Visuomotor Transformation for the Lead Leg Affects Trail Leg Trajectories During Visually Guided Crossing Over a Virtual Obstacle in Humans

When walking around a room or outside, we often need to negotiate external physical objects, such as walking up stairs or stepping over an obstacle. In previous studies on obstacle avoidance, lead and trail legs in humans have been considered to be controlled independently on the basis of visual input regarding obstacle properties. However, this perspective has not been sufficient because the influence of visuomotor transformation in the lead leg on the trail leg has not been fully elucidated due to technical limitations in the experimental tasks of stepping over physical obstacles. In this study, we investigated how visuomotor transformation in the lead leg affected movement trajectories in the trail leg using a visually guided task of crossing over a virtual obstacle. Trials for stepping over a physical obstacle were established followed by visually guided tasks in which cursors corresponding to the subject’s lead and trail limb toe positions were displayed on a head-mounted display apparatus. Subjects were instructed to manipulate the cursors so that they precisely crossover a virtual obstacle. In the middle of the trials, the vertical displacement of the cursor only in the lead leg was reduced relative to the actual toe movement during one or two consecutive trials. This visuomotor perturbation resulted in higher elevation not only in the lead limb toe position but also in the trail limb toe trajectories, and then the toe heights returned to the baseline in washout trials, indicating that the visuomotor transformation for obstacle avoidance in the lead leg affects the trail leg trajectory. Taken together, neural resources of limb-specific motor memories for obstacle crossing movements in the lead and trail legs can be shared based on visual input regarding obstacle properties

Region specificity of rectus femoris muscle for force vectors in vivo.

To examine the region specificity within the rectus femoris (RF) for knee extension and hip flexion force directions, three force components around the ankle were measured during intramuscular electrical stimulation applied to six parts of the RF: a proximal and medial part, a proximal and lateral part, a middle and medial part, a middle and lateral part, a distal and medial part, and a distal and lateral part. As a result, the exerted force directions in all of the subjects were variable in all regions, and the proximal region of the RF was the dominant contributor to the hip flexion moment. In addition, the force in the lateral region of the RF, rather than that in the medial region, denoted the lateral direction. These results suggest that divergent regions of muscle fibers within the RF are responsible for different functions in determining the force direction

ABSENT MUSCLE COORDINATION PATTERNS AND REDUCED FORCE EXERTION IN THE NOVICE OF CLEAN EXERCISE

The clarification of the problems to perform the clean in novice obtains several suggestions for technical guidance. We aimed to identify the control of muscle coordination patterns and related kinetic problems during the clean. Five experienced participants (EXP) and five novices (NOV) performed the clean. The synchronous activation patterns among several muscles were extracted using a decomposition technique. The median number of patterns in NOV (2) was smaller than that of EXP (4). We specified the absent pattern, which was related to the activation of lower limb extensors at the termination of the scoop phase. This might lead to insufficient ankle plantarflexion torque or backward ground reaction forces for pulling the barbell. A practical implication is that a novice needs to pay attention to learning the appropriate activation timing of lower limb extensors for sufficient force exertion

CAUSALITY IN THE FEEDBACK LOOP DURiNG BALANCING TASKS: INTERMITTENT CONTROL OF QUIET STANDING

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the timing of intermittent muscle activity and joint fluctuation and between intermittent muscle activity and joint torque output. Eight healthy male participants stood quietly on the force platform for 120 sec, while we measured angular displacements and joint toque of the ankle, knee, and hip in the sagittal plane. Surface electromyography from six leg muscles of each leg was also recorded to determine phasic muscle activation and deactivation for each muscle by using two low-pass filters. We found that muscle activation and deactivation periods were in accordance with joint position and velocity and were associated with torque fluctuations in the anatomical action direction. These results succeeded in experimentally visualizing the causality of the feedback loop of the postural control mechanism

Novel insights into bi-articular muscle actions gained from high-density EMG

Biarticular muscles have traditionally been considered to exhibit homogeneous neuromuscular activation. The regional activation of biarticular muscles, as revealed from high-density surface electromyograms, seems however to discredit this notion. We thus hypothesize the regional activation of biarticular muscles may contribute to different actions about the joints they span. We then discuss the mechanistic basis and methodological implications underpinning our hypothesis

Lower Local Dynamic Stability and Invariable Orbital Stability in the Activation of Muscle Synergies in Response to Accelerated Walking Speeds

In order to achieve flexible and smooth walking, we must accomplish subtasks (e. g., loading response, forward propulsion or swing initiation) within a gait cycle. To evaluate subtasks within a gait cycle, the analysis of muscle synergies may be effective. In the case of walking, extracted sets of muscle synergies characterize muscle patterns that relate to the subtasks within a gait cycle. Although previous studies have reported that the muscle synergies of individuals with disorders reflect impairments, a way to investigate the instability in the activations of muscle synergies themselves has not been proposed. Thus, we investigated the local dynamic stability and orbital stability of activations of muscle synergies across various walking speeds using maximum Lyapunov exponents and maximum Floquet multipliers. We revealed that the local dynamic stability in the activations decreased with accelerated walking speeds. Contrary to the local dynamic stability, the orbital stability of the activations was almost constant across walking speeds. In addition, the increasing rates of maximum Lyapunov exponents were different among the muscle synergies. Therefore, the local dynamic stability in the activations might depend on the requirement of motor output related to the subtasks within a gait cycle. We concluded that the local dynamic stability in the activation of muscle synergies decrease as walking speed accelerates. On the other hand, the orbital stability is sustained across broad walking speeds

Effect of Resistance Training and Fish Protein Intake on Motor Unit Firing Pattern and Motor Function of Elderly

We investigated the effect of resistance training and fish protein intake on the motor unit firing pattern and motor function in elderly. Fifty healthy elderly males and females (69.2 ± 4.7 years) underwent 6 weeks of intervention. We applied the leg-press exercise as resistance training and fish protein including Alaska pollack protein (APP) as nutritional supplementation. Subjects were divided into four groups: fish protein intake without resistance training (APP-CN, n = 13), placebo intake without resistance training (PLA-CN, n = 12), fish protein intake with resistance training (APP-RT, n = 12), and placebo intake with resistance training (PLA-RT, n = 13). Motor unit firing rates were calculated from multi-channel surface electromyography by the Convolution Kernel. For the chair-stand test, while significant increases were observed at 6 weeks compared with 0 week in all groups (p < 0.05), significant increases from 0 to 3 weeks and 6 weeks were observed in APP-RT (18.2 ± 1.9 at 0 week to 19.8 ± 2.2 at 3 weeks and 21.2 ± 1.9 at 6 weeks) (p < 0.05). Increase and/or decrease in the motor unit firing rate were mainly noted within motor units with a low-recruitment threshold in APP-RT and PLA-RT at 3 and 6 weeks (12.3 pps at 0 week to 13.6 pps at 3 weeks and 12.1 pps at 6 weeks for APP-RT and 12.9 pps at 0 week to 13.9 pps at 3 weeks and 14.1 pps at 6 weeks for PLA-RT at 50% of MVC) (p < 0.05), but not in APP-CN or PLA-CN (p > 0.05). Time courses of changes in the results of the chair-stand test and motor unit firing rate were different between APP-RT and PLA-RT. These findings suggest that, in the elderly, the effect of resistance training on the motor unit firing rate is observed in motor units with a low-recruitment threshold, and additional fish protein intake modifies these adaptations in motor unit firing patterns and the motor function following resistance training

Regional neuromuscular regulation within human rectus femoris muscle during gait.

The spatial distribution pattern of neuromuscular activation within the human rectus femoris (RF) muscle was investigated during gait by multi-channel surface electromyography (surface EMG). Eleven healthy men walked on a treadmill with three gait speeds (4, 5, and 6 km/h) and gradients (0°, 12.5°, and 25°). The spatial distribution of surface EMG was tested by central locus activation (CLA), which is calculated from 2-D multi-channel surface EMG with 46 surface electrodes. For all conditions, CLA was around the middle regions during the swing-to-stance transition and moved in a proximal direction during the stance phase and stance-to-swing transition (p<0.05). CLA during the stance-to-swing transition and early swing phase significantly moved to proximal site with increasing gait speed (p<0.05). During the early stance and swing phases, with increasing grade, CLA significantly moved distally (p<0.05). These results suggest that the RF muscle is regionally activated during a gait cycle and is non-uniformly regulated longitudinally

The return trip is felt shorter only postdictively: A psychophysiological study of the return trip effect

The return trip often seems shorter than the outward trip even when the distance and actual time are identical. To date, studies on the return trip effect have failed to confirm its existence in a situation that is ecologically valid in terms of environment and duration. In addition, physiological influences as part of fundamental timing mechanisms in daily activities have not been investigated in the time perception literature. The present study compared round-trip and non-round-trip conditions in an ecological situation. Time estimation in real time and postdictive estimation were used to clarify the situations where the return trip effect occurs. Autonomic nervous system activity was evaluated from the electrocardiogram using the Lorenz plot to demonstrate the relationship between time perception and physiological indices. The results suggest that the return trip effect is caused only postdictively. Electrocardiographic analysis revealed that the two experimental conditions induced different responses in the autonomic nervous system, particularly in sympathetic nervous function, and that parasympathetic function correlated with postdictive timing. To account for the main findings, the discrepancy between the two time estimates is discussed in the light of timing strategies, i.e., prospective and retrospective timing, which reflect different emphasis on attention and memory processes. Also each timing method, i.e., the verbal estimation, production or comparative judgment, has different characteristics such as the quantification of duration in time units or knowledge of the target duration, which may be responsible for the discrepancy. The relationship between postdictive time estimation and the parasympathetic nervous system is also discussed

Identification of muscle synergies associated with gait transition in humans

There is no theoretical or empirical evidence to suggest how the central nervous system (CNS) controls a variety of muscles associated with gait transition between walking and running. Here, we examined the motor control during a gait transition based on muscle synergies, which modularly organize functionally similar muscles. To this end, the subjects walked or ran on a treadmill and performed a gait transition spontaneously as the treadmill speed increased or decreased (a changing speed condition) or voluntarily following an experimenter's instruction at constant treadmill speed (a constant speed condition). Surface electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from 11 lower limb muscles bilaterally. We then extracted the muscle weightings of synergies and their activation coefficients from the EMG data using non-negative matrix factorization. As a result, the gait transition was controlled by approximately 9 muscle synergies, which were common during a walking and running, and their activation profiles were changed before and after a gait transition. Near a gait transition, the peak activation phases of the synergies, which were composed of plantar flexor muscles, were shifted to an earlier phase at the walk-to- run transition, and vice versa. The shifts were gradual in the changing speed condition, but an abrupt change was observed in the constant speed condition. These results suggest that the CNS low-dimensionally regulate the activation profiles of the specific synergies based on afferent information (spontaneous gait transition) or by changing only the descending neural input to the muscle synergies (voluntary gait transition) to achieve a gait transition