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Mazzardo O, Weis BM, Sampaio AA, de Lima DF, de Souza DC, Furtado O. Associations Between Fundamental Motor Skill Domains and Physical Fitness Components in 5-11-Year-Old Children. Percept Mot Skills 2024:315125241284785. [PMID: 39298787 DOI: 10.1177/00315125241284785] [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: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
High competence in fundamental motor skills (FMS) and adequate physical fitness (PF) levels are a solid foundation for acquiring an active and healthy lifestyle during childhood and adolescence. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to compare gender and age groups and identify correlations between FMS and PF in young elementary school students. We used a structured questionnaire to gather sociodemographic information from parents, and we characterized the children's economic profile with the Brazil Social Economic Status Criterion. We collected FMS data using the Furtado-Gallagher Children Observational Movement Pattern Assessment System (FG-COMPASS), and we used the Brazil Sports Project Battery Test to measure PF levels. Statistical analyses involved descriptive data and inferential tests to determine group differences in FMS and PF levels. Hierarchical regression helped identify the associations between FMS and PF, as controlled by sociodemographic factors. Participants were 720 students (and parents) of both genders (383 girls, 337 boys; M age = 8.8, SD = 1.52 years) from grades 1 to 5 in an elementary school in a municipality in the western region of the Paraná state in Brazil. The results showed significant differences in children's motor skills and PF based on gender and age. The hierarchical regression model showed different combinations of flexibility, abdominal resistance, upper limb strength, agility, speed, and lower limb strength, which explained 33.7% of the variability in the global FMS index, 41% of the variability in manipulative skills, and 12.7% of the variability in locomotor skills. In addition, there was a positive association between FMS and PF related to neuromuscular development for both sexes, regardless of age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oldemar Mazzardo
- Western Paraná State University - Unioeste, Marechal Candido Rrandon, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Maria Weis
- Western Paraná State University - Unioeste, Marechal Candido Rrandon, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Ovande Furtado
- Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA
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Martinez Groves-Raines M, Yi G, Penn M, Watkins S, Windsor S, Mohamed A. Steady as they hover: kinematics of kestrel wing and tail morphing during hovering flights. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247305. [PMID: 39111742 PMCID: PMC11418201 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247305] [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: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Wind-hovering birds exhibit remarkable steadiness in flight, achieved through the morphing of their wings and tail. We analysed the kinematics of two nankeen kestrels (Falco cenchroides) engaged in steady wind-hovering flights in a smooth flow wind tunnel. Motion-tracking cameras were used to capture the movements of the birds as they maintained their position. The motion of the birds' head and body, and the morphing motions of their wings and tail were tracked and analysed using correlation methods. The results revealed that wing sweep, representing the flexion/extension movement of the wing, played a significant role in wing motion. Additionally, correlations between different independent degrees of freedom (DoF), including wing and tail coupling, were observed. These kinematic couplings indicate balancing of forces and moments necessary for steady wind hovering. Variation in flight behaviour between the two birds highlighted the redundancy of DoF and the versatility of wing morphing in achieving control. This study provides insights into fixed-wing craft flight control from the avian world and may inspire novel flight control strategies for future fixed-wing aircraft.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Martinez Groves-Raines
- RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
| | - George Yi
- RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
| | | | | | - Shane Windsor
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
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3
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Scano A, Lanzani V, Brambilla C, d’Avella A. Transferring Sensor-Based Assessments to Clinical Practice: The Case of Muscle Synergies. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:3934. [PMID: 38931719 PMCID: PMC11207859 DOI: 10.3390/s24123934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Sensor-based assessments in medical practice and rehabilitation include the measurement of physiological signals such as EEG, EMG, ECG, heart rate, and NIRS, and the recording of movement kinematics and interaction forces. Such measurements are commonly employed in clinics with the aim of assessing patients' pathologies, but so far some of them have found full exploitation mainly for research purposes. In fact, even though the data they allow to gather may shed light on physiopathology and mechanisms underlying motor recovery in rehabilitation, their practical use in the clinical environment is mainly devoted to research studies, with a very reduced impact on clinical practice. This is especially the case for muscle synergies, a well-known method for the evaluation of motor control in neuroscience based on multichannel EMG recordings. In this paper, considering neuromotor rehabilitation as one of the most important scenarios for exploiting novel methods to assess motor control, the main challenges and future perspectives for the standard clinical adoption of muscle synergy analysis are reported and critically discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Scano
- Institute of Intelligent Industrial Systems and Technologies for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian Council of National Research (CNR), 20133 Milan, Italy; (V.L.); (C.B.)
| | - Valentina Lanzani
- Institute of Intelligent Industrial Systems and Technologies for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian Council of National Research (CNR), 20133 Milan, Italy; (V.L.); (C.B.)
| | - Cristina Brambilla
- Institute of Intelligent Industrial Systems and Technologies for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA), Italian Council of National Research (CNR), 20133 Milan, Italy; (V.L.); (C.B.)
| | - Andrea d’Avella
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306-354, 00179 Rome, Italy;
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
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4
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Zheng X, Han Y, Liang J. Anthropomorphic motion planning for multi-degree-of-freedom arms. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2024; 12:1388609. [PMID: 38863490 PMCID: PMC11165200 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1388609] [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: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
With the development of technology, the humanoid robot is no longer a concept, but a practical partner with the potential to assist people in industry, healthcare and other daily scenarios. The basis for the success of humanoid robots is not only their appearance, but more importantly their anthropomorphic behaviors, which is crucial for the human-robot interaction. Conventionally, robots are designed to follow meticulously calculated and planned trajectories, which typically rely on predefined algorithms and models, resulting in the inadaptability to unknown environments. Especially when faced with the increasing demand for personalized and customized services, predefined motion planning cannot be adapted in time to adapt to personal behavior. To solve this problem, anthropomorphic motion planning has become the focus of recent research with advances in biomechanics, neurophysiology, and exercise physiology which deepened the understanding of the body for generating and controlling movement. However, there is still no consensus on the criteria by which anthropomorphic motion is accurately generated and how to generate anthropomorphic motion. Although there are articles that provide an overview of anthropomorphic motion planning such as sampling-based, optimization-based, mimicry-based, and other methods, these methods differ only in the nature of the planning algorithms and have not yet been systematically discussed in terms of the basis for extracting upper limb motion characteristics. To better address the problem of anthropomorphic motion planning, the key milestones and most recent literature have been collated and summarized, and three crucial topics are proposed to achieve anthropomorphic motion, which are motion redundancy, motion variation, and motion coordination. The three characteristics are interrelated and interdependent, posing the challenge for anthropomorphic motion planning system. To provide some insights for the research on anthropomorphic motion planning, and improve the anthropomorphic motion ability, this article proposes a new taxonomy based on physiology, and a more complete system of anthropomorphic motion planning by providing a detailed overview of the existing methods and their contributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiongfei Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yunyun Han
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiejunyi Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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O'Reilly D, Delis I. Dissecting muscle synergies in the task space. eLife 2024; 12:RP87651. [PMID: 38407224 PMCID: PMC10942626 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87651] [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] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The muscle synergy is a guiding concept in motor control research that relies on the general notion of muscles 'working together' towards task performance. However, although the synergy concept has provided valuable insights into motor coordination, muscle interactions have not been fully characterised with respect to task performance. Here, we address this research gap by proposing a novel perspective to the muscle synergy that assigns specific functional roles to muscle couplings by characterising their task-relevance. Our novel perspective provides nuance to the muscle synergy concept, demonstrating how muscular interactions can 'work together' in different ways: (1) irrespective of the task at hand but also (2) redundantly or (3) complementarily towards common task-goals. To establish this perspective, we leverage information- and network-theory and dimensionality reduction methods to include discrete and continuous task parameters directly during muscle synergy extraction. Specifically, we introduce co-information as a measure of the task-relevance of muscle interactions and use it to categorise such interactions as task-irrelevant (present across tasks), redundant (shared task information), or synergistic (different task information). To demonstrate these types of interactions in real data, we firstly apply the framework in a simple way, revealing its added functional and physiological relevance with respect to current approaches. We then apply the framework to large-scale datasets and extract generalizable and scale-invariant representations consisting of subnetworks of synchronised muscle couplings and distinct temporal patterns. The representations effectively capture the functional interplay between task end-goals and biomechanical affordances and the concurrent processing of functionally similar and complementary task information. The proposed framework unifies the capabilities of current approaches in capturing distinct motor features while providing novel insights and research opportunities through a nuanced perspective to the muscle synergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- David O'Reilly
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of LeedsLeedsUnited Kingdom
| | - Ioannis Delis
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of LeedsLeedsUnited Kingdom
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6
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De SD, Ricotta JM, Benamati A, Latash ML. Two classes of action-stabilizing synergies reflecting spinal and supraspinal circuitry. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:152-165. [PMID: 38116603 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00352.2023] [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: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
We explored force-stabilizing synergies during accurate four-finger constant force production tasks in spaces of finger modes (commands to fingers computed to account for the finger interdependence) and of motor unit (MU) firing frequencies. The main specific hypothesis was that the multifinger synergies would disappear during unintentional force drifts without visual feedback on the force magnitude, whereas MU-based synergies would be robust to such drifts. Healthy participants performed four-finger accurate cyclical force production trials followed by trials of constant force production. Individual MUs were identified in the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) and extensor digitorum communis (EDC). Principal component analysis was applied to motor unit frequencies to identify robust MU groups (MU-modes) with parallel scaling of the firing frequencies in FDS, in EDC, and the combined MUs of FDS + EDC. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis was used to quantify force-stabilizing synergies when visual feedback on the force magnitude was available and 15 s after turning the visual feedback off. Removing visual feedback led to a force drift toward lower magnitudes, accompanied by the disappearance of multifinger synergies. In contrast, MU-mode synergies were minimally affected by removing visual feedback off and continued to be robust for the FDS and for the EDC, while being absent for the (FDS + EDC) analysis. We interpret the findings within the theory of hierarchical control of action with spatial referent coordinates. The qualitatively different behavior of the multifinger and MU-mode-based synergies likely reflects the difference in the involved neural circuitry, supraspinal for the former and spinal for the latter.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two types of synergies, in the space of commands to individual fingers and in the space of motor unit groups, show qualitatively different behaviors during accurate multifinger force-production tasks. After removing visual feedback, finger force synergies disappear, whereas motor unit-based synergies persist. These results point at different neural circuitry involved in these two basic classes of synergies: supraspinal for multieffector synergies, and spinal for motor unit-based synergies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Deep De
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Joseph M Ricotta
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Anna Benamati
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Mark L Latash
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
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Cohn BA, Valero-Cuevas FJ. Muscle redundancy is greatly reduced by the spatiotemporal nature of neuromuscular control. FRONTIERS IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2023; 4:1248269. [PMID: 38028155 PMCID: PMC10663283 DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2023.1248269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Animals must control numerous muscles to produce forces and movements with their limbs. Current theories of motor optimization and synergistic control are predicated on the assumption that there are multiple highly diverse feasible activations for any motor task ("muscle redundancy"). Here, we demonstrate that the dimensionality of the neuromuscular control problem is greatly reduced when adding the temporal constraints inherent to any sequence of motor commands: the physiological time constants for muscle activation-contraction dynamics. We used a seven-muscle model of a human finger to fully characterize the seven-dimensional polytope of all possible motor commands that can produce fingertip force vector in any direction in 3D, in alignment with the core models of Feasibility Theory. For a given sequence of seven force vectors lasting 300 ms, a novel single-step extended linear program finds the 49-dimensional polytope of all possible motor commands that can produce the sequence of forces. We find that muscle redundancy is severely reduced when the temporal limits on muscle activation-contraction dynamics are added. For example, allowing a generous ± 12% change in muscle activation within 50 ms allows visiting only ∼ 7% of the feasible activation space in the next time step. By considering that every motor command conditions future commands, we find that the motor-control landscape is much more highly structured and spatially constrained than previously recognized. We discuss how this challenges traditional computational and conceptual theories of motor control and neurorehabilitation for which muscle redundancy is a foundational assumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A. Cohn
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Francisco J. Valero-Cuevas
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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8
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Leh A, Endres D, Hegele M. A primitive-based representation of dance: modulations by experience and perceptual validity. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:1214-1225. [PMID: 37820011 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00161.2023] [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: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The generation of complex movements such as dance might be possible due to the utilization of movement building blocks, i.e., movement primitives. However, it is largely unexplored how the temporal structure of a movement sequence and the recruitment of these primitives change with experience. Therefore, we obtained a representation of primitives with the temporal movement primitive model from the motion capture data of dancers with varying experiences, both for improvised and choreographed movements (elements from contemporary/modern/jazz) with different qualitative expressions. We analyzed differences between movement conditions regarding the number of temporal segments and the number of primitives, as well as their association with dance experience. Especially for the choreography with a neutral expression, the results indicate a negative association between experience and the number of segments and a positive association between experience and the number of primitives. The variation in the recruitment of these primitives suggests an increased consistency of modular control with experience, particularly for improvised dance. A prerequisite for the meaningful interpretation of these results regarding human movement production is that the model can generate perceptually valid dance movements. This was confirmed in a subsequent experiment, although the validity was slightly impaired for improvised movements. Overall, the results of the choreographed movement sequences suggest that experience is associated with an increase in motor repertoire that might facilitate fewer and longer temporal segments.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates that a temporal movement primitive model, trained with movements performed by dancers with different levels of experience, is able to generate natural-looking dance movements. The results suggest that motor experience in dance is associated not only with fewer temporal segments but also with an increase in the number of underlying movement building blocks. The recruitment of these primitives, which might be used to simplify movement production, additionally seems to become more consistent with experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amalaswintha Leh
- Neuromotor Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Dominik Endres
- Theoretical Cognitive Science, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Universities of Marburg and Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Mathias Hegele
- Neuromotor Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Universities of Marburg and Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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9
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Santos PDG, Vaz JR, Correia J, Neto T, Pezarat-Correia P. Long-Term Neurophysiological Adaptations to Strength Training: A Systematic Review With Cross-Sectional Studies. J Strength Cond Res 2023; 37:2091-2105. [PMID: 37369087 DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000004543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Santos, PDG, Vaz, JR, Correia, J, Neto, T, and Pezarat-Correia, P. Long-term neurophysiological adaptations to strength training: a systematic review with cross-sectional studies. J Strength Cond Res 37(10): 2091-2105, 2023-Neuromuscular adaptations to strength training are an extensively studied topic in sports sciences. However, there is scarce information about how neural mechanisms during force production differ between trained and untrained individuals. The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand the differences between highly trained and untrained individuals to establish the long-term neural adaptations to strength training. Three databases were used for the article search (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). Studies were included if they compared groups of resistance-trained with untrained people, aged 18-40 year, and acquired electromyography (EMG) signals during strength tasks. Twenty articles met the eligibility criteria. Generally, strength-trained individuals produced greater maximal voluntary activation, while reducing muscle activity in submaximal tasks, which may affect the acute response to strength training. These individuals also presented lower co-contraction of the antagonist muscles, although it depends on the specific training background. Global intermuscular coordination may be another important mechanism of adaptation in response to long-term strength training; however, further research is necessary to understand how it develops over time. Although these results should be carefully interpreted because of the great disparity of analyzed variables and methods of EMG processing, chronic neural adaptations seem to be decisive to greater force production. It is crucial to know the timings at which these adaptations stagnate and need to be stimulated with advanced training methods. Thus, training programs should be adapted to training status because the same stimulus in different training stages will lead to different responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo D G Santos
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João R Vaz
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz (CiiEM), Egas Moniz-Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, Monte da Caparica, Portugal; and
| | - Joana Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Tiago Neto
- Department of Physiotherapy, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, Differdange, Luxembourg
| | - Pedro Pezarat-Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
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Petrea RG, Moraru CE, Popovici IM, Știrbu IC, Radu LE, Chirazi M, Rus CM, Oprean A, Rusu O. Influences of Psychomotor Behaviors on Learning Swimming Styles in 6-9-Year-Old Children. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1339. [PMID: 37628338 PMCID: PMC10453054 DOI: 10.3390/children10081339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the existence of some relationships between certain psychomotor behaviors, which we consider specific to swimming, and learning to execute the technique of some swimming styles (front crawl and backstroke). The study was carried out for 10 months and included 76 children (40 boys and 36 girls) aged between 6 and 9 years who practice recreational swimming in a city in Romania. Several tools were used: the Tapping test for manual dexterity, the Goodenough test for body schema, the Flamingo test for static balance, and the horizontal buoyancy test for body balance on the water. The results indicated better ratings on all psychomotor behaviors analyzed according to gender (in favor of girls compared to boys). The levels of all analyzed psychomotor behaviors have a direct relationship to the subjects' age. Also, we identified moderate positive correlations for manual dexterity (rs = 0.63 in the front crawl style; rs = 0.57 in the backstroke style) and strong correlations for body schema, static balance and buoyancy, coordination with the learning of the two swimming styles (r or rs between 0.77 and 0.85). In conclusion, psychomotor behaviors can be predictors for learning swimming styles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Oana Rusu
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 507184 Iași, Romania; (R.-G.P.); (C.-E.M.); (I.-M.P.); (I.-C.Ș.); (L.-E.R.); (M.C.); (C.-M.R.); (A.O.)
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11
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Bermejo-García J, Rodríguez Jorge D, Romero-Sánchez F, Jayakumar A, Alonso-Sánchez FJ. Actuation Strategies for a Wearable Cable-Driven Exosuit Based on Synergies in Younger and Older Adults. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 23:261. [PMID: 36616858 PMCID: PMC9824617 DOI: 10.3390/s23010261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Older adults (aged 55 years and above) have greater difficulty carrying out activities of daily living than younger adults (aged 25−55 years). Although age-related changes in human gait kinetics are well documented in qualitative terms in the scientific literature, these differences may be quantified and analyzed using the analysis of motor control strategies through kinetic synergies. The gaits of two groups of people (older and younger adults), each with ten members, were analyzed on a treadmill at a constant controlled speed and their gait kinetics were recorded. The decomposition of the kinetics into synergies was applied to the joint torques at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Principal components determined the similarity of the kinetic torques in the three joints analyzed and the effect of the walking speed on the coordination pattern. A total of three principal components were required to describe enough information with minimal loss. The results suggest that the older group showed a change in coordination strategy compared to that of the younger group. The main changes were related to the ankle and hip torques, both showing significant differences (p-value <0.05) between the two groups. The findings suggest that the differences between the gait patterns of the two groups were closely related to a reduction in ankle torque and an increase in hip torque. This change in gait pattern may affect the rehabilitation strategy used when designing general-purpose rehabilitation devices or rehabilitation/training programs for the elderly.
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12
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He C, Xu XW, Zheng XF, Xiong CH, Li QL, Chen WB, Sun BY. Anthropomorphic Reaching Movement Generating Method for Human-Like Upper Limb Robot. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CYBERNETICS 2022; 52:13225-13236. [PMID: 34662283 DOI: 10.1109/tcyb.2021.3107341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
How to generate anthropomorphic reaching movement remains a challenging problem in service robots and human motor function repair/reconstruction equipment. However, there is no universally accepted computational model in the literature for reproducing the motion of the human upper limb. In response to the problem, this article presents a computational framework for generating reaching movement endowed with human motion characteristics that imitated the mechanism in the control and realization of human upper limb motions. This article first establishes the experimental paradigm of human upper limb functional movements and proposes the characterization of human upper limb movement characteristics and feature movement clustering methods in the joint space. Then, according to the specific task requirements of the upper limb, combined with the human sensorimotor model, the estimation method of the human upper limb natural postures was established. Next, a continuous task parametric model matching the characteristic motion class is established by using the Gaussian mixture regression method. The anthropomorphic motion generation method with the characteristics of the smooth trajectory and the ability of natural obstacle avoidance is proposed. Finally, the anthropomorphic motion generation method proposed in this article is verified by a human-like robot. The measurement index of the human-likeness degree of the trajectory is given. The experimental results show that for all four tested tasks, the human-likeness degrees were greater than 90.8%, and the trajectories' jerk generated by this method is very similar to the trajectories' jerk of humans, which validates the proposed method.
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13
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Intra-muscle Synergies Stabilizing Reflex-mediated Force Changes. Neuroscience 2022; 505:59-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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14
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Synergies Stabilizing Vertical Posture in Spaces of Control Variables. Neuroscience 2022; 500:79-94. [PMID: 35952997 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.08.006] [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: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we address the question: Can the central nervous system stabilize vertical posture in the abundant space of neural commands? We assume that the control of vertical posture is associated with setting spatial referent coordinates (RC) for the involved muscle groups, which translates into two basic commands, reciprocal and co-activation. We explored whether the two commands co-varied across trials to stabilize the initial postural state. Young, healthy participants stood quietly against an external horizontal load and were exposed to smooth unloading episodes. Linear regression between horizontal force and center of mass coordinate during the unloading phase was computed to define the intercept (RC) and slope (apparent stiffness, k). Hyperbolic regression between the intercept and slope across unloading episodes and randomization analysis both demonstrated high indexes of co-variation stabilizing horizontal force in the initial state. Higher co-variation indexes were associated with lower average k values across the participants suggesting destabilizing effects of muscle coactivation. Analysis of deviations in the {RC; k} space keeping the posture unchanged (motor equivalent) between two states separated by a voluntary quick body sway showed significantly larger motor equivalent deviations compared to non-motor equivalent ones. This is the first study demonstrating posture-stabilizing synergies in the space of neural control variables using various computational methods. It promises direct applications to studies of postural disorders and rehabilitation.
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15
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Mårup SH, Møller C, Vuust P. Coordination of voice, hands and feet in rhythm and beat performance. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8046. [PMID: 35577815 PMCID: PMC9110414 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11783-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Interlimb coordination is critical to the successful performance of simple activities in everyday life and it depends on precisely timed perception–action coupling. This is particularly true in music-making, where performers often use body-movements to keep the beat while playing more complex rhythmic patterns. In the current study, we used a musical rhythmic paradigm of simultaneous rhythm/beat performance to examine how interlimb coordination between voice, hands and feet is influenced by the inherent figure-ground relationship between rhythm and beat. Sixty right-handed participants—professional musicians, amateur musicians and non-musicians—performed three short rhythmic patterns while keeping the underlying beat, using 12 different combinations of voice, hands and feet. Results revealed a bodily hierarchy with five levels (1) left foot, (2) right foot, (3) left hand, (4) right hand, (5) voice, i.e., more precise task execution was observed when the rhythm was performed with an effector occupying a higher level in the hierarchy than the effector keeping the beat. The notion of a bodily hierarchy implies that the role assigned to the different effectors is key to successful interlimb coordination: the performance level of a specific effector combination differs considerably, depending on which effector holds the supporting role of the beat and which effector holds the conducting role of the rhythm. Although performance generally increased with expertise, the evidence of the hierarchy was consistent in all three expertise groups. The effects of expertise further highlight how perception influences action. We discuss the possibility that musicians’ more robust metrical prediction models make it easier for musicians to attenuate prediction errors than non-musicians. Overall, the study suggests a comprehensive bodily hierarchy, showing how interlimb coordination is influenced by hierarchical principles in both perception and action.
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16
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Intramuscle Synergies: Their Place in the Neural Control Hierarchy. Motor Control 2022; 27:402-441. [PMID: 36543175 DOI: 10.1123/mc.2022-0094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We accept a definition of synergy introduced by Nikolai Bernstein and develop it for various actions, from those involving the whole body to those involving a single muscle. Furthermore, we use two major theoretical developments in the field of motor control—the idea of hierarchical control with spatial referent coordinates and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis—to discuss recent studies of synergies within spaces of individual motor units (MUs) recorded within a single muscle. During the accurate finger force production tasks, MUs within hand extrinsic muscles form robust groups, with parallel scaling of the firing frequencies. The loading factors at individual MUs within each of the two main groups link them to the reciprocal and coactivation commands. Furthermore, groups are recruited in a task-specific way with gains that covary to stabilize muscle force. Such force-stabilizing synergies are seen in MUs recorded in the agonist and antagonist muscles but not in the spaces of MUs combined over the two muscles. These observations reflect inherent trade-offs between synergies at different levels of a control hierarchy. MU-based synergies do not show effects of hand dominance, whereas such effects are seen in multifinger synergies. Involuntary, reflex-based, force changes are stabilized by intramuscle synergies but not by multifinger synergies. These observations suggest that multifinger (multimuscle synergies) are based primarily on supraspinal circuitry, whereas intramuscle synergies reflect spinal circuitry. Studies of intra- and multimuscle synergies promise a powerful tool for exploring changes in spinal and supraspinal circuitry across patient populations.
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17
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Bonnet CT, Barela J, Singh T. Behavioral synergic relations between eye and postural movements in young adults searching to locate objects in room inside houses. Exp Brain Res 2021; 240:549-559. [PMID: 34845500 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06276-5] [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: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
During precise gaze shifts, eye, head, and body movements exhibit synergic relations. In the present study, we tested the existence of behavioural synergic relations between eye and postural movements in a goal-directed, precise, visual search task (locate target objects in large images). More precisely, we tested if postural control could be adjusted specifically to facilitate precise gaze shifts. Participants also performed a free-viewing task (gaze images with no goal) and a fixation task. In both search and free-viewing tasks, young participants (n = 20; mean age = 22 years) were free to move their eyes, head, and body segments as they pleased to self-explore the images with no external perturbation. We measured eye and postural kinematic movements. The results showed significant negative correlations between eye and postural (head and upper back) movements in the precise task, but not in the free-viewing task. The negative correlations were considered to be stabilizing and synergic. Indeed, the further the eyes moved, the more postural variables were adjusted to reduce postural sway. These results suggest that postural control was adjusted to succeed in subtle and active self-induced precise gaze shifts. Furthermore, partial correlations showed significant relations between (1) task performance to find target objects and (2) synergic relations between eye and postural movements. These later results tend to show that synergic eye-postural relations were performed to improve the task performance in the precise visual task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédrick T Bonnet
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193, SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Jose Barela
- Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, São Paulo, 13506-900, Brazil
| | - Tarkeshwar Singh
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
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18
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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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19
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Burnston DC. Bayes, predictive processing, and the cognitive architecture of motor control. Conscious Cogn 2021; 96:103218. [PMID: 34751148 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103218] [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: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite their popularity, relatively scant attention has been paid to the upshot of Bayesian and predictive processing models of cognition for views of overall cognitive architecture. Many of these models are hierarchical; they posit generative models at multiple distinct "levels," whose job is to predict the consequences of sensory input at lower levels. I articulate one possible position that could be implied by these models, namely, that there is a continuous hierarchy of perception, cognition, and action control comprising levels of generative models. I argue that this view is not entailed by a general Bayesian/predictive processing outlook. Bayesian approaches are compatible with distinct formats of mental representation. Focusing on Bayesian approaches to motor control, I argue that the junctures between different types of mental representation are places where the transitivity of hierarchical prediction may be broken, and I consider the upshot of this conclusion for broader discussions of cognitive architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel C Burnston
- Philosophy Department, Tulane University, Member Faculty, Tulane Brain Institute, United States.
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20
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Xu D, Shin N, Lee S, Park J. Frequency-Dependent Effects on Coordination and Prefrontal Hemodynamics During Finger Force Production Tasks. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:721679. [PMID: 34733144 PMCID: PMC8558484 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.721679] [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: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral stability partially depends on the variability of net outcomes by means of the co-varied adjustment of individual elements such as multi-finger forces. The properties of cyclic actions affect stability and variability of the performance as well as the activation of the prefrontal cortex that is an origin of subcortical structure for the coordinative actions. Little research has been done on the issue of the relationship between stability and neuronal response. The purpose of the study was to investigate the changes in the neural response, particularly at the prefrontal cortex, to the frequencies of isometric cyclic finger force production. The main experimental task was to produce finger forces while matching the produced force to sine-wave templates as accurately as possible. Also, the hemodynamics responses of the prefrontal cortex, including oxy-hemoglobin concentration (ΔHbO) and the functional connectivity, were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The frequency conditions comprised 0.1, 1, and 2 Hz. The uncontrolled manifold (UCM) approach was applied to compute synergy indices in time-series. The relative phase (RP), the coefficient of variation (CV) of the peak and trough force values were computed as the indices of performance accuracy. The statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was implemented to compare the synergy indices of three frequency conditions in time-series. A less accurate performance in the high-frequency condition was caused not by the RP, but mainly by the inconsistent peak force values (CV; p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.90). The SPM analysis revealed that the synergy indices were larger in the low-frequency than in high-frequency conditions. Further, the ΔHbO remained unchanged under all frequency conditions, while the functional connectivity decreased with an increase in the frequency of cyclic force production. The current results suggested that the concurrent activation of the prefrontal region mainly depends on the frequency of cyclic force production, which was associated with the strength of stability indices and performance errors. The current study is the first work to uncover the effect of frequency on the multi-finger synergies as to the hemodynamic response in the prefrontal cortex, which possibly provides a clue of the neural mechanism of synergy formation and its changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dayuan Xu
- Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Sport Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Narae Shin
- Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Sport Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sungjun Lee
- Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jaebum Park
- Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Sport Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.,Advanced Institute of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon, South Korea
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21
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Kimura A, Yokozawa T, Ozaki H. Clarifying the Biomechanical Concept of Coordination Through Comparison With Coordination in Motor Control. Front Sports Act Living 2021; 3:753062. [PMID: 34723181 PMCID: PMC8551718 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2021.753062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Coordination is a multidisciplinary concept in human movement science, particularly in the field of biomechanics and motor control. However, the term is not used synonymously by researchers and has substantially different meanings depending on the studies. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of coordination to avoid confusion. The meaning of coordination in motor control from computational and ecological perspectives has been clarified, and the meanings differed between them. However, in biomechanics, each study has defined the meaning of the term and the meanings are diverse, and no study has attempted to bring together the diversity of the meanings of the term. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a summary of the different meanings of coordination across the theoretical landscape and clarify the meaning of coordination in biomechanics. We showed that in biomechanics, coordination generally means the relation between elements that act toward the achievement of a motor task, which we call biomechanical coordination. We also showed that the term coordination used in computational and ecological perspectives has two different meanings, respectively. Each one had some similarities with biomechanical coordination. The findings of this study lead to an accurate understanding of the concept of coordination, which would help researchers formulate their empirical arguments for coordination in a more transparent manner. It would allow for accurate interpretation of data and theory development. By comprehensively providing multiple perspectives on coordination, this study intends to promote coordination studies in biomechanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arata Kimura
- Department of Sports Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiharu Yokozawa
- Department of Sports Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ozaki
- Department of Sports Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
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22
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Stamenkovic A, Ting LH, Stapley PJ. Evidence for constancy in the modularity of trunk muscle activity preceding reaching: implications for the role of preparatory postural activity. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:1465-1477. [PMID: 34587462 PMCID: PMC8782652 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00093.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Postural muscle activity precedes voluntary movements of the upper limbs. The traditional view of this activity is that it anticipates perturbations to balance caused by the movement of a limb. However, findings from reach-based paradigms have shown that postural adjustments can initiate center of mass displacement for mobility rather than minimize its displacement for stability. Within this context, altering reaching distance beyond the base of support would place increasing constraints on equilibrium during stance. If the underlying composition of anticipatory postural activity is linked to stability, coordination between muscles (i.e., motor modules) may evolve differently as equilibrium constraints increase. We analyzed the composition of motor modules in functional trunk muscles as participants performed multidirectional reaching movements to targets within and beyond the arm's length. Bilateral trunk and reaching arm muscle activity were recorded. Despite different trunk requirements necessary for successful movement, and the changing biomechanical (i.e., postural) constraints that accompany alterations in reach distance, nonnegative matrix factorization identified functional motor modules derived from preparatory trunk muscle activity that shared common features. Relative similarity in modular weightings (i.e., composition) and spatial activation profiles that reflect movement goals across tasks necessitating differing levels of trunk involvement provides evidence that preparatory postural adjustments are linked to the same task priorities (i.e., movement generation rather than stability).NEW & NOTEWORTHY Reaching within and beyond arm's length places different task constraints upon the required trunk motion necessary for successful movement execution. The identification of constant modular features, including functional muscle weightings and spatial tuning, lend support to the notion that preparatory postural adjustments of the trunk are tied to the same task priorities driving mobility, regardless of the future postural constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Stamenkovic
- Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Lena H Ting
- Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech College of Engineering, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Paul J Stapley
- Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
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23
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Bigand F, Prigent E, Berret B, Braffort A. Decomposing spontaneous sign language into elementary movements: A principal component analysis-based approach. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259464. [PMID: 34714862 PMCID: PMC8555838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259464] [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: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sign Language (SL) is a continuous and complex stream of multiple body movement features. That raises the challenging issue of providing efficient computational models for the description and analysis of these movements. In the present paper, we used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to decompose SL motion into elementary movements called principal movements (PMs). PCA was applied to the upper-body motion capture data of six different signers freely producing discourses in French Sign Language. Common PMs were extracted from the whole dataset containing all signers, while individual PMs were extracted separately from the data of individual signers. This study provides three main findings: (1) although the data were not synchronized in time across signers and discourses, the first eight common PMs contained 94.6% of the variance of the movements; (2) the number of PMs that represented 94.6% of the variance was nearly the same for individual as for common PMs; (3) the PM subspaces were highly similar across signers. These results suggest that upper-body motion in unconstrained continuous SL discourses can be described through the dynamic combination of a reduced number of elementary movements. This opens up promising perspectives toward providing efficient automatic SL processing tools based on heavy mocap datasets, in particular for automatic recognition and generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Félix Bigand
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, LISN, Orsay, France
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Bastien Berret
- Université Paris-Saclay, CIAMS, Institut Universitaire de France, Orsay, France
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24
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He C, Xiong CH, Chen ZJ, Fan W, Huang XL, Fu C. Preliminary Assessment of a Postural Synergy-Based Exoskeleton for Post-Stroke Upper Limb Rehabilitation. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2021; 29:1795-1805. [PMID: 34428146 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2021.3107376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Upper limb exoskeletons have drawn significant attention in neurorehabilitation because of the anthropomorphic mechanical structure analogous to human anatomy. Whereas, the training movements are typically unorganized because most exoskeletons ignore the natural movement characteristic of human upper limbs, particularly inter-joint postural synergy. This paper introduces a newly developed exoskeleton (Armule) for upper limb rehabilitation with a postural synergy design concept, which can reproduce activities of daily living (ADL) motion with the characteristics of human natural movements. The semitransparent active control strategy with the interactive force guidance and visual feedback ensured the active participation of users. Eight participants with hemiplegia due to a first-ever, unilateral stroke were recruited and included. They participated in exoskeleton therapy sessions for 4 weeks, with passive/active training under trajectories and postures with the characteristics of human natural movements. The primary outcome was the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremities (FMA-UE). The secondary outcomes were the Action Research Arm Test(ARAT), modified Barthel Index (mBI), and metric measured with the exoskeleton After the 4-weeks intervention, all subjects showed significant improvements in the following clinical measures: the FMA-UE (difference, 11.50 points, p = 0.002), the ARAT (difference, 7.75 points ), and the mBI (difference, 17.50 points, p = 0.003 ) score. Besides, all subjects showed significant improvements in kinematic and interaction force metrics measured with the exoskeleton. These preliminary results demonstrate that the Armule exoskeleton could improve individuals' motor control and ADL function after stroke, which might be associated with kinematic and interaction force optimization and postural synergy modification during functional tasks.
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25
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Latash ML. One more time about motor (and non-motor) synergies. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2951-2967. [PMID: 34383080 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06188-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We revisit the concept of synergy based on the recently translated classical book by Nikolai Bernstein (On the construction of movements, Medgiz, Moscow 1947; Latash, Bernstein's Construction of Movements, Routledge, Abingdon 2020b) and progress in understanding the physics and neurophysiology of biological action. Two aspects of synergies are described: organizing elements into stable groups (modes) and ensuring dynamical stability of salient performance variables. The ability of the central nervous system to attenuate synergies in preparation for a quick action-anticipatory synergy adjustments-is emphasized. Recent studies have demonstrated synergies at the level of hypothetical control variables associated with spatial referent coordinates for effectors. Overall, the concept of synergies fits naturally the hierarchical scheme of control with referent coordinates with an important role played by back-coupling loops within the central nervous system and from peripheral sensory endings. Further, we review studies showing non-trivial changes in synergies with development, aging, fatigue, practice, and a variety of neurological disorders. Two aspects of impaired synergic control-impaired stability and impaired agility-are introduced. The recent generalization of the concept of synergies for non-motor domains, including perception, is discussed. We end the review with a list of unresolved and troubling issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark L Latash
- Department of Kinesiology, Rec.Hall-268N, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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26
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Woo J, Xing F, Prince JL, Stone M, Gomez AD, Reese TG, Wedeen VJ, El Fakhri G. A deep joint sparse non-negative matrix factorization framework for identifying the common and subject-specific functional units of tongue motion during speech. Med Image Anal 2021; 72:102131. [PMID: 34174748 PMCID: PMC8316408 DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2021.102131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Intelligible speech is produced by creating varying internal local muscle groupings-i.e., functional units-that are generated in a systematic and coordinated manner. There are two major challenges in characterizing and analyzing functional units. First, due to the complex and convoluted nature of tongue structure and function, it is of great importance to develop a method that can accurately decode complex muscle coordination patterns during speech. Second, it is challenging to keep identified functional units across subjects comparable due to their substantial variability. In this work, to address these challenges, we develop a new deep learning framework to identify common and subject-specific functional units of tongue motion during speech. Our framework hinges on joint deep graph-regularized sparse non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) using motion quantities derived from displacements by tagged Magnetic Resonance Imaging. More specifically, we transform NMF with sparse and graph regularizations into modular architectures akin to deep neural networks by means of unfolding the Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm to learn interpretable building blocks and associated weighting map. We then apply spectral clustering to common and subject-specific weighting maps from which we jointly determine the common and subject-specific functional units. Experiments carried out with simulated datasets show that the proposed method achieved on par or better clustering performance over the comparison methods.Experiments carried out with in vivo tongue motion data show that the proposed method can determine the common and subject-specific functional units with increased interpretability and decreased size variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonghye Woo
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
| | - Fangxu Xing
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jerry L Prince
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Maureen Stone
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Arnold D Gomez
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Timothy G Reese
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Van J Wedeen
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Georges El Fakhri
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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27
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Madarshahian S, Latash ML. Synergies at the level of motor units in single-finger and multi-finger tasks. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2905-2923. [PMID: 34312703 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06180-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
We explored the organization of motor units recorded in the flexor digitorum superficialis into stable groups (MU-modes) and force-stabilizing synergies in spaces of MU-modes. Young, healthy participants performed one-finger and three-finger accurate cyclical force production tasks. Two wireless sensor arrays (Trigno Galileo, Delsys, Inc.) were placed over the proximal and distal portions of the muscle for surface recording and identification of motor unit action potentials. Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation and factor extraction was used to identify MU-modes. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis was used to analyze inter-cycle variance in the space of MU-modes and compute the index of force-stabilizing synergy. Multiple linear regression between the first MU-mode in the three-finger task and the first MU-modes in the three single-finger tasks showed no differences between the data recorded by the two electrodes suggesting that MU-modes were unlikely to be synonymous with muscle compartments. Multi-MU-mode synergies stabilizing task force were documented across all tasks. In contrast, there were no force-stabilizing synergies in the three-finger task analyzed in the space of individual finger forces. Our results confirm the synergic organization of motor units in single-finger tasks and, for the first time, expand this result to multi-finger tasks. We offer an interpretation of the findings within the theoretical scheme of control with spatial referent coordinates expanded to the analysis of individual motor units. The results confirm trade-offs between synergies at different hierarchical levels and expand this notion to intra-muscle synergies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirin Madarshahian
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, Rec. Hall-267, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Mark L Latash
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, Rec. Hall-267, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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28
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Neilson PD, Neilson MD, Bye RT. A Riemannian Geometry Theory of Synergy Selection for Visually-Guided Movement. Vision (Basel) 2021; 5:26. [PMID: 34070234 PMCID: PMC8163178 DOI: 10.3390/vision5020026] [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: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bringing together a Riemannian geometry account of visual space with a complementary account of human movement synergies we present a neurally-feasible computational formulation of visuomotor task performance. This cohesive geometric theory addresses inherent nonlinear complications underlying the match between a visual goal and an optimal action to achieve that goal: (i) the warped geometry of visual space causes the position, size, outline, curvature, velocity and acceleration of images to change with changes in the place and orientation of the head, (ii) the relationship between head place and body posture is ill-defined, and (iii) mass-inertia loads on muscles vary with body configuration and affect the planning of minimum-effort movement. We describe a partitioned visuospatial memory consisting of the warped posture-and-place-encoded images of the environment, including images of visible body parts. We depict synergies as low-dimensional submanifolds embedded in the warped posture-and-place manifold of the body. A task-appropriate synergy corresponds to a submanifold containing those postures and places that match the posture-and-place-encoded visual images that encompass the required visual goal. We set out a reinforcement learning process that tunes an error-reducing association memory network to minimize any mismatch, thereby coupling visual goals with compatible movement synergies. A simulation of a two-degrees-of-freedom arm illustrates that, despite warping of both visual space and posture space, there exists a smooth one-to-one and onto invertible mapping between vision and proprioception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter D. Neilson
- School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Megan D. Neilson
- Independent Researcher, late School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
| | - Robin T. Bye
- Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory, Department of ICT and Natural Sciences, NTNU—Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 1517, NO-6009 Ålesund, Norway;
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Turpin NA, Uriac S, Dalleau G. How to improve the muscle synergy analysis methodology? Eur J Appl Physiol 2021; 121:1009-1025. [PMID: 33496848 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-021-04604-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Muscle synergy analysis is increasingly used in domains such as neurosciences, robotics, rehabilitation or sport sciences to analyze and better understand motor coordination. The analysis uses dimensionality reduction techniques to identify regularities in spatial, temporal or spatio-temporal patterns of multiple muscle activation. Recent studies have pointed out variability in outcomes associated with the different methodological options available and there was a need to clarify several aspects of the analysis methodology. While synergy analysis appears to be a robust technique, it remain a statistical tool and is, therefore, sensitive to the amount and quality of input data (EMGs). In particular, attention should be paid to EMG amplitude normalization, baseline noise removal or EMG filtering which may diminish or increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the EMG signal and could have major effects on synergy estimates. In order to robustly identify synergies, experiments should be performed so that the groups of muscles that would potentially form a synergy are activated with a sufficient level of activity, ensuring that the synergy subspace is fully explored. The concurrent use of various synergy formulations-spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal synergies- should be encouraged. The number of synergies represents either the dimension of the spatial structure or the number of independent temporal patterns, and we observed that these two aspects are often mixed in the analysis. To select a number, criteria based on noise estimates, reliability of analysis results, or functional outcomes of the synergies provide interesting substitutes to criteria solely based on variance thresholds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas A Turpin
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France.
| | - Stéphane Uriac
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France
| | - Georges Dalleau
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France
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Strutzenberger G, Claußen L, Schwameder H. Analysis of sloped gait: How many steps are needed to reach steady-state walking speed after gait initiation? Gait Posture 2021; 83:167-173. [PMID: 33152612 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gait initiation in level walking is suggested to take three steps before reaching steady-state walking speed. In sloped gait, it is not clear if the general recommendation of level gait can be used. RESEARCH QUESTION The aim of this study was to investigate (1) if steady-state walking speed is reached within four steps in sloped gait, and (2) to what extent the number of initial steps cause differences in step length, cadence and ground reaction force (GRF). METHODS Fourteen healthy participants walked on an instrumented ramp at inclinations of 0°, ±6°, ±12°, and ±18°, covering slight (clinical application) to steep (hiking and mountaineering) slopes. The starting position on the ramp was adjusted to collect each of the first to fourth step using a 12 infrared-camera motion capture system and two force plates. For each slope condition steady-state walking speed was determined using the ratio of the braking and propulsion impulse (ratio pap;pbrakingppropulsion) and the resultant Centre of Mass (CoM) speed (velCoM). Statistical differences between steps were calculated by using a Friedman ANOVA and pairwise post-hoc Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS In all inclinations, ≥90 % (uphill) and ≥95 % (downhill) of steady-state speed regarding ratio pap and maximum velCoM was reached with the 3rd step. In the level and uphill condition the 4th step showed a slight decrease in velCoM. In uphill and downhill condition, the acceleration was mainly generated due to the increase in cadence with significant increases between the 1st and 2nd step as well as between the 2nd and 3rd step. A significant increase in step length was only observed in the uphill conditions. SIGNIFICANCE Steady-state walking speed was reached with the 3rd step and thus, walkways which allow for two initial steps seem to be appropriate for uphill and downhill gait analysis for inclinations up to ±18°.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerda Strutzenberger
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Schlossalee 49, 5400 Hallein-Rif, Salzburg, Austria; Bewegungsanalyse Zürich Cooperation of the Children's Hospital and University Hospital, Balgrist Forchstraße 340, Zürich, 8008, Switzerland.
| | - Lisa Claußen
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Schlossalee 49, 5400 Hallein-Rif, Salzburg, Austria; Institute of Sports and Sport Science, University of Kassel, Damaschkestraße 25, 34121 Kassel, Hesse, Germany.
| | - Hermann Schwameder
- Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Schlossalee 49, 5400 Hallein-Rif, Salzburg, Austria.
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Stetter BJ, Herzog M, Möhler F, Sell S, Stein T. Modularity in Motor Control: Similarities in Kinematic Synergies Across Varying Locomotion Tasks. Front Sports Act Living 2020; 2:596063. [PMID: 33345175 PMCID: PMC7739575 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2020.596063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Kinematic synergies (kSYN) provide an approach to quantify the covariation of joint motions and to explain the mechanisms underlying human motor behavior. A low-dimensional control strategy by means of the activation of a moderate number of kSYN would simplify the performance of complex motor tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine similarities between the kSYN of varying locomotion tasks: straight-line walking, walking a 90° spin turn and walking upstairs. Task-specific kSYN were extracted from full body kinematic recordings of 13 participants by principal component analysis. The first five kSYN accounting for most of the variance within each task were selected for further analysis following previous studies. The similarities between the kSYN of the three different locomotion tasks were quantified by calculating cosine similarities (SIM), as a vector-based similarity measure ranging from 0 (no similarity) to 1 (high similarity), between absolute principal component loading vectors. A SIM between two kSYN > 0.8 was interpreted as highly similar. Two to three highly similar kSYN were identified when comparing two individual tasks with each other. One kSYN, primarily characterized by anteversion and retroversion of the arms and legs, were found to be similar in all three tasks. Additional kSYN that occurred between individual tasks reflected mainly an upwards/downwards movement of the body or a countercyclical knee flexion/extension. The results demonstrate that the three investigated locomotion tasks are characterized by kSYN and that certain kSYN repeatedly occur across the three locomotion tasks. PCA yields kSYN which are in descent order according to their amount of total variance accounted for. Referring to the placing of a kSYN within the order as priorization, we found a change in priorization of repeatedly occurring kSYN across the individual tasks. The findings support the idea that movements can be efficiently performed through a flexible combination of a lower number of control-relevant variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernd J Stetter
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Michael Herzog
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Felix Möhler
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Stefan Sell
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.,Joint Center Black Forest, Hospital Neuenbuerg, Neuenbuerg, Germany
| | - Thorsten Stein
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Muscle Synergies Reliability in the Power Clean Exercise. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 2020; 5:jfmk5040075. [PMID: 33467290 PMCID: PMC7739416 DOI: 10.3390/jfmk5040075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Muscle synergy extraction has been utilized to investigate muscle coordination in human movement, namely in sports. The reliability of the method has been proposed, although it has not been assessed previously during a complex sportive task. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate intra- and inter-day reliability of a strength training complex task, the power clean, assessing participants' variability in the task across sets and days. Twelve unexperienced participants performed four sets of power cleans in two test days after strength tests, and muscle synergies were extracted from electromyography (EMG) data of 16 muscles. Three muscle synergies accounted for almost 90% of variance accounted for (VAF) across sets and days. Intra-day VAF, muscle synergy vectors, synergy activation coefficients and individual EMG profiles showed high similarity values. Inter-day muscle synergy vectors had moderate similarity, while the variables regarding temporal activation were still strongly related. The present findings revealed that the muscle synergies extracted during the power clean remained stable across sets and days in unexperienced participants. Thus, the mathematical procedure for the extraction of muscle synergies through nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) may be considered a reliable method to study muscle coordination adaptations from muscle strength programs.
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Using Optical Tracking System Data to Measure Team Synergic Behavior: Synchronization of Player-Ball-Goal Angles in a Football Match. SENSORS 2020; 20:s20174990. [PMID: 32899219 PMCID: PMC7506562 DOI: 10.3390/s20174990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The ecological dynamics approach to interpersonal relationships provides theoretical support to the use of kinematic data, obtained with sensor-based systems, in which players of a team are linked mainly by information from the performance environment. Our goal was to capture the properties of synergic behavior in football, using spatiotemporal data from one match of the 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA, to explore the application of player-ball-goal angles in cluster phase analysis. Linear mixed effects models were used to test the statistical significance of different effects, such as: team, half(-time), role and pitch zones. Results showed that the cluster phase values (synchronization) for the home team, had a 3.812×10−2±0.536×10−2 increase with respect to the away team (X2(41)=259.8, p<0.001) and that changing the role from with ball to without ball increased synchronization by 16.715×10−2±0.283×10−2 (X2(41)=12227.0, p<0.001). The interaction between effects was also significant. The player-team relative phase, the player-ball-goal angles relative frequency and the team configurations, showed that variations of synchronization might indicate critical performance changes (ball possession changes, goals scored, etc.). This study captured the ongoing player-environment link and the properties of team synergic behavior, supporting the use of sensor-based data computations in the development of relevant indicators for tactical analysis in sports.
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Vandekerckhove I, De Beukelaer N, Van den Hauwe M, Shuman BR, Steele KM, Van Campenhout A, Goemans N, Desloovere K, Goudriaan M. Muscle weakness has a limited effect on motor control of gait in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238445. [PMID: 32877421 PMCID: PMC7467330 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Our aim was to determine if synergy weights and activations are altered in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and if these alterations could be linked to muscle weakness. METHODS In 22 children with DMD and 22 typical developing (TD) children of a similar age, surface electromyography (sEMG) of the gluteus medius, rectus femoris (REF), medial hamstrings, tibialis anterior, and medial gastrocnemius (GAS) were recorded during gait. Muscle weakness was assessed with maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC). Synergies were calculated with non-negative matrix factorization. The number of synergies explaining ≥90% of the variance in the sEMG signals (N90), were extracted and grouped with k-means cluster analysis. We verified differences in weights with a Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical non-parametric mapping (Hotelling's T2 test and two-tailed t-test) was used to assess group differences in synergy activations. We used Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and canonical correlation analysis to assess if weakness was related to modifications in weights and activations, respectively. RESULTS For both groups, average N90 was three. In synergy one, characterized by activity at the beginning of stance, the DMDs showed an increased REF weight (p = 0.001) and decreased GAS weight (p = 0.007). Synergy activations were similar, with only a small difference detected in mid-swing in the combined activations (p<0.001). Weakness was not associated with these differences. CONCLUSION Despite the apparent weakness in DMD, synergy weights and activations were similar between the two groups. Our findings are in line with previous research suggesting non-neural alterations have limited influence on muscle synergies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Vandekerckhove
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Pellenberg, Belgium
| | - Nathalie De Beukelaer
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Pellenberg, Belgium
| | - Marleen Van den Hauwe
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Child Neurology, University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Benjamin R. Shuman
- Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- WRF Institute for Neuroengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Katherine M. Steele
- Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- WRF Institute for Neuroengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Anja Van Campenhout
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Orthopedics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Goemans
- Department of Child Neurology, University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kaat Desloovere
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Pellenberg, Belgium
| | - Marije Goudriaan
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Kerkman JN, Bekius A, Boonstra TW, Daffertshofer A, Dominici N. Muscle Synergies and Coherence Networks Reflect Different Modes of Coordination During Walking. Front Physiol 2020; 11:751. [PMID: 32792967 PMCID: PMC7394052 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
When walking speed is increased, the frequency ratio between the arm and leg swing switches spontaneously from 2:1 to 1:1. We examined whether these switches are accompanied by changes in functional connectivity between multiple muscles. Subjects walked on a treadmill with their arms swinging along their body while kinematics and surface electromyography (EMG) of 26 bilateral muscles across the body were recorded. Walking speed was varied from very slow to normal. We decomposed EMG envelopes and intermuscular coherence spectra using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), and the resulting modes were combined into multiplex networks and analyzed for their community structure. We found five relevant muscle synergies that significantly differed in activation patterns between 1:1 and 2:1 arm-leg coordination and the transition period between them. The corresponding multiplex network contained a single module indicating pronounced muscle co-activation patterns across the whole body during a gait cycle. NMF of the coherence spectra distinguished three EMG frequency bands: 4-8, 8-22, and 22-60 Hz. The community structure of the multiplex network revealed four modules, which clustered functional and anatomical linked muscles across modes of coordination. Intermuscular coherence at 4-22 Hz between upper and lower body and within the legs was particularly pronounced for 1:1 arm-leg coordination and was diminished when switching between modes of coordination. These findings suggest that the stability of arm-leg coordination is associated with modulations in long-distant neuromuscular connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer N. Kerkman
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences & Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Annike Bekius
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences & Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd W. Boonstra
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Andreas Daffertshofer
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences & Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Nadia Dominici
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences & Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Mileti I, Zampogna A, Santuz A, Asci F, Del Prete Z, Arampatzis A, Palermo E, Suppa A. Muscle Synergies in Parkinson's Disease. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 20:E3209. [PMID: 32517013 PMCID: PMC7308810 DOI: 10.3390/s20113209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Over the last two decades, experimental studies in humans and other vertebrates have increasingly used muscle synergy analysis as a computational tool to examine the physiological basis of motor control. The theoretical background of muscle synergies is based on the potential ability of the motor system to coordinate muscles groups as a single unit, thus reducing high-dimensional data to low-dimensional elements. Muscle synergy analysis may represent a new framework to examine the pathophysiological basis of specific motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), including balance and gait disorders that are often unresponsive to treatment. The precise mechanisms contributing to these motor symptoms in PD remain largely unknown. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of balance and gait disorders in PD is necessary to develop new therapeutic strategies. This narrative review discusses muscle synergies in the evaluation of motor symptoms in PD. We first discuss the theoretical background and computational methods for muscle synergy extraction from physiological data. We then critically examine studies assessing muscle synergies in PD during different motor tasks including balance, gait and upper limb movements. Finally, we speculate about the prospects and challenges of muscle synergy analysis in order to promote future research protocols in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Mileti
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy; (I.M.); (Z.D.P.); (E.P.)
| | - Alessandro Zampogna
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.Z.); (F.A.)
| | - Alessandro Santuz
- Department of Training and Movement Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany; (A.S.); (A.A.)
- Berlin School of Movement Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Atlantic Mobility Action Project, Brain Repair Centre, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Francesco Asci
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.Z.); (F.A.)
| | - Zaccaria Del Prete
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy; (I.M.); (Z.D.P.); (E.P.)
| | - Adamantios Arampatzis
- Department of Training and Movement Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany; (A.S.); (A.A.)
- Berlin School of Movement Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Eduardo Palermo
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy; (I.M.); (Z.D.P.); (E.P.)
| | - Antonio Suppa
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.Z.); (F.A.)
- IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli (IS), Italy
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Stirling L, Kelty-Stephen D, Fineman R, Jones MLH, Daniel Park BK, Reed MP, Parham J, Choi HJ. Static, Dynamic, and Cognitive Fit of Exosystems for the Human Operator. HUMAN FACTORS 2020; 62:424-440. [PMID: 32004106 DOI: 10.1177/0018720819896898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To define static, dynamic, and cognitive fit and their interactions as they pertain to exosystems and to document open research needs in using these fit characteristics to inform exosystem design. BACKGROUND Initial exosystem sizing and fit evaluations are currently based on scalar anthropometric dimensions and subjective assessments. As fit depends on ongoing interactions related to task setting and user, attempts to tailor equipment have limitations when optimizing for this limited fit definition. METHOD A targeted literature review was conducted to inform a conceptual framework defining three characteristics of exosystem fit: static, dynamic, and cognitive. Details are provided on the importance of differentiating fit characteristics for developing exosystems. RESULTS Static fit considers alignment between human and equipment and requires understanding anthropometric characteristics of target users and geometric equipment features. Dynamic fit assesses how the human and equipment move and interact with each other, with a focus on the relative alignment between the two systems. Cognitive fit considers the stages of human-information processing, including somatosensation, executive function, and motor selection. Human cognitive capabilities should remain available to process task- and stimulus-related information in the presence of an exosystem. Dynamic and cognitive fit are operationalized in a task-specific manner, while static fit can be considered for predefined postures. CONCLUSION A deeper understanding of how an exosystem fits an individual is needed to ensure good human-system performance. Development of methods for evaluating different fit characteristics is necessary. APPLICATION Methods are presented to inform exosystem evaluation across physical and cognitive characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Richard Fineman
- 2167 Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology Program, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Monica L H Jones
- 1259 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, USA
| | | | - Matthew P Reed
- 1259 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Joseph Parham
- 155353 U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick, MA, USA
| | - Hyeg Joo Choi
- 155353 U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick, MA, USA
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Nguyen KH, Scheurich TE, Gu T, Berkowitz A. Spinal Interneurons With Dual Axon Projections to Knee-Extensor and Hip-Extensor Motor Pools. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 14:7. [PMID: 32226362 PMCID: PMC7080864 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.00007] [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: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The central nervous system (CNS) may simplify control of limb movements by activating certain combinations of muscles together, i.e., muscle synergies. Little is known, however, about the spinal cord interneurons that activate muscle synergies by exciting sets of motoneurons for different muscles. The turtle spinal cord, even without brain inputs and movement-related sensory feedback, can generate the patterns of motoneuron activity underlying forward swimming, three forms of scratching, and limb withdrawal. Spinal interneurons activated during scratching are typically activated during all three forms of scratching, to different degrees, even though each form of scratching has its own knee-hip synergy. Such spinal interneurons are also typically activated rhythmically during scratching motor patterns, with hip-related timing. We proposed a hypothesis that such interneurons that are most active during rostral scratch stimulation project their axons to both knee-extensor and hip-flexor motoneurons, thus generating the rostral scratch knee-hip synergy, while those interneurons most active during pocket scratch stimulation project their axons to both knee-extensor and hip-extensor motoneurons, thus generating the pocket scratch knee-hip synergy. The activity of the entire population would then generate the appropriate synergy, depending on the location of sensory stimulation. Mathematical modeling has demonstrated that this hypothesis is feasible. Here, we provide one test of this hypothesis by injecting two fluorescent retrograde tracers into the regions of knee-extensor motoneurons (more rostrally) and hip-extensor motoneurons (more caudally). We found that there were double-labeled interneurons, which projected their axons to both locations. The dual-projecting interneurons were widely distributed rostrocaudally, dorsoventrally, and mediolaterally within the hindlimb enlargement and pre-enlargement spinal segments examined. The existence of such dual-projecting interneurons is consistent with the hypothesis that they contribute to generating the knee-hip synergy for pocket scratching. The dual-projecting interneurons, however, were only about 1% of the total interneurons projecting to each location, which suggests that they might be one of several contributors to the appropriate knee-hip synergy. Indirect projections to both motor pools and/or knee extensor-dedicated interneurons might also contribute. There is evidence for dual-projecting spinal interneurons in frogs and mice as well, suggesting that they may contribute to limb motor control in a variety of vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khuong H Nguyen
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
| | - Thomas E Scheurich
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
| | - Tingting Gu
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
| | - Ari Berkowitz
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States.,Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
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Generalization of the resource-rationality principle to neural control of goal-directed movements. Behav Brain Sci 2020; 43:e10. [PMID: 32159469 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x19001559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
We review evidence that the resource-rationality principle generalizes to human movement control. Optimization of the use of limited neurocomputational resources is described by the inclusion of the "neurocomputational cost" of sensory information processing and decision making in the optimality criterion of movement control. A resulting tendency to decrease this cost can account for various phenomena observed during goal-directed movements.
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Kostyukov AI, Lehedza OV, Gorkovenko AV, Abramovych TI, Pilewska W, Mischenko VS, Zasada M. Hysteresis and Synergy of the Central Commands to Muscles Participating in Parafrontal Upper Limb Movements. Front Physiol 2019; 10:1441. [PMID: 31849699 PMCID: PMC6901957 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The averaged electromyograms (EMGs) were registered from the arm muscles of ten subjects in movements of the right hand performed under visual guidance on the horizontal plane along linear trajectories going parallel to the frontal plane at various distances from the trunk. The tests consisted of the steady movements (speed 4 cm/s) between two points symmetrical about the shoulder axis; the hand moved firstly from left to right, then in the opposite direction. The tests repeated ten times for each of two equal loads (10.2 N) applied to the hand along movement trajectory in the right- (Fr) or leftward (Fl) directions. The elbow and shoulder flexors reacted predominantly on Fr loads; the extensors were mostly activated by Fl loads. Positional changes of the averaged EMGs in both flexor and extensor muscles belonging to different joints demonstrated hysteresis properties; the respective hysteresis loops had counterclockwise direction in flexors and clockwise in extensors. The muscles predominantly opposing the loading forces of a given direction participate in a cocontraction mode as antagonists when the direction of load is changed; in this case, together with a decrease in the amplitude of the hysteresis loops, their direction is also reversed. The multiplication index of synergy (MIS), which is based on multiplication of the respective normalized averaged EMG records, has been proposed to evaluate quantitatively changes in the synergy effects between various muscle groups. For distal shifts of the movement traces, the synergy effects are shown to be changed in different directions, increasing in flexors and decreasing in extensors. The obtained results demonstrate that the muscle hysteresis leads to strong modification of the central commands during movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander I Kostyukov
- Department of Movements Physiology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.,Faculty of Physical Education, Health and Tourism, Institute of Physical Culture, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Oleksii V Lehedza
- Department of Movements Physiology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Andrii V Gorkovenko
- Department of Movements Physiology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Tetiana I Abramovych
- Department of Movements Physiology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Wieslawa Pilewska
- Faculty of Physical Education, Health and Tourism, Institute of Physical Culture, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Viktor S Mischenko
- Department of Physical Education, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zasada
- Faculty of Physical Education, Health and Tourism, Institute of Physical Culture, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland
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Merel J, Botvinick M, Wayne G. Hierarchical motor control in mammals and machines. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5489. [PMID: 31792198 PMCID: PMC6889345 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13239-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in artificial intelligence are stimulating interest in neuroscience. However, most attention is given to discrete tasks with simple action spaces, such as board games and classic video games. Less discussed in neuroscience are parallel advances in "synthetic motor control". While motor neuroscience has recently focused on optimization of single, simple movements, AI has progressed to the generation of rich, diverse motor behaviors across multiple tasks, at humanoid scale. It is becoming clear that specific, well-motivated hierarchical design elements repeatedly arise when engineering these flexible control systems. We review these core principles of hierarchical control, relate them to hierarchy in the nervous system, and highlight research themes that we anticipate will be critical in solving challenges at this disciplinary intersection.
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Smeets JBJ, van der Kooij K, Brenner E. A review of grasping as the movements of digits in space. J Neurophysiol 2019; 122:1578-1597. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00123.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
It is tempting to describe human reach-to-grasp movements in terms of two, more or less independent visuomotor channels, one relating hand transport to the object’s location and the other relating grip aperture to the object’s size. Our review of experimental work questions this framework for reasons that go beyond noting the dependence between the two channels. Both the lack of effect of size illusions on grip aperture and the finding that the variability in grip aperture does not depend on the object’s size indicate that size information is not used to control grip aperture. An alternative is to describe grip formation as emerging from controlling the movements of the digits in space. Each digit’s trajectory when grasping an object is remarkably similar to its trajectory when moving to tap the same position on its own. The similarity is also evident in the fast responses when the object is displaced. This review develops a new description of the speed-accuracy trade-off for multiple effectors that is applied to grasping. The most direct support for the digit-in-space framework is that prism-induced adaptation of each digit’s tapping movements transfers to that digit’s movements when grasping, leading to changes in grip aperture for adaptation in opposite directions for the two digits. We conclude that although grip aperture and hand transport are convenient variables to describe grasping, treating grasping as movements of the digits in space is a more suitable basis for understanding the neural control of grasping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen B. J. Smeets
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Katinka van der Kooij
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eli Brenner
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Evaluation of the Complexity of Control of Simple Linear Hand Movements Using Principal Component Analysis. NEUROPHYSIOLOGY+ 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11062-019-09804-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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