[Vertical displacements of the center of gravity in the cat during movement of limb flexion induced by motor cortex stimulation].

A limb movement and the corresponding postural adjustment results in a displacement of the body's center of gravity. The vertical component of this displacement has been calculated by measuring the variations of the sum of vertical forces at each limb. The displacements are upwards and are larger in the case of hindlimb flexion than forelimb flexion. Their amplitude is directly linked to the time course of the vertical force variations recorded at each limb. The feed-forward character of the postural adjustment appears to minimize this amplitude and this may allow us to discuss the functional significance of this postural adjustment.