Human Movement Variability and Aging

An optimal level of variability enables us to interact adaptively and safely to a continuously changing environment, where often our movements must be adjusted in a matter of milliseconds. A large body of research exists that demonstrates natural variability in healthy gait (along with variability in other, healthy biological signals such as heart rate) and a loss of this variability in aging and injury, as well as in a variety of neurodegenerative and physiological disorders. We submit that this field of research is now in pressing need of an innovative “next step” that goes beyond the many descriptive studies that characterize levels of variability in various patient populations. We need to devise novel therapies that will harness the existing knowledge on biological variability and create new possibilities for those in the grip of disease. We also propose that the nature of the specific physiological limitation present in the neuromuscular apparatus may be less important in the physiological complexity framework than the control mechanisms adopted by the older individual in the coordination of the available degrees of freedom. The theoretical underpinnings of this framework suggest that interventions designed to restore healthy system dynamics may optimize functional improvements in older adults. We submit that interventions based on the restoration of optimal variability and movement complexity could potentially be applied across a range of diseases or dysfunctions as it addresses the adaptability and coordination of available degrees of freedom, regardless of the internal constraints of the individual

Step activity and stride-to-stride fluctuations are negatively correlated in individuals with transtibial amputation

Background Variability occurs naturally from stride to stride in healthy gait. It has been shown that individuals with lower limb loss have significantly increased stride-to-stride fluctuations during walking. This is considered indicative of movement disorganization and is associated with less healthy movement. Given that lower limb prosthesis users perform on average less physical activity than able bodied individuals, the purpose of this study was to determine whether increased fluctuations also correspond to a reduced level of activity in daily life. Methods Twenty-two transtibial amputees wore an activity monitor (Actigraph, Pensacola, FL, USA) for 3 weeks. Lower limb kinematics during treadmill walking were measured using a 12-camera motion capture system. The largest Lyapunov exponent (λ) was calculated bilaterally at the ankle, knee and hip to quantify the stride-to-stride fluctuations of the lower limb joints. Pearson correlations were used to identify the relationships between the average daily step count over the 3 week collection period and λ. Findings Significant, moderate negative correlations between daily step count and λ were found at the intact ankle (r = 0.57, P = 0.005), and the knee on the affected side (r = 0.44, P = 0.038). No such correlation was found at any other lower limb joint. Interpretation The negative correlation evident at these two joints demonstrates that increased stride-to-stride fluctuations are related to decreased activity levels, however it remains unclear whether these changes in the stride-to-stride fluctuations promote decreased activity or whether less active individuals do not gain sufficient motor learning experience to achieve a skilled movement

Dynamic balance changes within three weeks of fitting a new prosthetic foot component

Balance during walking is of high importance to prosthesis users and may affect walking during baseline observation and evaluation. The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in walking balance occurred during an adaptation period following the fitting of a new prosthetic component. Margin of stability in the medial-lateral direction (MOSML) and an anterior instability margin (AIM) were used to quantify the dynamic balance of 21 unilateral transtibial amputees during overground walking. Participants trialled two prosthetic feet presenting contrasting movement/balance constraints; a Higher Activity foot similar to that of their own prosthesis, and a Lower Activity foot. Participants were assessed before (Visit 1) and after (Visit 2) a 3-week adaptation period on each foot. With the Higher Activity component, MOSML decreased on the prosthetic side, and increased on the sound side from Visit 1 to Visit 2, eliminating a significant inter-limb difference apparent at Visit 1 (Visit 1–sound = 0.062 m, prosthetic = 0.075 m, p = 0.018; Visit 2–sound = 0.066 m, prosthetic = 0.074 m, p = 0.084). No such change was seen with the Lower Activity foot (Visit 1–sound = 0.064 m, prosthetic = 0.077 m, p = 0.007; Visit 2–sound = 0.063 m, prosthetic = 0.080 m, p \u3c 0.001). Significant changes in AIM were observed at Visit 2 (Visit 1: −0.16 (0.08) m, Visit 2: −0.17 (0.08) m; F = 23.396, p \u3c 0.01). These findings suggest that changes in balance during walking can occur following the initial receipt of a device regardless of whether the component is of the same functional category as the one an individual is accustomed to using

Changes in human walking dynamics induced by uneven terrain are reduced with ongoing exposure, but a higher variability persists

During walking, uneven terrain alters the action of the ground reaction force from stride to stride. The extent to which such environmental inconsistencies are withstood may be revealed by the regulation of whole-body angular momentum (L) during walking. L quantifies the balance of momenta of the body segments (thigh, trunk, etc.) about their combined center of mass, and remains close to zero during level walking. A failure to constrain L has been linked to falls. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of young adults to orchestrate their movement on uneven terrain, illustrated by the range of L (LR) and its variability (vLR). In eleven male adults, we observed significant increases in sagittal plane LR, and vLR in all three planes of motion during walking on an uneven in comparison to a flat surface. No reductions in these measures were observed within a 12-minute familiarisation period, suggesting that unimpaired adults either are unable to, or do not need to eliminate the effects of uneven terrain. Transverse plane LR, in contrast, was lower on immediate exposure, and then increased, pointing to the development of a less restrictive movement pattern, and would support the latter hypothesis

Locomotor patterns change over time during walking on an uneven surface

During walking, uneven surfaces impose new demands for controlling balance and forward progression at each step. It is unknown to what extent walking may be refined given an amount of stride-to-stride unpredictability at the distal level. Here, we explored the effects of an uneven terrain surface on whole-body locomotor dynamics immediately following exposure and after a familiarization period. Eleven young, unimpaired adults walked for 12 min on flat and uneven terrain treadmills. The whole-body center of mass excursion range (COMexc) and peak velocity (COMvel), step length and width were estimated. On first exposure to uneven terrain, we saw significant increases in medial–lateral COMexc and lateral COMvel, and in the variability of COMexc, COMvel and foot placement in both anterior–posterior and medial–lateral directions. Increases in step width and decreases in step length supported the immediate adoption of a cautious, restrictive solution on uneven terrain. After familiarization, step length increased and the variability of anterior–posterior COMvel and step length reduced, while step width and lateral COMvel reduced, alluding to a refinement of movement and a reduction of conservative strategies over time. However, the variability of medial–lateral COMexc and lateral COMvel increased, consistent with the release of previously constrained degrees of freedom. Despite this increase in variability, a strong relationship between step width and medial–lateral center of mass movement was maintained. Our results indicate that movement strategies of unimpaired adults when walking on uneven terrain can evolve over time with longer exposure to the surface

Stochastic Resonance Reduces Sway and Gait Variability in Individuals With Unilateral Transtibial Amputation: A Pilot Study

Sub-threshold (imperceptible) vibration, applied to parts of the body, impacts how people move and perceive our world. Could this idea help someone who has lost part of their limb? Sub-threshold vibration was applied to the thigh of the affected limb of 20 people with unilateral transtibial amputation. Vibration conditions tested included two noise structures: pink and white. Center of pressure (COP) excursion (range and root-mean-square displacements) during quiet standing, and speed and spatial stride measures (mean and standard deviations of step length and width) during walking were assessed. Pink noise vibration decreased COP displacements in standing, and white noise vibration decreased sound limb step length standard deviation in walking. Sub-threshold vibration positively impacted aspects of both posture and gait; however, different noise structures had different effects. The current study represents foundational work in understanding the potential benefits of incorporating stochastic resonance as an intervention for individuals with amputation

Including fringe fields from a nearby ferromagnet in a percolation theory of organic magnetoresistance

Random hyperfine fields are essential to mechanisms of low-field magnetoresistance in organic semiconductors. Recent experiments have shown that another type of random field fringe fields due to a nearby ferromagnet can also dramatically affect the magnetoresistance. A theoretical analysis of the effect of these fringe fields is challenging, as the fringe field magnitudes and their correlation lengths are orders of magnitude larger than that of the hyperfine couplings. We extend a recent theory of organic magnetoresistance to calculate the magnetoresistance with both hyperfine and fringe fields present. This theory describes several key features of the experimental fringe-field magnetoresistance, including the applied fields where the magnetoresistance reaches extrema, the applied field range of large magnetoresistance effects from the fringe fields, and the sign of the effect

Hysteretic control of organic conductance due to remanent magnetic fringe fields

Manipulation of the remanent (zero external magnetic field) magnetization state of a single ferromagnetic film is shown to control the room-temperature conductance of an organic semiconductor thin film deposited on top. For the organic semiconductor Alq3, the magnetic fringe fields from a multidomain remanent magnetization state of the film enhance the device conductance by several percent relative to its value for the magnetically saturated ferromagnetic film. The effect of fringe fields is insensitive to ferromagnetic film's thickness (which varies the fringe field magnitude proportionately) but sensitive to the magnetic domain's correlation length

Organic magnetoelectroluminescence for room temperature transduction between magnetic and optical information

Magnetic and spin-based technologies for data storage and processing provide unique challenges for information transduction to light because of magnetic metals' optical loss, and the inefficiency and resistivity of semiconductor spin-based emitters at room temperature. Transduction between magnetic and optical information in typical organic semiconductors poses additional challenges, as the spin-orbit interaction is weak and spin injection from magnetic electrodes has been limited to low temperature and low polarization efficiency. Here we demonstrate room temperature information transduction between a magnet and an organic light-emitting diode that does not require electrical current, based on control via the magnet's remanent field of the exciton recombination process in the organic semiconductor. This demonstration is explained quantitatively within a theory of spin-dependent exciton recombination in the organic semiconductor, driven primarily by gradients in the remanent fringe fields of a few nanometre-thick magnetic film

Singlet-to-triplet interconversion using hyperfine as well as ferromagnetic fringe fields

Until recently the important role that spin-physics ('spintronics') plays in organic light-emitting devices and photovoltaic cells was not sufficiently recognized. This attitude has begun to change. We review our recent work that shows that spatially rapidly varying local magnetic fields that may be present in the organic layer dramatically affect electronic transport properties and electroluminescence efficiency. Competition between spin-dynamics due to these spatially varying fields and an applied, spatially homogeneous magnetic field leads to large magnetoresistance, even at room temperature where the thermodynamic influences of the resulting nuclear and electronic Zeeman splittings are negligible. Spatially rapidly varying local magnetic fields are naturally present in many organic materials in the form of nuclear hyperfine fields, but we will also review a second method of controlling the electrical conductivity/electroluminescence, using the spatially varying magnetic fringe fields of a magnetically unsaturated ferromagnet. Fringe-field magnetoresistance has a magnitude of several per cent and is hysteretic and anisotropic. This new method of control is sensitive to even remanent magnetic states, leading to different conductivity/electroluminescence values in the absence of an applied field. We briefly review a model based on fringe-field-induced polaronpair spin-dynamics that successfully describes several key features of the experimental fringe-field magnetoresistance and magnetoelectroluminescence