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Zhou T, Ye Y, Zhu Q, Vann W, Du J. Neural dynamics of delayed feedback in robot teleoperation: insights from fNIRS analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1338453. [PMID: 38952645 PMCID: PMC11215083 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1338453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction As robot teleoperation increasingly becomes integral in executing tasks in distant, hazardous, or inaccessible environments, operational delays remain a significant obstacle. These delays, inherent in signal transmission and processing, adversely affect operator performance, particularly in tasks requiring precision and timeliness. While current research has made strides in mitigating these delays through advanced control strategies and training methods, a crucial gap persists in understanding the neurofunctional impacts of these delays and the efficacy of countermeasures from a cognitive perspective. Methods This study addresses the gap by leveraging functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine the neurofunctional implications of simulated haptic feedback on cognitive activity and motor coordination under delayed conditions. In a human-subject experiment (N = 41), sensory feedback was manipulated to observe its influences on various brain regions of interest (ROIs) during teleoperation tasks. The fNIRS data provided a detailed assessment of cerebral activity, particularly in ROIs implicated in time perception and the execution of precise movements. Results Our results reveal that the anchoring condition, which provided immediate simulated haptic feedback with a delayed visual cue, significantly optimized neural functions related to time perception and motor coordination. This condition also improved motor performance compared to the asynchronous condition, where visual and haptic feedback were misaligned. Discussion These findings provide empirical evidence about the neurofunctional basis of the enhanced motor performance with simulated synthetic force feedback in the presence of teleoperation delays. The study highlights the potential for immediate haptic feedback to mitigate the adverse effects of operational delays, thereby improving the efficacy of teleoperation in critical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Zhou
- The Informatics, Cobots and Intelligent Construction (ICIC) Lab, Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Yang Ye
- The Informatics, Cobots and Intelligent Construction (ICIC) Lab, Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Qi Zhu
- Communications Technology Laboratory, Public Safety Communications Research Division, Advanced Communications Research Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - William Vann
- The Informatics, Cobots and Intelligent Construction (ICIC) Lab, Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jing Du
- The Informatics, Cobots and Intelligent Construction (ICIC) Lab, Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Cisek P, Green AM. Toward a neuroscience of natural behavior. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 86:102859. [PMID: 38583263 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
One of the most exciting new developments in systems neuroscience is the progress being made toward neurophysiological experiments that move beyond simplified laboratory settings and address the richness of natural behavior. This is enabled by technological advances such as wireless recording in freely moving animals, automated quantification of behavior, and new methods for analyzing large data sets. Beyond new empirical methods and data, however, there is also a need for new theories and concepts to interpret that data. Such theories need to address the particular challenges of natural behavior, which often differ significantly from the scenarios studied in traditional laboratory settings. Here, we discuss some strategies for developing such novel theories and concepts and some example hypotheses being proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Cisek
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
| | - Andrea M Green
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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3
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Solana P, Escámez O, Casasanto D, Chica AB, Santiago J. No support for a causal role of primary motor cortex in construing meaning from language: An rTMS study. Neuropsychologia 2024; 196:108832. [PMID: 38395339 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Embodied cognition theories predict a functional involvement of sensorimotor processes in language understanding. In a preregistered experiment, we tested this idea by investigating whether interfering with primary motor cortex (M1) activation can change how people construe meaning from action language. Participants were presented with sentences describing actions (e.g., "turning off the light") and asked to choose between two interpretations of their meaning, one more concrete (e.g., "flipping a switch") and another more abstract (e.g., "going to sleep"). Prior to this task, participants' M1 was disrupted using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The results yielded strong evidence against the idea that M1-rTMS affects meaning construction (BF01 > 30). Additional analyses and control experiments suggest that the absence of effect cannot be accounted for by failure to inhibit M1, lack of construct validity of the task, or lack of power to detect a small effect. In sum, these results do not support a causal role for primary motor cortex in building meaning from action language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Solana
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain.
| | - Omar Escámez
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
| | | | - Ana B Chica
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
| | - Julio Santiago
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
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Ager AL, Roy JS, Dubé MO, Cools AM, Borms D. Relationship between pain and proprioception among individuals with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain. J Hand Ther 2024; 37:224-233. [PMID: 38350810 DOI: 10.1016/j.jht.2023.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) have altered proprioception. The relationship between shoulder pain and proprioception is not well understood. PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the relationship between shoulder pain and proprioception. STUDY DESIGN This was a cross-sectional comparative study. METHODS Twenty-two participants with RCRSP (mean age 27.6 ± 4.8 years) and 22 matched pain-free participants (23.4 ± 2.5 years) performed two upper limb active joint position sense tests: (1) the Upper Limb Proprioception Reaching Test (PRO-Reach; reaching toward seven targets) in centimeters and (2) Biodex System at 90% of maximum internal rotation in degrees. Participants performed three memorization and three reproduction trials blindfolded. The proprioception error (PE) is the difference between the memorized and estimation trials. Pain levels were captured pre- and post-evaluation (11-point Likert Numerical Pain Rating Scale). Relationships between PE and pain were investigated using independent t-tests and Spearman rank correlations. RESULTS Overall, 22.7% RCRSP participants indicated an increase in pain following the PRO-Reach (X̅ increase of 1.4 ± 1.5 points), while 59% did so with the Biodex (X̅ increase of 2.3 ± 1.8 points), reflecting a clinically important increase in pain. Weak-to-moderate correlations between pain and PEs were found with the Biodex (r = 0.39-0.53) and weak correlations with the PRO-Reach (r = -0.26 to 0.38). Concerning PEs, no significant differences were found between groups with the Biodex (p = 0.32, effect size d = -0.31 [-0.90 to 0.29]). The RCRSP participants demonstrated lower PEs with the PRO-Reach in elevation compared to pain-free participants (global X̅ = 4.6 ± 1.2 cm vs 5.5 ± 1.5 cm; superior 3.8 ± 2.1 cm vs 5.7 ± 2.9 cm; superior-lateral nondominant targets 4.3 ± 2.2 cm vs 6.1 ± 2.8 cm; p = 0.02-0.05, effect size d = 0.72-0.74 [0.12-1.3]). CONCLUSIONS Individuals with RCRSP demonstrated better upper limb proprioception in elevation, suggesting a change to interoception (sensory reweighting) in the presence of pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Ager
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Jean-Sébastien Roy
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Marc-Olivier Dubé
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Ann M Cools
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Dorien Borms
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Human Structure and Repair, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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Kuzmina E, Kriukov D, Lebedev M. Neuronal travelling waves explain rotational dynamics in experimental datasets and modelling. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3566. [PMID: 38347042 PMCID: PMC10861525 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53907-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatiotemporal properties of neuronal population activity in cortical motor areas have been subjects of experimental and theoretical investigations, generating numerous interpretations regarding mechanisms for preparing and executing limb movements. Two competing models, representational and dynamical, strive to explain the relationship between movement parameters and neuronal activity. A dynamical model uses the jPCA method that holistically characterizes oscillatory activity in neuron populations by maximizing the data rotational dynamics. Different rotational dynamics interpretations revealed by the jPCA approach have been proposed. Yet, the nature of such dynamics remains poorly understood. We comprehensively analyzed several neuronal-population datasets and found rotational dynamics consistently accounted for by a traveling wave pattern. For quantifying rotation strength, we developed a complex-valued measure, the gyration number. Additionally, we identified parameters influencing rotation extent in the data. Our findings suggest that rotational dynamics and traveling waves are typically the same phenomena, so reevaluation of the previous interpretations where they were considered separate entities is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Kuzmina
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Vladimir Zelman Center for Neurobiology and Brain Rehabilitation, Moscow, Russia, 121205.
- Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (AIRI), Moscow, Russia.
| | - Dmitrii Kriukov
- Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (AIRI), Moscow, Russia
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Moscow, Russia, 121205
| | - Mikhail Lebedev
- Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, 119992
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 194223
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Cross KP, Cook DJ, Scott SH. Rapid Online Corrections for Proprioceptive and Visual Perturbations Recruit Similar Circuits in Primary Motor Cortex. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0083-23.2024. [PMID: 38238081 PMCID: PMC10867723 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0083-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
An important aspect of motor function is our ability to rapidly generate goal-directed corrections for disturbances to the limb or behavioral goal. The primary motor cortex (M1) is a key region involved in processing feedback for rapid motor corrections, yet we know little about how M1 circuits are recruited by different sources of sensory feedback to make rapid corrections. We trained two male monkeys (Macaca mulatta) to make goal-directed reaches and on random trials introduced different sensory errors by either jumping the visual location of the goal (goal jump), jumping the visual location of the hand (cursor jump), or applying a mechanical load to displace the hand (proprioceptive feedback). Sensory perturbations evoked a broad response in M1 with ∼73% of neurons (n = 257) responding to at least one of the sensory perturbations. Feedback responses were also similar as response ranges between the goal and cursor jumps were highly correlated (range of r = [0.91, 0.97]) as were the response ranges between the mechanical loads and the visual perturbations (range of r = [0.68, 0.86]). Lastly, we identified the neural subspace each perturbation response resided in and found a strong overlap between the two visual perturbations (range of overlap index, 0.73-0.89) and between the mechanical loads and visual perturbations (range of overlap index, 0.36-0.47) indicating each perturbation evoked similar structure of activity at the population level. Collectively, our results indicate rapid responses to errors from different sensory sources target similar overlapping circuits in M1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin P Cross
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
| | - Douglas J Cook
- Department of Surgery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Stephen H Scott
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Departments of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
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7
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Yang N, Ueda S, Costa-García Á, Okajima S, Tanabe HC, Li J, Shimoda S. Dynamic causal model application on hierarchical human motor control estimation in visuomotor tasks. Front Neurol 2024; 14:1302847. [PMID: 38264093 PMCID: PMC10804418 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1302847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction In brain function research, each brain region has been investigated independently, and how different parts of the brain work together has been examined using the correlations among them. However, the dynamics of how different brain regions interact with each other during time-varying tasks, such as voluntary motion tasks, are still not well-understood. Methods To address this knowledge gap, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using target tracking tasks with and without feedback. We identified the motor cortex, cerebellum, and visual cortex by using a general linear model during the tracking tasks. We then employed a dynamic causal model (DCM) and parametric empirical Bayes to quantitatively elucidate the interactions among the left motor cortex (ML), right cerebellum (CBR) and left visual cortex (VL), and their roles as higher and lower controllers in the hierarchical model. Results We found that the tracking task with visual feedback strongly affected the modulation of connection strength in ML → CBR and ML↔VL. Moreover, we found that the modulation of VL → ML, ML → ML, and ML → CBR by the tracking task with visual feedback could explain individual differences in tracking performance and muscle activity, and we validated these findings by leave-one-out cross-validation. Discussion We demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach for understanding the mechanisms underlying human motor control. Our proposed method may have important implications for the development of new technologies in personalized interventions and technologies, as it sheds light on how different brain regions interact and work together during a motor task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningjia Yang
- Research Center for Healthcare Data Science, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sayako Ueda
- Department of Psychology, Japan Women's University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Álvaro Costa-García
- Human Augmentation Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shotaro Okajima
- Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Hiroki C. Tanabe
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Jingsong Li
- Research Center for Healthcare Data Science, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shingo Shimoda
- Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
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Novembre G, Lacal I, Benusiglio D, Quarta E, Schito A, Grasso S, Caratelli L, Caminiti R, Mayer AB, Iannetti GD. A Cortical Mechanism Linking Saliency Detection and Motor Reactivity in Rhesus Monkeys. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0422232023. [PMID: 37949654 PMCID: PMC10851684 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0422-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Sudden and surprising sensory events trigger neural processes that swiftly adjust behavior. To study the phylogenesis and the mechanism of this phenomenon, we trained two male rhesus monkeys to keep a cursor inside a visual target by exerting force on an isometric joystick. We examined the effect of surprising auditory stimuli on exerted force, scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, and local field potentials (LFPs) recorded from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Auditory stimuli elicited (1) a biphasic modulation of isometric force, a transient decrease followed by a corrective tonic increase, and (2) EEG and LFP deflections dominated by two large negative-positive waves (N70 and P130). The EEG potential was symmetrical and maximal at the scalp vertex, highly reminiscent of the human "vertex potential." Electrocortical potentials and force were tightly coupled: the P130 amplitude predicted the magnitude of the corrective force increase, particularly in the LFPs recorded from deep rather than superficial cortical layers. These results disclose a phylogenetically preserved corticomotor mechanism supporting adaptive behavior in response to salient sensory events.Significance Statement Survival in the natural world depends on an animal's capacity to adapt ongoing behavior to abrupt unexpected events. To study the neural mechanisms underlying this capacity, we trained monkeys to apply constant force on a joystick while we recorded their brain activity from the scalp and the prefrontal cortex contralateral to the hand holding the joystick. Unexpected auditory stimuli elicited a biphasic force modulation: a transient reduction followed by a corrective adjustment. The same stimuli also elicited EEG and LFP responses, dominated by a biphasic wave that predicted the magnitude of the behavioral adjustment. These results disclose a phylogenetically preserved corticomotor mechanism supporting adaptive behavior in response to unexpected events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception & Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Irene Lacal
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Diego Benusiglio
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome 00161, Italy
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, Rome 00015, Italy
| | - Eros Quarta
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
| | - Andrea Schito
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
| | - Stefano Grasso
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
| | - Ludovica Caratelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
| | - Roberto Caminiti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome 00185, Sapienza, Italy
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome 00161, Italy
| | | | - Gian Domenico Iannetti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome 00161, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London WC1E6BT, United Kingdom
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Kanwal JS, Sanghera B, Dabbi R, Glasgow E. Pose analysis in free-swimming adult zebrafish, Danio rerio : "fishy" origins of movement design. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.31.573780. [PMID: 38260397 PMCID: PMC10802288 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.31.573780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Movement requires maneuvers that generate thrust to either make turns or move the body forward in physical space. The computational space for perpetually controlling the relative position of every point on the body surface can be vast. We hypothesize the evolution of efficient design for movement that minimizes active (neural) control by leveraging the passive (reactive) forces between the body and the surrounding medium at play. To test our hypothesis, we investigate the presence of stereotypical postures during free-swimming in adult zebrafish, Danio rerio . We perform markerless tracking using DeepLabCut, a deep learning pose estimation toolkit, to track geometric relationships between body parts. To identify putative clusters of postural configurations obtained from twelve freely behaving zebrafish, we use unsupervised multivariate time-series analysis (B-SOiD machine learning software). When applied to single individuals, this method reveals a best-fit for 36 to 50 clusters in contrast 86 clusters for data pooled from all 12 animals. The centroids of each cluster obtained over 14,000 sequential frames recorded for a single fish represent an apriori classification into relatively stable "target body postures" and inter-pose "transitional postures" that lead to and away from a target pose. We use multidimensional scaling of mean parameter values for each cluster to map cluster-centroids within two dimensions of postural space. From a post-priori visual analysis, we condense neighboring postural variants into 15 superclusters or core body configurations. We develop a nomenclature specifying the anteroposterior level/s (upper, mid and lower) and degree of bending. Our results suggest that constraining bends to mainly three levels in adult zebrafish preempts the neck, fore- and hindlimb design for maneuverability in land vertebrates.
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10
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Orschiedt J, Franklin DW. Learning context shapes bimanual control strategy and generalization of novel dynamics. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011189. [PMID: 38064495 PMCID: PMC10732368 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Bimanual movements are fundamental components of everyday actions, yet the underlying mechanisms coordinating adaptation of the two hands remain unclear. Although previous studies highlighted the contextual effect of kinematics of both arms on internal model formation, we do not know how the sensorimotor control system associates the learned memory with the experienced states in bimanual movements. More specifically, can, and if so, how, does the sensorimotor control system combine multiple states from different effectors to create and adapt a motor memory? Here, we tested motor memory formation in two groups with a novel paradigm requiring the encoding of the kinematics of the right hand to produce the appropriate predictive force on the left hand. While one group was provided with training movements in which this association was evident, the other group was trained on conditions in which this association was ambiguous. After adaptation, we tested the encoding of the learned motor memory by measuring the generalization to new movement combinations. While both groups adapted to the novel dynamics, the evident group showed a weighted encoding of the learned motor memory based on movements of the other (right) hand, whereas the ambiguous group exhibited mainly same (left) hand encoding in bimanual trials. Despite these differences, both groups demonstrated partial generalization to unimanual movements of the left hand. Our results show that motor memories can be encoded depending on the motion of other limbs, but that the training conditions strongly shape the encoding of the motor memory formation and determine the generalization to novel contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Orschiedt
- Neuromuscular Diagnostics, Department Health and Sport Sciences, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - David W. Franklin
- Neuromuscular Diagnostics, Department Health and Sport Sciences, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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11
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Visser YF, Medendorp WP, Selen LPJ. Muscular reflex gains reflect changes of mind in reaching. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:640-651. [PMID: 37584102 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00197.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Decisions for action are accompanied by a continual processing of sensory information, sometimes resulting in a revision of the initial choice, called a change of mind (CoM). Although the motor system is tuned during the formation of a reach decision, it is unclear whether its preparatory state differs between CoM and non-CoM decisions. To test this, participants (n = 14) viewed a random-dot motion (RDM) stimulus of various coherence levels for a random viewing duration. At the onset of a mechanical perturbation that rapidly stretched the pectoralis muscle, they indicated the perceived motion direction by making a reaching movement to one of two targets. Using electromyography (EMG), we quantified the reflex gains of the pectoralis and posterior deltoid muscles. Results show that reflex gains scaled with both the coherence level and the viewing duration of the stimulus. We fit a drift diffusion model (DDM) to the behavioral choices. The decision variable (DV), derived from the DDM, correlated well with the measured reflex gain at the single-trial level. However, when matched on DV magnitude, reflex gains were significantly lower in CoM than non-CoM trials. We conclude that the internal state of the motor system, as measured by the spinal reflexes, reflects the continual deliberation on sensory evidence for action selection, including the postdecisional evidence that can lead to a change of mind.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using behavioral findings, EMG, and computational modeling, we show that not only the perceptual decision outcome but also the accumulating evidence for that outcome is continuously sent to the relevant muscles. Moreover, we show that an upcoming change of mind can be detected in the motor periphery, suggesting that a correlate of the internal decision making process is being sent along.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne F Visser
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - W Pieter Medendorp
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Luc P J Selen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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12
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Maselli A, Gordon J, Eluchans M, Lancia GL, Thiery T, Moretti R, Cisek P, Pezzulo G. Beyond simple laboratory studies: Developing sophisticated models to study rich behavior. Phys Life Rev 2023; 46:220-244. [PMID: 37499620 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Psychology and neuroscience are concerned with the study of behavior, of internal cognitive processes, and their neural foundations. However, most laboratory studies use constrained experimental settings that greatly limit the range of behaviors that can be expressed. While focusing on restricted settings ensures methodological control, it risks impoverishing the object of study: by restricting behavior, we might miss key aspects of cognitive and neural functions. In this article, we argue that psychology and neuroscience should increasingly adopt innovative experimental designs, measurement methods, analysis techniques and sophisticated computational models to probe rich, ecologically valid forms of behavior, including social behavior. We discuss the challenges of studying rich forms of behavior as well as the novel opportunities offered by state-of-the-art methodologies and new sensing technologies, and we highlight the importance of developing sophisticated formal models. We exemplify our arguments by reviewing some recent streams of research in psychology, neuroscience and other fields (e.g., sports analytics, ethology and robotics) that have addressed rich forms of behavior in a model-based manner. We hope that these "success cases" will encourage psychologists and neuroscientists to extend their toolbox of techniques with sophisticated behavioral models - and to use them to study rich forms of behavior as well as the cognitive and neural processes that they engage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Maselli
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Jeremy Gordon
- University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94704, United States
| | - Mattia Eluchans
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy; University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Luca Lancia
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy; University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Thomas Thiery
- Department of Psychology, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Riccardo Moretti
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy; University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Paul Cisek
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
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13
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Micou C, O'Leary T. Representational drift as a window into neural and behavioural plasticity. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 81:102746. [PMID: 37392671 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale recordings of neural activity over days and weeks have revealed that neural representations of familiar tasks, precepts and actions continually evolve without obvious changes in behaviour. We hypothesise that this steady drift in neural activity and accompanying physiological changes is due in part to the continuous application of a learning rule at the cellular and population level. Explicit predictions of this drift can be found in neural network models that use iterative learning to optimise weights. Drift therefore provides a measurable signal that can reveal systems-level properties of biological plasticity mechanisms, such as their precision and effective learning rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Micou
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy O'Leary
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Theoretical Sciences Visiting Program, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, 904-0495, Japan.
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14
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Ager AL, Roy JS, Hébert LJ, Roos M, Borms D, Cools AM. Measuring upper limb active joint position sense: Introducing a new clinical tool - The Upper Limb Proprioception Reaching Test. Musculoskelet Sci Pract 2023; 66:102829. [PMID: 37473497 DOI: 10.1016/j.msksp.2023.102829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Proprioception is our sense of body awareness, including the sub-category of active joint position sense (AJPS). AJPS is fundamental to joint stability and movement coordination. Despite its importance, there remain few confident ways to measure upper limb AJPS in a clinic. OBJECTIVE To assess a new AJPS clinical tool, the Upper Limb Proprioception Reaching Test (PRO-Reach; seven targets), for discriminant validity, intra-rater and absolute reliability. DESIGN Cross-sectional measurement study. METHODS Seventy-five healthy participants took part in a single session with 2 consecutive evaluations (E1 and E2) (within-day reliability). Twenty participants were randomly selected to perform a dominant shoulder fatigue protocol (discriminant validity), whereafter a third evaluation was repeated (E3). The PRO-Reach was analyzed with paired t tests (discriminant validity), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and minimal detectable change [MDC]) (intra-rater: within-day and between-trial relative and absolute reliability). RESULTS The PRO-Reach supports moderate (mostly superior targets) to excellent (mostly inferior targets) reliability. Between-trial ICCs (T1/T2/T3) varied between 0.72 and 0.90, and within-day (E1/E2) ICCs between 0.45 and 0.72, with associated MDC95 values (3.9-5.0 cm). The overall scores (seven targets) supported the strongest within-day reliability (ICC = 0.77). The inferior targets demonstrated the highest between-trial and within-day reliability (ICCs = 0.90 and 0.72). A fatigue effect was found with the superior and superior-lateral targets (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS The inferior targets and overall scores demonstrate the strongest reliability. The use of the PRO-Reach tool may be suitable for clinical use upon further psychometric testing amongst pathological populations. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III cross-sectional study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Ager
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Rehabilitation Institute (Cirris), Québec City, Québec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Jean-Sébastien Roy
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Rehabilitation Institute (Cirris), Québec City, Québec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Luc J Hébert
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Rehabilitation Institute (Cirris), Québec City, Québec, Canada; Departments of Rehabilitation and Radiology/Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Marianne Roos
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Rehabilitation Institute (Cirris), Québec City, Québec, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Dorien Borms
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Human Structure and Repair, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ann M Cools
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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15
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Warburton M, Campagnoli C, Mon-Williams M, Mushtaq F, Morehead JR. Kinematic markers of skill in first-person shooter video games. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad249. [PMID: 37564360 PMCID: PMC10411933 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Video games present a unique opportunity to study motor skill. First-person shooter (FPS) games have particular utility because they require visually guided hand movements that are similar to widely studied planar reaching tasks. However, there is a need to ensure the tasks are equivalent if FPS games are to yield their potential as a powerful scientific tool for investigating sensorimotor control. Specifically, research is needed to ensure that differences in visual feedback of a movement do not affect motor learning between the two contexts. In traditional tasks, a movement will translate a cursor across a static background, whereas FPS games use movements to pan and tilt the view of the environment. To this end, we designed an online experiment where participants used their mouse or trackpad to shoot targets in both visual contexts. Kinematic analysis showed player movements were nearly identical between contexts, with highly correlated spatial and temporal metrics. This similarity suggests a shared internal model based on comparing predicted and observed displacement vectors rather than primary sensory feedback. A second experiment, modeled on FPS-style aim-trainer games, found movements exhibited classic invariant features described within the sensorimotor literature. We found the spatial metrics tested were significant predictors of overall task performance. More broadly, these results show that FPS games offer a novel, engaging, and compelling environment to study sensorimotor skill, providing the same precise kinematic metrics as traditional planar reaching tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Warburton
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Carlo Campagnoli
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Mark Mon-Williams
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Bradford, BD9 6RJ, UK
- National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg 3616, Viken, Norway
| | - Faisal Mushtaq
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
- Centre for Immersive Technologies, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - J Ryan Morehead
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
- Centre for Immersive Technologies, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
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16
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Gueugneau N, Martin A, Gaveau J, Papaxanthis C. Gravity-efficient motor control is associated with contraction-dependent intracortical inhibition. iScience 2023; 26:107150. [PMID: 37534144 PMCID: PMC10391940 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, moving efficiently along the gravity axis requires shifts in muscular contraction modes. Raising the arm up involves shortening contractions of arm flexors, whereas the reverse movement can rely on lengthening contractions with the help of gravity. Although this control mode is universal, the neuromuscular mechanisms that drive gravity-oriented movements remain unknown. Here, we designed neurophysiological experiments that aimed to track the modulations of cortical, spinal, and muscular outputs of arm flexors during vertical movements with specific kinematics (i.e., optimal motor commands). We report a specific drop of corticospinal excitability during lengthening versus shortening contractions, with an increase of intracortical inhibition and no change in spinal motoneuron responsiveness. We discuss these contraction-dependent modulations of the supraspinal motor output in the light of feedforward mechanisms that may support gravity-tuned motor control. Generally, these results shed a new perspective on the neural policy that optimizes movement control along the gravity axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Gueugneau
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Alain Martin
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Jérémie Gaveau
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Charalambos Papaxanthis
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, 21000 Dijon, France
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17
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Maurus P, Jackson K, Cashaback JG, Cluff T. The nervous system tunes sensorimotor gains when reaching in variable mechanical environments. iScience 2023; 26:106756. [PMID: 37213228 PMCID: PMC10197011 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans often move in the presence of mechanical disturbances that can vary in direction and amplitude throughout movement. These disturbances can jeopardize the outcomes of our actions, such as when drinking from a glass of water on a turbulent flight or carrying a cup of coffee while walking on a busy sidewalk. Here, we examine control strategies that allow the nervous system to maintain performance when reaching in the presence of mechanical disturbances that vary randomly throughout movement. Healthy participants altered their control strategies to make movements more robust against disturbances. The change in control was associated with faster reaching movements and increased responses to proprioceptive and visual feedback that were tuned to the variability of the disturbances. Our findings highlight that the nervous system exploits a continuum of control strategies to increase its responsiveness to sensory feedback when reaching in the presence of increasingly variable physical disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Maurus
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kuira Jackson
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Joshua G.A. Cashaback
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
- Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Tyler Cluff
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Corresponding author
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18
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Whittier TT, Patrick CM, Fling BW. Somatosensory Information in Skilled Motor Performance: A Narrative Review. J Mot Behav 2023; 55:453-474. [PMID: 37245865 DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2023.2213198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Historically, research aimed at improving motor performance has largely focused on the neural processes involved in motor execution due to their role in muscle activation. However, accompanying somatosensory and proprioceptive sensory information is also vitally involved in performing motor skills. Here we review research from interdisciplinary fields to provide a description for how somatosensation informs the successful performance of motor skills as well as emphasize the need for careful selection of study methods to isolate the neural processes involved in somatosensory perception. We also discuss upcoming strategies of intervention that have been used to improve performance via somatosensory targets. We believe that a greater appreciation for somatosensation's role in motor learning and control will enable researchers and practitioners to develop and apply methods for the enhancement of human performance that will benefit clinical, healthy, and elite populations alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler T Whittier
- Sensorimotor Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Christopher M Patrick
- Sensorimotor Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Brett W Fling
- Sensorimotor Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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19
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Bobbert MF, Koopman AS. Humans need only 200 ms to generate posture-specific muscle activation patterns for successful vertical jumps in reaction to an auditory trigger. Front Sports Act Living 2023; 5:1123335. [PMID: 37265493 PMCID: PMC10229792 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1123335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction It is currently unknown how the central nervous system controls ballistic whole-body movements like vertical jumps. Here we set out to study the time frame of generating muscle activation patterns for maximum-effort jumps from different initial postures. Methods We had ten healthy male participants make a slow countermovement from an upright position and initiate a maximal vertical jump as soon as possible following an auditory trigger. The trigger was produced when hip height dropped below one of three preselected values, unknown in advance to the participant, so that the participant was uncertain about the posture from which to initiate the jump. Furthermore, we determined the ensuing bottom postures reached during jumps, and from these postures had the participants perform maximum-effort squat jumps in two conditions: whenever they felt ready, or as soon as possible following an auditory trigger. Kinematics and ground reaction forces were measured, and electromyograms were collected from gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius and soleus. For each muscle, we detected activation onsets, as well as reaction times defined as the delay between trigger onset and activation onset. Results In the jumps preceded by a slow countermovement, the posture from which to initiate the jump was unknown before trigger onset. Nevertheless, in these jumps, posture-specific muscle activation patterns were already released within 200 ms after trigger onset and reaction times were not longer and jump heights not less than in squat jumps from corresponding bottom postures. Discussion Our findings suggest that the generation of muscle activation patterns for jumping does not start before trigger onset and requires only about 200 ms.
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20
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Camponogara I. The integration of action-oriented multisensory information from target and limb within the movement planning and execution. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105228. [PMID: 37201591 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The planning and execution of a grasping or reaching movement toward targets we sense with the other hand requires integrating multiple sources of sensory information about the limb performing the movement and the target of the action. In the last two decades, several sensory and motor control theories have thoroughly described how this multisensory-motor integration process occurs. However, even though these theories were very influential in their respective field, they lack a clear, unified vision of how target-related and movement-related multisensory information integrates within the action planning and execution phases. This brief review aims to summarize the most influential theories in multisensory integration and sensory-motor control by underscoring their critical points and hidden connections, providing new ideas on the multisensory-motor integration process. Throughout the review, I wll propose an alternative view of how the multisensory integration process unfolds along the action planning and execution and I will make several connections with the existent multisensory-motor control theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Camponogara
- Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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21
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Bachschmid-Romano L, Hatsopoulos NG, Brunel N. Interplay between external inputs and recurrent dynamics during movement preparation and execution in a network model of motor cortex. eLife 2023; 12:77690. [PMID: 37166452 PMCID: PMC10174693 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The primary motor cortex has been shown to coordinate movement preparation and execution through computations in approximately orthogonal subspaces. The underlying network mechanisms, and the roles played by external and recurrent connectivity, are central open questions that need to be answered to understand the neural substrates of motor control. We develop a recurrent neural network model that recapitulates the temporal evolution of neuronal activity recorded from the primary motor cortex of a macaque monkey during an instructed delayed-reach task. In particular, it reproduces the observed dynamic patterns of covariation between neural activity and the direction of motion. We explore the hypothesis that the observed dynamics emerges from a synaptic connectivity structure that depends on the preferred directions of neurons in both preparatory and movement-related epochs, and we constrain the strength of both synaptic connectivity and external input parameters from data. While the model can reproduce neural activity for multiple combinations of the feedforward and recurrent connections, the solution that requires minimum external inputs is one where the observed patterns of covariance are shaped by external inputs during movement preparation, while they are dominated by strong direction-specific recurrent connectivity during movement execution. Our model also demonstrates that the way in which single-neuron tuning properties change over time can explain the level of orthogonality of preparatory and movement-related subspaces.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicholas G Hatsopoulos
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Nicolas Brunel
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, United States
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22
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Trautmann EM, Hesse JK, Stine GM, Xia R, Zhu S, O'Shea DJ, Karsh B, Colonell J, Lanfranchi FF, Vyas S, Zimnik A, Steinmann NA, Wagenaar DA, Andrei A, Lopez CM, O'Callaghan J, Putzeys J, Raducanu BC, Welkenhuysen M, Churchland M, Moore T, Shadlen M, Shenoy K, Tsao D, Dutta B, Harris T. Large-scale high-density brain-wide neural recording in nonhuman primates. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.01.526664. [PMID: 37205406 PMCID: PMC10187172 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.01.526664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
High-density, integrated silicon electrodes have begun to transform systems neuroscience, by enabling large-scale neural population recordings with single cell resolution. Existing technologies, however, have provided limited functionality in nonhuman primate species such as macaques, which offer close models of human cognition and behavior. Here, we report the design, fabrication, and performance of Neuropixels 1.0-NHP, a high channel count linear electrode array designed to enable large-scale simultaneous recording in superficial and deep structures within the macaque or other large animal brain. These devices were fabricated in two versions: 4416 electrodes along a 45 mm shank, and 2496 along a 25 mm shank. For both versions, users can programmatically select 384 channels, enabling simultaneous multi-area recording with a single probe. We demonstrate recording from over 3000 single neurons within a session, and simultaneous recordings from over 1000 neurons using multiple probes. This technology represents a significant increase in recording access and scalability relative to existing technologies, and enables new classes of experiments involving fine-grained electrophysiological characterization of brain areas, functional connectivity between cells, and simultaneous brain-wide recording at scale.
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23
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Albanese GA, Marini F, Morasso P, Campus C, Zenzeri J. μ-band desynchronization in the contralateral central and central-parietal areas predicts proprioceptive acuity. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1000832. [PMID: 37007684 PMCID: PMC10050694 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1000832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionPosition sense, which belongs to the sensory stream called proprioception, is pivotal for proper movement execution. Its comprehensive understanding is needed to fill existing knowledge gaps in human physiology, motor control, neurorehabilitation, and prosthetics. Although numerous studies have focused on different aspects of proprioception in humans, what has not been fully investigated so far are the neural correlates of proprioceptive acuity at the joints.MethodsHere, we implemented a robot-based position sense test to elucidate the correlation between patterns of neural activity and the degree of accuracy and precision exhibited by the subjects. Eighteen healthy participants performed the test, and their electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was analyzed in its μ band (8–12 Hz), as the frequency band related to voluntary movement and somatosensory stimulation.ResultsWe observed a significant positive correlation between the matching error, representing proprioceptive acuity, and the strength of the activation in contralateral hand motor and sensorimotor areas (left central and central-parietal areas). In absence of visual feedback, these same regions of interest (ROIs) presented a higher activation level compared to the association and visual areas. Remarkably, central and central-parietal activation was still observed when visual feedback was added, although a consistent activation in association and visual areas came up.ConclusionSumming up, this study supports the existence of a specific link between the magnitude of activation of motor and sensorimotor areas related to upper limb proprioceptive processing and the proprioceptive acuity at the joints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Aurora Albanese
- Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- *Correspondence: Giulia Aurora Albanese,
| | | | - Pietro Morasso
- Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Claudio Campus
- U-VIP Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Jacopo Zenzeri
- Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
- ReWing S.r.l., Milan, Italy
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24
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Gómez-Granados A, Kurtzer I, Gordon S, Barany DA, Singh T. Object motion influences feedforward motor responses during mechanical stopping of virtual projectiles: a preliminary study. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:1077-1087. [PMID: 36869269 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06576-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
An important window into sensorimotor function is how humans interact and stop moving projectiles, such as stopping a door from closing shut or catching a ball. Previous studies have suggested that humans time the initiation and modulate the amplitude of their muscle activity based on the momentum of the approaching object. However, real-world experiments are constrained by laws of mechanics, which cannot be manipulated experimentally to probe the mechanisms of sensorimotor control and learning. An augmented-reality variant of such tasks allows for experimental manipulation of the relationship between motion and force to obtain novel insights into how the nervous system prepares motor responses to interact with moving stimuli. Existing paradigms for studying interactions with moving projectiles use massless objects and are primarily focused on quantifying gaze and hand kinematics. Here, we developed a novel collision paradigm using a robotic manipulandum where participants mechanically stopped a virtual object moving in the horizontal plane. On each block of trials, we varied the virtual object's momentum by increasing either its velocity or mass. Participants stopped the object by applying a force impulse that matched the object momentum. We observed that hand force increased as a function of object momentum linked to changes in virtual mass or velocity, similar to results from studies involving catching free-falling objects. In addition, increasing object velocity resulted in later onset of hand force relative to the impending time-to-contact. These findings show that the present paradigm can be used to determine how humans process projectile motion for hand motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gómez-Granados
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Isaac Kurtzer
- Department of Biomedical Science, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, New York, NY, 11568, USA
| | - Sean Gordon
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Deborah A Barany
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Tarkeshwar Singh
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 32 Recreation Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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25
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Codol O, Kashefi M, Forgaard CJ, Galea JM, Pruszynski JA, Gribble PL. Sensorimotor feedback loops are selectively sensitive to reward. eLife 2023; 12:81325. [PMID: 36637162 PMCID: PMC9910828 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Although it is well established that motivational factors such as earning more money for performing well improve motor performance, how the motor system implements this improvement remains unclear. For instance, feedback-based control, which uses sensory feedback from the body to correct for errors in movement, improves with greater reward. But feedback control encompasses many feedback loops with diverse characteristics such as the brain regions involved and their response time. Which specific loops drive these performance improvements with reward is unknown, even though their diversity makes it unlikely that they are contributing uniformly. We systematically tested the effect of reward on the latency (how long for a corrective response to arise?) and gain (how large is the corrective response?) of seven distinct sensorimotor feedback loops in humans. Only the fastest feedback loops were insensitive to reward, and the earliest reward-driven changes were consistently an increase in feedback gains, not a reduction in latency. Rather, a reduction of response latencies only tended to occur in slower feedback loops. These observations were similar across sensory modalities (vision and proprioception). Our results may have implications regarding feedback control performance in athletic coaching. For instance, coaching methodologies that rely on reinforcement or 'reward shaping' may need to specifically target aspects of movement that rely on reward-sensitive feedback responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Codol
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Mehrdad Kashefi
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
- Robarts Research Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
| | - Christopher J Forgaard
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
| | - Joseph M Galea
- School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - J Andrew Pruszynski
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
- Robarts Research Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
| | - Paul L Gribble
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
- Haskins LaboratoriesNew HavenUnited States
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Norup M, Bjørndal JR, Nielsen AL, Wiegel P, Lundbye-Jensen J. Dynamic motor practice improves movement accuracy, force control and leads to increased corticospinal excitability compared to isometric motor practice. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 16:1019729. [PMID: 36684837 PMCID: PMC9849878 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1019729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The central nervous system has a remarkable ability to plan motor actions, to predict and monitor the sensory consequences during and following motor actions and integrate these into future actions. Numerous studies investigating human motor learning have employed tasks involving either force control during isometric contractions or position control during dynamic tasks. To our knowledge, it remains to be elucidated how motor practice with an emphasis on position control influences force control and vice versa. Furthermore, it remains unexplored whether these distinct types of motor practice are accompanied by differential effects on corticospinal excitability. In this study, we tested motor accuracy and effects of motor practice in a force or position control task allowing wrist flexions of the non-dominant hand in the absence of online visual feedback. For each trial, motor performance was quantified as errors (pixels) between the displayed target and the movement endpoint. In the main experiment, 46 young adults were randomized into three groups: position control motor practice (PC), force control motor practice (FC), and a resting control group (CON). Following assessment of baseline motor performance in the position and force control tasks, intervention groups performed motor practice with, augmented visual feedback on performance. Motor performance in both tasks was assessed following motor practice. In a supplementary experiment, measures of corticospinal excitability were obtained in twenty additional participants by application of transcranial magnetic stimulation to the primary motor cortex hot spot of the flexor carpi radialis muscle before and following either position or force control motor practice. Following motor practice, accuracy in the position task improved significantly more for PC compared to FC and CON. For the force control task, both the PC and FC group improved more compared to CON. The two types of motor practice thus led to distinct effects including positive between-task transfer accompanying dynamic motor practice The results of the supplementary study demonstrated an increase in corticospinal excitability following dynamic motor practice compared to isometric motor practice. In conclusion, dynamic motor practice improves movement accuracy, and force control and leads to increased corticospinal excitability compared to isometric motor practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malene Norup
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise & Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Psychomotor Therapy, Faculty of Health, University College Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark,*Correspondence: Malene Norup,
| | - Jonas Rud Bjørndal
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise & Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - August Lomholt Nielsen
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise & Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrick Wiegel
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise & Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jesper Lundbye-Jensen
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise & Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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27
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Nomberg R, Nisky I. Human Stabilization of Delay-Induced Instability of Haptic Rendering in a Stiffness Discrimination Task. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON HAPTICS 2023; 16:33-45. [PMID: 36417719 DOI: 10.1109/toh.2022.3221919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Towards developing a coupled stability theory for haptic systems, we study the interaction of operators with time-delayed force feedback. In this work, we analyzed and validated experimentally the stability boundaries of an uncoupled system - without considering the human. We then designed an experiment in which the participants used a haptic device to interact with virtual elastic force fields in a stiffness discrimination task. We compared the performance and kinematics of users in uncoupled-unstable and uncoupled-stable conditions and characterized the stabilizing contribution of the users. We found that the users were able to perform the task regardless of the uncoupled-stability conditions. In addition, in uncoupled-unstable conditions, users maintained movement characteristics that were important for exploratory mediation, such as depth and duration of the movement, whereas other characteristics were not preserved. The results were reproduced in a simulation of the human controller that combined an inverse model and an optimal feedback controller. Adequate performance under the uncoupled-unstable yet coupled-stable conditions supports the potential benefit of designing for coupled stability of haptic systems. This could lead to the use of less conservative controllers than state-of-the-art solutions in haptic and teleoperation systems, and advance the fidelity of haptic feedback.
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28
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Brenner E, de la Malla C, Smeets JBJ. Tapping on a target: dealing with uncertainty about its position and motion. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:81-104. [PMID: 36371477 PMCID: PMC9870842 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06503-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Reaching movements are guided by estimates of the target object's location. Since the precision of instantaneous estimates is limited, one might accumulate visual information over time. However, if the object is not stationary, accumulating information can bias the estimate. How do people deal with this trade-off between improving precision and reducing the bias? To find out, we asked participants to tap on targets. The targets were stationary or moving, with jitter added to their positions. By analysing the response to the jitter, we show that people continuously use the latest available information about the target's position. When the target is moving, they combine this instantaneous target position with an extrapolation based on the target's average velocity during the last several hundred milliseconds. This strategy leads to a bias if the target's velocity changes systematically. Having people tap on accelerating targets showed that the bias that results from ignoring systematic changes in velocity is removed by compensating for endpoint errors if such errors are consistent across trials. We conclude that combining simple continuous updating of visual information with the low-pass filter characteristics of muscles, and adjusting movements to compensate for errors made in previous trials, leads to the precise and accurate human goal-directed movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Brenner
- grid.12380.380000 0004 1754 9227Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Cristina de la Malla
- grid.12380.380000 0004 1754 9227Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands ,grid.5841.80000 0004 1937 0247Vision and Control of Action Group, Department of Cognition, Development, and Psychology of Education, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jeroen B. J. Smeets
- grid.12380.380000 0004 1754 9227Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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29
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Maris E. A bicycle can be balanced by stochastic optimal feedback control but only with accurate speed estimates. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0278961. [PMID: 36848331 PMCID: PMC9970107 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Balancing a bicycle is typical for the balance control humans perform as a part of a whole range of behaviors (walking, running, skating, skiing, etc.). This paper presents a general model of balance control and applies it to the balancing of a bicycle. Balance control has both a physics (mechanics) and a neurobiological component. The physics component pertains to the laws that govern the movements of the rider and his bicycle, and the neurobiological component pertains to the mechanisms via which the central nervous system (CNS) uses these laws for balance control. This paper presents a computational model of this neurobiological component, based on the theory of stochastic optimal feedback control (OFC). The central concept in this model is a computational system, implemented in the CNS, that controls a mechanical system outside the CNS. This computational system uses an internal model to calculate optimal control actions as specified by the theory of stochastic OFC. For the computational model to be plausible, it must be robust to at least two inevitable inaccuracies: (1) model parameters that the CNS learns slowly from interactions with the CNS-attached body and bicycle (i.e., the internal noise covariance matrices), and (2) model parameters that depend on unreliable sensory input (i.e., movement speed). By means of simulations, I demonstrate that this model can balance a bicycle under realistic conditions and is robust to inaccuracies in the learned sensorimotor noise characteristics. However, the model is not robust to inaccuracies in the movement speed estimates. This has important implications for the plausibility of stochastic OFC as a model for motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Maris
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
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30
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Thura D, Cabana JF, Feghaly A, Cisek P. Integrated neural dynamics of sensorimotor decisions and actions. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001861. [PMID: 36520685 PMCID: PMC9754259 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent theoretical models suggest that deciding about actions and executing them are not implemented by completely distinct neural mechanisms but are instead two modes of an integrated dynamical system. Here, we investigate this proposal by examining how neural activity unfolds during a dynamic decision-making task within the high-dimensional space defined by the activity of cells in monkey dorsal premotor (PMd), primary motor (M1), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as well as the external and internal segments of the globus pallidus (GPe, GPi). Dimensionality reduction shows that the four strongest components of neural activity are functionally interpretable, reflecting a state transition between deliberation and commitment, the transformation of sensory evidence into a choice, and the baseline and slope of the rising urgency to decide. Analysis of the contribution of each population to these components shows meaningful differences between regions but no distinct clusters within each region, consistent with an integrated dynamical system. During deliberation, cortical activity unfolds on a two-dimensional "decision manifold" defined by sensory evidence and urgency and falls off this manifold at the moment of commitment into a choice-dependent trajectory leading to movement initiation. The structure of the manifold varies between regions: In PMd, it is curved; in M1, it is nearly perfectly flat; and in dlPFC, it is almost entirely confined to the sensory evidence dimension. In contrast, pallidal activity during deliberation is primarily defined by urgency. We suggest that these findings reveal the distinct functional contributions of different brain regions to an integrated dynamical system governing action selection and execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Thura
- Groupe de recherche sur la signalisation neurale et la circuiterie, Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Jean-François Cabana
- Groupe de recherche sur la signalisation neurale et la circuiterie, Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Albert Feghaly
- Groupe de recherche sur la signalisation neurale et la circuiterie, Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Paul Cisek
- Groupe de recherche sur la signalisation neurale et la circuiterie, Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
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31
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Gallego-Carracedo C, Perich MG, Chowdhury RH, Miller LE, Gallego JÁ. Local field potentials reflect cortical population dynamics in a region-specific and frequency-dependent manner. eLife 2022; 11:73155. [PMID: 35968845 PMCID: PMC9470163 DOI: 10.7554/elife.73155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The spiking activity of populations of cortical neurons is well described by the dynamics of a small number of population-wide covariance patterns, the 'latent dynamics'. These latent dynamics are largely driven by the same correlated synaptic currents across the circuit that determine the generation of local field potentials (LFP). Yet, the relationship between latent dynamics and LFPs remains largely unexplored. Here, we characterised this relationship for three different regions of primate sensorimotor cortex during reaching. The correlation between latent dynamics and LFPs was frequency-dependent and varied across regions. However, for any given region, this relationship remained stable throughout the behaviour: in each of primary motor and premotor cortices, the LFP-latent dynamics correlation profile was remarkably similar between movement planning and execution. These robust associations between LFPs and neural population latent dynamics help bridge the wealth of studies reporting neural correlates of behaviour using either type of recordings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew G Perich
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States
| | - Raeed H Chowdhury
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States
| | - Lee E Miller
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States
| | - Juan Álvaro Gallego
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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32
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Salfenmoser L, Obermayer K. Nonlinear optimal control of a mean-field model of neural population dynamics. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:931121. [PMID: 35990368 PMCID: PMC9382303 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.931121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We apply the framework of nonlinear optimal control to a biophysically realistic neural mass model, which consists of two mutually coupled populations of deterministic excitatory and inhibitory neurons. External control signals are realized by time-dependent inputs to both populations. Optimality is defined by two alternative cost functions that trade the deviation of the controlled variable from its target value against the “strength” of the control, which is quantified by the integrated 1- and 2-norms of the control signal. We focus on a bistable region in state space where one low- (“down state”) and one high-activity (“up state”) stable fixed points coexist. With methods of nonlinear optimal control, we search for the most cost-efficient control function to switch between both activity states. For a broad range of parameters, we find that cost-efficient control strategies consist of a pulse of finite duration to push the state variables only minimally into the basin of attraction of the target state. This strategy only breaks down once we impose time constraints that force the system to switch on a time scale comparable to the duration of the control pulse. Penalizing control strength via the integrated 1-norm (2-norm) yields control inputs targeting one or both populations. However, whether control inputs to the excitatory or the inhibitory population dominate, depends on the location in state space relative to the bifurcation lines. Our study highlights the applicability of nonlinear optimal control to understand neuronal processing under constraints better.
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33
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Stewart JC, Baird JF, Lewis AF, Fritz SL, Fridriksson J. Effect of behavioral practice targeted at the motor action selection network after stroke. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:4469-4485. [PMID: 35781898 PMCID: PMC9380182 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Motor action selection engages a network of frontal and parietal brain regions. After stroke, individuals activate a similar network, however, activation is higher, especially in the contralesional hemisphere. The current study examined the effect of practice on action selection performance and brain activation after stroke. Sixteen individuals with chronic stroke (Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer motor score range: 18-61) moved a joystick with the more-impaired hand in two conditions: Select (externally cued choice; move right or left based on an abstract rule) and Execute (simple response; move same direction every trial). On Day 1, reaction time (RT) was longer in Select compared to Execute which corresponded to increased activation primarily in regions in the contralesional action selection network including dorsal premotor, supplementary motor, anterior cingulate and parietal cortices. After four days of practice, behavioral performance improved (decreased RT) and only contralesional parietal cortex significantly increased during Select. Higher brain activation on Day 1 in the bilateral action selection network, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and contralesional sensory cortex predicted better performance on Day 4. Overall, practice led to improved action selection performance and reduced brain activation. Systematic changes in practice conditions may allow the targeting of specific components of the motor network during rehabilitation after stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill Campbell Stewart
- Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Jessica F Baird
- Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Allison F Lewis
- Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Stacy L Fritz
- Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Julius Fridriksson
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
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34
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Van Wouwe T, Ting LH, De Groote F. An approximate stochastic optimal control framework to simulate nonlinear neuro-musculoskeletal models in the presence of noise. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009338. [PMID: 35675227 PMCID: PMC9176817 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Optimal control simulations have shown that both musculoskeletal dynamics and physiological noise are important determinants of movement. However, due to the limited efficiency of available computational tools, deterministic simulations of movement focus on accurately modelling the musculoskeletal system while neglecting physiological noise, and stochastic simulations account for noise while simplifying the dynamics. We took advantage of recent approaches where stochastic optimal control problems are approximated using deterministic optimal control problems, which can be solved efficiently using direct collocation. We were thus able to extend predictions of stochastic optimal control as a theory of motor coordination to include muscle coordination and movement patterns emerging from non-linear musculoskeletal dynamics. In stochastic optimal control simulations of human standing balance, we demonstrated that the inclusion of muscle dynamics can predict muscle co-contraction as minimal effort strategy that complements sensorimotor feedback control in the presence of sensory noise. In simulations of reaching, we demonstrated that nonlinear multi-segment musculoskeletal dynamics enables complex perturbed and unperturbed reach trajectories under a variety of task conditions to be predicted. In both behaviors, we demonstrated how interactions between task constraint, sensory noise, and the intrinsic properties of muscle influence optimal muscle coordination patterns, including muscle co-contraction, and the resulting movement trajectories. Our approach enables a true minimum effort solution to be identified as task constraints, such as movement accuracy, can be explicitly imposed, rather than being approximated using penalty terms in the cost function. Our approximate stochastic optimal control framework predicts complex features, not captured by previous simulation approaches, providing a generalizable and valuable tool to study how musculoskeletal dynamics and physiological noise may alter neural control of movement in both healthy and pathological movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Van Wouwe
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lena H. Ting
- W.H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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35
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Attaallah B, Petitet P, Slavkova E, Turner V, Saleh Y, Manohar SG, Husain M. Hyperreactivity to uncertainty is a key feature of subjective cognitive impairment. eLife 2022; 11:75834. [PMID: 35536752 PMCID: PMC9197396 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
With an increasingly ageing global population, more people are presenting with concerns about their cognitive function, but not all have an underlying neurodegenerative diagnosis. Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a common condition describing self-reported deficits in cognition without objective evidence of cognitive impairment. Many individuals with SCI suffer from depression and anxiety, which have been hypothesised to account for their cognitive complaints. Despite this association between SCI and affective features, the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying SCI are poorly understood. Here, we show that people with SCI are hyperreactive to uncertainty and that this might be a key mechanism accounting for their affective burden. Twenty-seven individuals with SCI performed an information sampling task, where they could actively gather information prior to decisions. Across different conditions, SCI participants sampled faster and obtained more information than matched controls to resolve uncertainty. Remarkably, despite their ‘urgent’ sampling behaviour, SCI participants were able to maintain their efficiency. Hyperreactivity to uncertainty indexed by this sampling behaviour correlated with the severity of affective burden including depression and anxiety. Analysis of MRI resting functional connectivity revealed that SCI participants had stronger insular-hippocampal connectivity compared to controls, which also correlated with faster sampling. These results suggest that altered uncertainty processing is a key mechanism underlying the psycho-cognitive manifestations in SCI and implicate a specific brain network target for future treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahaaeddin Attaallah
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Pierre Petitet
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Elista Slavkova
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Vicky Turner
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Youssuf Saleh
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sanjay G Manohar
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Masud Husain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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36
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Popp NJ, Hernandez-Castillo CR, Gribble PL, Diedrichsen J. The role of feedback in the production of skilled finger sequences. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:829-839. [PMID: 35235441 PMCID: PMC8957329 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00319.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Actions involving fine control of the hand, for example, grasping an object, rely heavily on sensory information from the fingertips. Although the integration of feedback during the execution of individual movements is well understood, less is known about the use of sensory feedback in the control of skilled movement sequences. To address this gap, we trained participants to produce sequences of finger movements on a keyboard-like device over a 4-day training period. Participants received haptic, visual, and auditory feedback indicating the occurrence of each finger press. We then either transiently delayed or advanced the feedback for a single press by a small amount of time (30 or 60 ms). We observed that participants rapidly adjusted their ongoing finger press by either accelerating or prolonging the ongoing press, in accordance with the direction of the perturbation. Furthermore, we could show that this rapid behavioral modulation was driven by haptic feedback. Although these feedback-driven adjustments reduced in size with practice, they were still clearly present at the end of training. In contrast to the directionally specific effect we observed on the perturbed press, a feedback perturbation resulted in a delayed onset of the subsequent presses irrespective of perturbation direction or feedback modality. This observation is consistent with a hierarchical organization of even very skilled and fast movement sequences, with different levels reacting distinctly to sensory perturbations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sensory feedback is important during the execution of a movement. However, little is known about how sensory feedback is used during the production of movement sequences. Here, we show two distinct feedback processes in the execution of fast finger movement sequences. By transiently delaying or advancing the feedback of a single press within a sequence, we observed a directionally specific effect on the perturbed press and a directionally non-specific effect on the subsequent presses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J Popp
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Paul L Gribble
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jörn Diedrichsen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Computer Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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37
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Matić A, Valerjev P, Gomez-Marin A. Hierarchical Control of Visually-Guided Movements in a 3D-Printed Robot Arm. Front Neurorobot 2021; 15:755723. [PMID: 34776921 PMCID: PMC8589028 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2021.755723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The control architecture guiding simple movements such as reaching toward a visual target remains an open problem. The nervous system needs to integrate different sensory modalities and coordinate multiple degrees of freedom in the human arm to achieve that goal. The challenge increases due to noise and transport delays in neural signals, non-linear and fatigable muscles as actuators, and unpredictable environmental disturbances. Here we examined the capabilities of hierarchical feedback control models proposed by W. T. Powers, so far only tested in silico. We built a robot arm system with four degrees of freedom, including a visual system for locating the planar position of the hand, joint angle proprioception, and pressure sensing in one point of contact. We subjected the robot to various human-inspired reaching and tracking tasks and found features of biological movement, such as isochrony and bell-shaped velocity profiles in straight-line movements, and the speed-curvature power law in curved movements. These behavioral properties emerge without trajectory planning or explicit optimization algorithms. We then applied static structural perturbations to the robot: we blocked the wrist joint, tilted the writing surface, extended the hand with a tool, and rotated the visual system. For all of them, we found that the arm in machina adapts its behavior without being reprogrammed. In sum, while limited in speed and precision (by the nature of the do-it-yourself inexpensive components we used to build the robot from scratch), when faced with the noise, delays, non-linearities, and unpredictable disturbances of the real world, the embodied control architecture shown here balances biological realism with design simplicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Matić
- Behavior of Organisms Laboratory, Instituto de Neurociencias CSIC-UMH, Alicante, Spain
| | - Pavle Valerjev
- Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
| | - Alex Gomez-Marin
- Behavior of Organisms Laboratory, Instituto de Neurociencias CSIC-UMH, Alicante, Spain
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38
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Kalidindi HT, Cross KP, Lillicrap TP, Omrani M, Falotico E, Sabes PN, Scott SH. Rotational dynamics in motor cortex are consistent with a feedback controller. eLife 2021; 10:e67256. [PMID: 34730516 PMCID: PMC8691841 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have identified rotational dynamics in motor cortex (MC), which many assume arise from intrinsic connections in MC. However, behavioral and neurophysiological studies suggest that MC behaves like a feedback controller where continuous sensory feedback and interactions with other brain areas contribute substantially to MC processing. We investigated these apparently conflicting theories by building recurrent neural networks that controlled a model arm and received sensory feedback from the limb. Networks were trained to counteract perturbations to the limb and to reach toward spatial targets. Network activities and sensory feedback signals to the network exhibited rotational structure even when the recurrent connections were removed. Furthermore, neural recordings in monkeys performing similar tasks also exhibited rotational structure not only in MC but also in somatosensory cortex. Our results argue that rotational structure may also reflect dynamics throughout the voluntary motor system involved in online control of motor actions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kevin P Cross
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's UniversityKingstonCanada
| | - Timothy P Lillicrap
- Centre for Computation, Mathematics and Physics, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Mohsen Omrani
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's UniversityKingstonCanada
| | - Egidio Falotico
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
| | - Philip N Sabes
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Stephen H Scott
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's UniversityKingstonCanada
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Goettker A, Gegenfurtner KR. A change in perspective: The interaction of saccadic and pursuit eye movements in oculomotor control and perception. Vision Res 2021; 188:283-296. [PMID: 34489101 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2021.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Due to the close relationship between oculomotor behavior and visual processing, eye movements have been studied in many different areas of research over the last few decades. While these studies have brought interesting insights, specialization within each research area comes at the potential cost of a narrow and isolated view of the oculomotor system. In this review, we want to expand this perspective by looking at the interactions between the two most important types of voluntary eye movements: saccades and pursuit. Recent evidence indicates multiple interactions and shared signals at the behavioral and neurophysiological level for oculomotor control and for visual perception during pursuit and saccades. Oculomotor control seems to be based on shared position- and velocity-related information, which leads to multiple behavioral interactions and synergies. The distinction between position- and velocity-related information seems to be also present at the neurophysiological level. In addition, visual perception seems to be based on shared efferent signals about upcoming eye positions and velocities, which are to some degree independent of the actual oculomotor response. This review suggests an interactive perspective on the oculomotor system, based mainly on different types of sensory input, and less so on separate subsystems for saccadic or pursuit eye movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Goettker
- Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie and Center for Mind, Brain & Behavior, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
| | - Karl R Gegenfurtner
- Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie and Center for Mind, Brain & Behavior, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany
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40
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Hein AM, Altshuler DL, Cade DE, Liao JC, Martin BT, Taylor GK. An Algorithmic Approach to Natural Behavior. Curr Biol 2021; 30:R663-R675. [PMID: 32516620 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Uncovering the mechanisms and implications of natural behavior is a goal that unites many fields of biology. Yet, the diversity, flexibility, and multi-scale nature of these behaviors often make understanding elusive. Here, we review studies of animal pursuit and evasion - two special classes of behavior where theory-driven experiments and new modeling techniques are beginning to uncover the general control principles underlying natural behavior. A key finding of these studies is that intricate sequences of pursuit and evasion behavior can often be constructed through simple, repeatable rules that link sensory input to motor output: we refer to these rules as behavioral algorithms. Identifying and mathematically characterizing these algorithms has led to important insights, including the discovery of guidance rules that attacking predators use to intercept mobile prey, and coordinated neural and biomechanical mechanisms that animals use to avoid impending collisions. Here, we argue that algorithms provide a good starting point for studies of natural behavior more generally. Rather than beginning at the neural or ecological levels of organization, we advocate starting in the middle, where the algorithms that link sensory input to behavioral output can provide a solid foundation from which to explore both the implementation and the ecological outcomes of behavior. We review insights that have been gained through such an algorithmic approach to pursuit and evasion behaviors. From these, we synthesize theoretical principles and lay out key modeling tools needed to apply an algorithmic approach to the study of other complex natural behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Hein
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
| | - Douglas L Altshuler
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z4, Canada
| | - David E Cade
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| | - James C Liao
- The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Department of Biology, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd., St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA
| | - Benjamin T Martin
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Graham K Taylor
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
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Action Costs Rapidly and Automatically Interfere with Reward-Based Decision-Making in a Reaching Task. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0247-21.2021. [PMID: 34281978 PMCID: PMC8354712 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0247-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely assumed that we select actions we value the most. While the influence of rewards on decision-making has been extensively studied, evidence regarding the influence of motor costs is scarce. Specifically, how and when motor costs are integrated in the decision process is unclear. Twenty-two right-handed human participants performed a reward-based target selection task by reaching with their right arm toward one of two visual targets. Targets were positioned in different directions according to biomechanical preference, such that one target was systematically associated with a lower motor cost than the other. Only one of the two targets was rewarded, either in a congruent or incongruent manner with respect to the associated motor cost. A timed-response paradigm was used to manipulate participants' reaction times (RT). Results showed that when the rewarded target carried the highest motor cost, movements produced at short RT (<350 ms) were deviated toward the other (i.e., non-rewarded, low-cost (LC) target). In this context participants needed an additional 150-ms delay to reach the same percentage of rewarded trials as when the LC target was rewarded. Crucially, motor costs affected the total earnings of participants. These results demonstrate a robust interference of motor costs in a simple reward-based decision-making task. They point to the rapid and automatic integration of motor costs at an early stage of processing, potentially through the direct modulation of competing action representations in parieto-frontal regions. The progressive overcoming of this bias with increasing RT is likely achieved through top-down signaling pertaining to expected rewards.
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Abekawa N, Gomi H, Diedrichsen J. Gaze control during reaching is flexibly modulated to optimize task outcome. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:816-826. [PMID: 34320845 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00134.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
When reaching for an object with the hand, the gaze is usually directed at the target. In a laboratory setting, fixation is strongly maintained at the reach target until the reaching is completed, a phenomenon known as "gaze anchoring." While conventional accounts of such tight eye-hand coordination have often emphasized the internal synergetic linkage between both motor systems, more recent optimal control theories regard motor coordination as the adaptive solution to task requirements. We here investigated to what degree gaze control during reaching is modulated by task demands. We adopted a gaze-anchoring paradigm in which participants had to reach for a target location. During the reach, they additionally had to make a saccadic eye movement to a salient visual cue presented at locations other than the target. We manipulated the task demands by independently changing reward contingencies for saccade reaction time (RT) and reaching accuracy. On average, both saccade RTs and reach error varied systematically with reward condition, with reach accuracy improving when the saccade was delayed. The distribution of the saccade RTs showed two types of eye movements: fast saccades with short RTs, and voluntary saccade with longer RTs. Increased reward for high reach accuracy reduced the probability of fast saccades but left their latency unchanged. The results suggest that gaze anchoring acts through a suppression of fast saccades, a mechanism that can be adaptively adjusted to the current task demands.NEW & NOTEWORTHY During visually guided reaching, our eyes usually fixate the target and saccades elsewhere are delayed ("gaze anchoring"). We here show that the degree of gaze anchoring is flexibly modulated by the reward contingencies of saccade latency and reach accuracy. Reach error became larger when saccades occurred earlier. These results suggest that early saccades are costly for reaching and the brain modulates inhibitory online coordination from the hand to the eye system depending on task requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naotoshi Abekawa
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hiroaki Gomi
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Jörn Diedrichsen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Maurus P, Kurtzer I, Antonawich R, Cluff T. Similar stretch reflexes and behavioral patterns are expressed by the dominant and nondominant arms during postural control. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:743-762. [PMID: 34320868 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00152.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Limb dominance is evident in many daily activities, leading to the prominent idea that each hemisphere of the brain specializes in controlling different aspects of movement. Past studies suggest that the dominant arm is primarily controlled via an internal model of limb dynamics that enables the nervous system to produce efficient movements. In contrast, the nondominant arm may be primarily controlled via impedance mechanisms that rely on the strong modulation of sensory feedback from individual joints to control limb posture. We tested whether such differences are evident in behavioral responses and stretch reflexes following sudden displacement of the arm during posture control. Experiment 1 applied specific combinations of elbow-shoulder torque perturbations (the same for all participants). Peak joint displacements, return times, end point accuracy, and the directional tuning and amplitude of stretch reflexes in nearly all muscles were not statistically different between the two arms. Experiment 2 induced specific combinations of joint motion (the same for all participants). Again, peak joint displacements, return times, end point accuracy, and the directional tuning and amplitude of stretch reflexes in nearly all muscles did not differ statistically when countering the imposed loads with each arm. Moderate to strong correlations were found between stretch reflexes and behavioral responses to the perturbations with the two arms across both experiments. Collectively, the results do not support the idea that the dominant arm specializes in exploiting internal models and the nondominant arm in impedance control by increasing reflex gains to counter sudden loads imposed on the arms during posture control.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A prominent hypothesis is that the nervous system controls the dominant arm through predictive internal models and the nondominant arm through impedance mechanisms. We tested whether stretch reflexes of muscles in the two arms also display such specialization during posture control. Nearly all behavioral responses and stretch reflexes did not differ statistically but were strongly correlated between the arms. The results indicate individual signatures of feedback control that are common for the two arms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Maurus
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Isaac Kurtzer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York
| | - Ryan Antonawich
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York
| | - Tyler Cluff
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Parr T, Limanowski J, Rawji V, Friston K. The computational neurology of movement under active inference. Brain 2021; 144:1799-1818. [PMID: 33704439 PMCID: PMC8320263 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awab085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose a computational neurology of movement based on the convergence of theoretical neurobiology and clinical neurology. A significant development in the former is the idea that we can frame brain function as a process of (active) inference, in which the nervous system makes predictions about its sensory data. These predictions depend upon an implicit predictive (generative) model used by the brain. This means neural dynamics can be framed as generating actions to ensure sensations are consistent with these predictions-and adjusting predictions when they are not. We illustrate the significance of this formulation for clinical neurology by simulating a clinical examination of the motor system using an upper limb coordination task. Specifically, we show how tendon reflexes emerge naturally under the right kind of generative model. Through simulated perturbations, pertaining to prior probabilities of this model's variables, we illustrate the emergence of hyperreflexia and pendular reflexes, reminiscent of neurological lesions in the corticospinal tract and cerebellum. We then turn to the computational lesions causing hypokinesia and deficits of coordination. This in silico lesion-deficit analysis provides an opportunity to revisit classic neurological dichotomies (e.g. pyramidal versus extrapyramidal systems) from the perspective of modern approaches to theoretical neurobiology-and our understanding of the neurocomputational architecture of movement control based on first principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Parr
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jakub Limanowski
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Vishal Rawji
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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45
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Hibino H, Gorniak SL. Dependence and reduced motor function in heart failure: future directions for well-being. Heart Fail Rev 2021; 27:1043-1051. [PMID: 34302579 DOI: 10.1007/s10741-021-10145-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
While patients with heart failure experience a wide range of symptoms, evidence is mounting that patients with heart failure suffer from reduced functional independence. Given that the number of patients with heart failure is rising and considering the adverse outcomes of reduced functional independence, understanding the underlying mechanisms of reduced functionality in patients with heart failure is of increasing importance. Yet, little information exists on how heart failure negatively affects functional independence, including motor function. This article summarizes reports of reduced independence and highlights its significant adverse outcomes in the patients with heart failure. Finally, this article discusses potential causes of reduced independence based on existing reports of impaired central and peripheral nervous systems in the patients with heart failure. Overall, the article provides a solid foundation for future studies investigating motor impairments in patients with heart failure. Such studies may lead to advances in treatment and prevention of reduced independence associated with heart failure, which ultimately contribute to the well-being of patients with heart failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidetaka Hibino
- Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, 3855 Holman St., Garrison 104, Houston, TX, 77204-6015, USA
| | - Stacey L Gorniak
- Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, 3855 Holman St., Garrison 104, Houston, TX, 77204-6015, USA.
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46
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Poscente SV, Peters RM, Cashaback JGA, Cluff T. Rapid Feedback Responses Parallel the Urgency of Voluntary Reaching Movements. Neuroscience 2021; 475:163-184. [PMID: 34302907 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Optimal feedback control is a prominent theory used to interpret human motor behaviour. The theory posits that skilled actions emerge from control policies that link voluntary motor control (feedforward) with flexible feedback corrections (feedback control). It is clear the nervous system can generate flexible motor corrections (reflexes) when performing actions with different goals. We know little, however, about shared features of voluntary actions and feedback control in human movement. Here we reveal a link between the timing demands of voluntary actions and flexible responses to mechanical perturbations. In two experiments, 40 human participants (21 females) made reaching movements with different timing demands. We disturbed the arm with mechanical perturbations at movement onset (Experiment 1) and at locations ranging from movement onset to completion (Experiment 2). We used the resulting muscle responses and limb displacements as a proxy for the control policies that support voluntary reaching movements. We observed an increase in the sensitivity of elbow and shoulder muscle responses and a reduction in limb motion when the task imposed greater urgency to respond to the same perturbations. The results reveal a relationship between voluntary actions and feedback control as the limb was displaced less when moving faster in perturbation trials. Muscle responses scaled with changes in the displacement of the limb in perturbation trials within each timing condition. Across both experiments, human behaviour was captured by simulations based on stochastic optimal feedback control. Taken together, the results highlight flexible control that links sensory processing with features of human reaching movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia V Poscente
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Ryan M Peters
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Joshua G A Cashaback
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Tyler Cluff
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada.
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47
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Krajenbrink H, Lust JM, Beckers DGJ, Steenbergen B. Second-order motor planning difficulties in children with developmental coordination disorder. Hum Mov Sci 2021; 79:102836. [PMID: 34252757 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2021.102836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The second-order motor planning ability of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) has often been studied using tasks that require judgements of end-state comfort (ESC). In these studies, children may have chosen to prioritize other aspects of performance (e.g., a comfortable start-posture) over ESC while still being able to complete the goal of the task. This is a limitation that is inherent to previously used ESC paradigms. To avoid this in the present study, 52 children with and without DCD (aged 5-12 years) completed a task that requires second-order motor planning for its successful completion. In the hexagonal knob task, children were instructed to grasp and rotate a hexagonal knob. The rotation angle varied in size: 60°, 120°, 180°, and 240° rotations. Both the 180° and 240° rotation conditions required an uncomfortable starting posture for successful task completion. Results showed that children with DCD were less likely to adjust their initial grip in anticipation of the required rotation angle, resulting in more task failures compared with typically developing (TD) children. Based on this finding we conclude that children with DCD experience genuine second-order motor planning difficulties. Analysis of temporal outcomes, showed that initial reaction time increased with rotation angle, but this was less pronounced for children with DCD than for TD children. There were no between group differences in timing of subsequent events. These results suggest that the difficulties of children with DCD are related to the initial planning process, that is, before the start of the movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilde Krajenbrink
- Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Jessica M Lust
- Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Debby G J Beckers
- Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Bert Steenbergen
- Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Centre for Disability and Development Research (CeDDR), School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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48
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Berret B, Conessa A, Schweighofer N, Burdet E. Stochastic optimal feedforward-feedback control determines timing and variability of arm movements with or without vision. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009047. [PMID: 34115757 PMCID: PMC8221793 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human movements with or without vision exhibit timing (i.e. speed and duration) and variability characteristics which are not well captured by existing computational models. Here, we introduce a stochastic optimal feedforward-feedback control (SFFC) model that can predict the nominal timing and trial-by-trial variability of self-paced arm reaching movements carried out with or without online visual feedback of the hand. In SFFC, movement timing results from the minimization of the intrinsic factors of effort and variance due to constant and signal-dependent motor noise, and movement variability depends on the integration of visual feedback. Reaching arm movements data are used to examine the effect of online vision on movement timing and variability, and test the model. This modelling suggests that the central nervous system predicts the effects of sensorimotor noise to generate an optimal feedforward motor command, and triggers optimal feedback corrections to task-related errors based on the available limb state estimate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Berret
- Université Paris-Saclay CIAMS, Orsay, France
- CIAMS, Université d’Orléans, Orléans, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Adrien Conessa
- Université Paris-Saclay CIAMS, Orsay, France
- CIAMS, Université d’Orléans, Orléans, France
| | - Nicolas Schweighofer
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Etienne Burdet
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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49
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Kim S, Kwon J, Kim JM, Park FC, Yeo SH. On the encoding capacity of human motor adaptation. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:123-139. [PMID: 34077281 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00593.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Primitive-based models of motor learning suggest that adaptation occurs by tuning the responses of motor primitives. Based on this idea, we consider motor learning as an information encoding procedure, that is, a procedure of encoding a motor skill into primitives. The capacity of encoding is determined by the number of recruited primitives, which depends on how many primitives are "visited" by the movement, and this leads to a rather counterintuitive prediction that faster movement, where a larger number of motor primitives are involved, allows learning more complicated motor skills. Here, we provide a set of experimental results that support this hypothesis. First, we show that learning occurs only with movement, that is, only with nonzero encoding capacity. When participants were asked to counteract a rotating force applied to a robotic handle, they were unable to do so when maintaining a static posture but were able to adapt when making small circular movements. Our second experiment further investigated how adaptation is affected by movement speed. When adapting to a simple (low-information-content) force field, fast (high-capacity) movement did not have an advantage over slow (low-capacity) movement. However, for a complex (high-information-content) force field, the fast movement showed a significant advantage over slow movement. Our final experiment confirmed that the observed benefit of high-speed movement is only weakly affected by mechanical factors. Taken together, our results suggest that the encoding capacity is a genuine limiting factor of human motor adaptation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We propose a novel concept called "encoding capacity" of motor adaptation, which describes an inherent limiting-factor of our brain's ability to learn new motor skills, just like any other storage system. By reinterpreting the existing primitive-based models of motor learning, we hypothesize that the encoding capacity is determined by the size of the movement, and present a set of experimental evidence suggesting that such limiting effect of encoding capacity does exist in human motor adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungyeon Kim
- Robotics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jaewoon Kwon
- Robotics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jin-Min Kim
- School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Chongwoo Park
- Robotics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sang-Hoon Yeo
- School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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50
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Gale DJ, Areshenkoff CN, Honda C, Johnsrude IS, Flanagan JR, Gallivan JP. Motor Planning Modulates Neural Activity Patterns in Early Human Auditory Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2952-2967. [PMID: 33511976 PMCID: PMC8107793 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that movement planning recruits motor-related cortical brain areas in preparation for the forthcoming action. Given that an integral component to the control of action is the processing of sensory information throughout movement, we predicted that movement planning might also modulate early sensory cortical areas, readying them for sensory processing during the unfolding action. To test this hypothesis, we performed 2 human functional magnetic resonance imaging studies involving separate delayed movement tasks and focused on premovement neural activity in early auditory cortex, given the area's direct connections to the motor system and evidence that it is modulated by motor cortex during movement in rodents. We show that effector-specific information (i.e., movements of the left vs. right hand in Experiment 1 and movements of the hand vs. eye in Experiment 2) can be decoded, well before movement, from neural activity in early auditory cortex. We find that this motor-related information is encoded in a separate subregion of auditory cortex than sensory-related information and is present even when movements are cued visually instead of auditorily. These findings suggest that action planning, in addition to preparing the motor system for movement, involves selectively modulating primary sensory areas based on the intended action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Gale
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Corson N Areshenkoff
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Claire Honda
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Ingrid S Johnsrude
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - J Randall Flanagan
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Jason P Gallivan
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
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