%A J?rgen Konczak %T On the notion of motor primitives in humans and robots %X This article reviews two reflexive motor patterns in humans: Primitive reflexes and motor primitives. Both terms coexist in the literature of motor development and motor control, yet they are not synonyms. While primitive reflexes are a part of the temporary motor repertoire in early ontogeny, motor primitives refer to sets of motor patterns that are considered basic units of voluntary motor control thought to be present throughout the life-span. The article provides an overview of the anatomy and neurophysiology of human reflexive motor patterns to elucidate that both concepts are rooted in architecture of the spinal cord. I will advocate that an understanding of the human motor system that encompasses both primitive reflexes and motor primitives as well as the interaction with supraspinal motor centers will lead to an appreciation of the richness of the human motor repertoire, which in turn seems imperative for designing epigenetic robots and highly adaptable human machine interfaces. %K motor primitives, infantile reflexes, infant motor development, developmental robot %P 47-53 %E Luc Berthouze %E Fr?d?ric Kaplan %E Hideki Kozima %E Hiroyuki Yano %E J?rgen Konczak %E Giorgio Metta %E Jacqueline Nadel %E Giulio Sandini %E Georgi Stojanov %E Christian Balkenius %V 123 %D 2005 %I Lund University Cognitive Studies %L cogprints4963