motifs similar to those described for goal-directed actions.