Human Movement Science最新文献

In this study, we investigated how the temporal properties of the preparation phase for upper limb movements are affected by the reaching direction and distance. Twelve right-handed participants performed three motor tasks: two types of reaching movements and one finger-lifting movement. The reaching movements were performed from the home position to 15 target locations (five directions and three distances) as quickly and precisely as possible under two conditions: pre-cueing the target to allocate the sufficient time for the motor-planning process before movement initiation, and no-cuing. The finger lifting movement was performed by lifting the index finger (from the home position) upward in the air as quickly as possible. The reaction time (RT), movement time (MT), and kinematics of the index finger were obtained for each condition. In addition, differential RTs (DRT) were calculated by subtracting the RT for no-cue lifting from that for no-cue reaching, thereby implicitly representing the time required for the motor-planning process for reaching movements. The results indicated the anisotropy of the DRTs being larger in the forward and left-forward directions than that in the right-forward direction, and larger in the forward direction than that in the right direction for the middle distance. It is suggested that the temporal costs of the motor-planning process depend on the movement direction and distance. In the kinematic analysis, the MTs showed the anisotropy being the largest in the left-forward among all directions. Meanwhile, the time from peak velocity to terminate the movement (TFPV) was significantly longer in the left-forward direction when no-cueing the target than when pre-cueing. These results suggest that reaching movement is refined during the online-control process to accomplish the intended performance if a reaching movement under the no-cue condition is initiated before building sufficient motor planning, especially in the direction requiring large temporal costs. It is likely that humans achieve their intended movements by allocating the temporal costs required before and after movement initiation according to the difficulty of motor control which varies with the direction and distance.

The phase of signals representing cyclic behavioural patterns provides valuable information for understanding the mechanisms driving the observed behaviours. Methods usually adopted to estimate the phase, which are based on projecting the signal onto the complex plane, have strict requirements on its frequency content, which limits their application. To overcome these limitations, input signals can be processed using band-pass filters or decomposition techniques. In this paper, we briefly review these approaches and propose a new one. Our approach is based on the principles of Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), but unlike EMD, it does not aim to decompose the input signal. This avoids the many problems that can occur when extracting a signal's components one by one. The proposed approach estimates the phase of experimental signals that have one main oscillatory component modulated by slower activity and perturbed by weak, sparse, or random activity at faster time scales. We illustrate how our approach works by estimating the phase dynamics of synthetic signals and real-world signals representing knee angles during flexion/extension activity, heel height during gait, and the activity of different organs involved in speech production.

Bilateral coordination is commonly impaired in neurodevelopmental conditions including cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. However, we lack objective clinical assessments that can quantify bilateral coordination in a clinically feasible manner and determine age-based norms to identify impairments. The objective of this study was to use augmented reality and computer vision to characterize bilateral reaching abilities in typically developing children. Typically developing children (n = 133) ages 6–17 years completed symmetric and asymmetric bilateral reaching tasks in an augmented reality game environment. We analyzed the number of target pairs they could reach in 50 s as well as the time lag between their hands reaching the targets. We found that performance on both tasks developed in parallel, with development slowing but not plateauing after age 12. Children performed better on the symmetric task than asymmetric, both in targets reached and with shorter hand lags. Variability between children in hand lag decreased with age. We also found gender differences with females outperforming males, which were most pronounced in the 10–11 year olds. Overall, this study demonstrates parallel development through childhood and adolescence of symmetric and asymmetric reaching abilities. Furthermore, it demonstrates the ability to quantify bilateral coordination using computer vision and augmented reality, which can be applied to assess clinical populations.

This study explored the impact of choice and preference for what is chosen or assigned on performance on a motor task. Using an experimental design with a dart-throwing task, 90 novice participants were randomized into four groups: Choice-Like condition, Choice-Dislike condition, Assigned-Like condition, and Assigned-Dislike condition, resulting of the manipulation of choice (vs. assignation) of a task-irrelevant element and preference (irrelevant element: darts color and design). The study found that participants who were given the opportunity to choose their own dart for a throwing task performed better than those who were not given the choice. Participants who threw a dart they preferred also had better scores than those who threw a dart they did not like. However, the interactive effects of choice and preference on performance were inconclusive, and whereas being assigned with a disliked element was the worst condition for performance, and being allowed to choose preferred elements the most facilitatory one, nothing else can be concluded on the impact of both conditions alone or in combination. These results suggest that both choice and preference can positively impact performance in closed motor learning tasks and have practical applications for training and execution in athletic performance. Further investigations are warranted to delve into the interplay of choice and preference in diverse contexts and populations.

Individuals with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (BSCP) reportedly has problems with anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) while standing. However, the use of coactivation strategy in APAs in individuals with BSCP has conflicting evidence. Hence, this study aimed to investigate postural muscle activities in BSCP during unilateral arm flexion task in which postural perturbations occur in the sagittal, frontal, and horizontal planes. We included 10 individuals with BSCP with level II on the Gross Motor Function Classification System (BSCP group) and 10 individuals without disability (control group). The participants stood on a force platform and rapidly flexed a shoulder from 0° to 90° at their own timing. Surface electromyograms were recorded from the rectus femoris, medial hamstring, tibialis anterior, and medial gastrocnemius. The control group showed a mixture of anticipatory activation and inhibition of postural muscles, whereas the BSCP group predominantly exhibited anticipatory activation with slight anticipatory inhibition. Compared with the control group, the BSCP group tended to activate the ipsilateral and contralateral postural muscles and the agonist–antagonist muscle pairs. The BSCP group had a larger disturbance in postural equilibrium, quantified by the peak displacement of center of pressure during the unilateral arm flexion, than those without disability. Individuals with BSCP may use coactivation strategy, mainly the anticipatory activation of postural muscle activity, during a task that requires a selective postural muscle activity to maintain stable posture.

Coordinative patterns require experience and learning to be acquired, producing movements that offer efficient solutions to various situations and involving certain degree of variability. This coordination variability implies functionality in movement, but it can be impacted by the type of sport practice from early years. The purpose of this work is to analyze the coordination variability and coordination patterns in a specific action such as single-leg landing in children practicing gymnastics, volleyball and non-sporting children.

Thirty children (15 girls) performed 10 successful trials of single-leg landing from a height of 25 cm. A motion capture system (9 cameras) was used to capture 3D thigh and shank kinematics. To identify the significant effect of children's groups on coordination and coordination variability during single-leg landing, one-dimensional Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) was used.

Regarding the coordination patterns, in the frontal plane, during the attenuation phase of single-leg landing, the control group exhibited a higher frequency of Anti-Phase with proximal dominancy compared to the sport groups (i.e., gymnastics, and volleyball). In addition, in the sagittal plane during the second peak phase, volleyball players exhibited a higher coordination variability than the gymnastics.

The children in the control group showed a greater frequency of antiphasic movements, which indicates the influence of training at an early age, being a determining factor in the increase or not of variability.

Movement sonification can improve motor control in both healthy subjects (e.g., learning or refining a sport skill) and those with sensorimotor deficits (e.g., stroke patients and deafferented individuals). It is not known whether improved motor control and learning from movement sonification are driven by feedback-based real-time (“online”) trajectory adjustments, adjustments to internal models over multiple trials, or both. We searched for evidence of online trajectory adjustments (muscle twitches) in response to movement sonification feedback by comparing the kinematics and error of reaches made with online (i.e., real-time) and terminal sonification feedback. We found that reaches made with online feedback were significantly more jerky than reaches made with terminal feedback, indicating increased muscle twitching (i.e., online trajectory adjustment). Using a between-subject design, we found that online feedback was associated with improved motor learning of a reach path and target over terminal feedback; however, using a within-subjects design, we found that switching participants who had learned with online sonification feedback to terminal feedback was associated with a decrease in error. Thus, our results suggest that, with our task and sonification, movement sonification leads to online trajectory adjustments which improve internal models over multiple trials, but which themselves are not helpful online corrections.

Nonlinear analyses have emerged as an approach to unraveling the intricate dynamics and underlying mechanisms of postural control, offering insights into the complex interplay of physiological and biomechanical factors. However, achieving a comprehensive understanding of the application of nonlinear analysis in postural control studies remains a challenge due to the various nonlinear measurement methods currently available. Thus, this scoping review aimed to identify existing nonlinear analyses used to study postural control in both dynamic and quiet tasks, and to summarize and disseminate the available literature on the use of nonlinear analysis in postural control. For this purpose, a scoping review was conducted and reported following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist and Explanation. Searches were conducted up to July 2023 on PubMed/Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, resulting in the inclusion of 397 unique studies. The main classes employed among the studies were entropy-based, fractal-based, quantification of recurrence plots, and quantification of stability, with a total of 91 different algorithms distributed among these classes. The most common condition used to study postural control was quiet standing, followed by dynamic standing and gait tasks. Although various algorithms were utilized for this purpose, sample entropy was employed in 43% of studies to explore mechanisms related to postural control. Among them, 28% were in quiet standing, 3.27% were in dynamic standing, and 4.78% to study postural control during the gait. The results also provide insights into nonlinear analysis for future studies, concerning the complexity and interactions within the postural control system across various task demands.

With increased age, walking without tripping requires greater cognitive demand. Therefore, it may be beneficial for training interventions to address and incorporate aspects of cognitive load. The purpose of this study was to compare a semi-immersive virtual reality treadmill training (VRTT) and conventional treadmill training (CTT) on obstacle clearance and trip hazard in older adults. Obstacle clearance parameters were measured with foot-mounted inertial measurement units (IMUs) and a Zeno pressure walkway. All data were processed and analyzed through custom Matlab scripts. Obstacle step height mean decreased (p = .003) in the lead limb following both training interventions. Additional significant changes were found in pre- and post-obstacle distance mean following both training interventions. Furthermore, significant correlations were found between demographic, cognitive, and functional mobility assessments and changes in dependent measures. The findings suggest that both the VRTT and CTT interventions may provide a reduction in trip risk in older adults, although through different methods.