Experimental Studies on Primate Locomotion

人类属于灵长目，我们的许多解剖学和生理学可以在我们灵长类遗产的背景下得到最好的理解。有一些证据表明，这种遗产的一个方面可能是神经控制肢体运动的独特模式。这一命题是基于与其他哺乳动物相比，对灵长类动物在运动过程中独特的肢体运动和肌肉使用模式的观察。然而，由于这些独特的灵长类动物运动行为的这些方面只有少数猴子和类人猿被记录在案，现在就得出什么是或不是该目的特征还为时过早。目前的研究是为了解决这一知识库中最显著的差距，即关于最原始的灵长类--原猿类运动行为的可比信息。这项研究将解决两个具体的问题：第一个是关于原猴灵长类在四足运动过程中肌肉使用模式的肌电记录。原猴肌肉的募集模式与高等灵长类动物和非灵长类动物的模式更相似吗？还是它们表现出了自己独特的模式？已经收集了关于三个原猴物种的可比数据，这项提议将增加另外三个物种的数据，以便充分采样原猴之间解剖和运动多样性的范围。有了这个完整的数据集，就有可能更好地描述原猴的肌肉使用情况，并确定之前的结论是否真正具有整个类人猿的特征。第二个研究问题集中在懒猴Nycticebus Coucang上。这种灵长类动物运动模式的一个令人惊讶的方面是其前肢和后肢之间不同寻常的重量支撑分布。由于目前还没有令人满意的解释来解释灵长类动物如何实现其独特的体重支持分布，因此对常见模式本身的例外情况的调查可能是理解模式本身的关键。这项提议构成了对石溪灵长类动物运动实验室的持续支持的请求，该实验室已经存在了近30年，目的是实证研究人类和非人类灵长类动物的运动多样性，使用最先进的技术来记录肢体运动模式、肌肉招募轮廓和底物反应力。收集到的信息被用来解决与人类和非人类灵长类进化有关的形式/功能关系的各种问题。除了解决上述具体问题外，石溪大学灵长类运动实验室还提供设施，培训研究生和本科生使用最新的实验方法，有时还接待来自其他机构的学者。此外，项目研究人员经常为其他机构的同事提供数据并回答有关肌肉活动模式、肢体使用或灵长类动物运动期间底物反作用力分布的具体问题。石溪灵长类动物运动实验室仍然是来自世界各地的学生和高级研究人员的主要资源。

Humans belong to the Order Primates, and much of our anatomy and physiology can be best understood in the context of our primate heritage. There is some evidence that one aspect of that heritage may be unique patterns of neural control of limb movements. This proposition is based on observations documenting distinctive limb motions and patterns of muscle use during locomotion in primates compared to other mammals. However, because these uniquely primate aspects of locomotor behavior have been documented for only a handful of monkeys and apes, it is still premature to conclude what is or isn't characteristic of the Order. The current study was initiated to address the most significant gap in this knowledge base, namely, comparable information on the locomotor behavior of the most primitive primates - prosimians. This study will address two specific questions: The first concerns electromyographic documentation of patterns of muscle use during quadrupedal locomotion in prosimian primates. Do prosimian muscle recruitment patterns more closely resemble those of higher primates, those of nonprimates, or do they display some unique pattern of their own? Comparable data have already been collected on three prosimian species, and this proposal will add data for three additional species in order to adequately sample the range of anatomical and locomotor diversity among prosimians. With this completed data set, it will be possible to better characterize muscle use among prosimians, and determine whether previous conclusions are truly characteristic of the entire Order. The second research question focuses on the slow loris, Nycticebus coucang. One surprising aspect of this primate's locomotor mode is an unusual distribution of weight support between its fore- and hind limbs. Since there is currently no satisfactory explanation for how primates achieve their unique distribution of weight support, it is proposed that investigation of an exception to the common pattern may be a key to understanding the pattern itself.This proposal constitutes a request for continuing support for the Stony Brook Primate Locomotion Laboratory, a facility that has existed for nearly 30 years for the purpose of empirical investigation of the locomotor diversity displayed by humans and nonhuman primates, using state-of-the-art technology to document limb movement patterns, muscle recruitment profiles, and substrate reaction forces. The information collected has been used to address a wide variety of questions concerning form/function relationships that pertain to the evolution of humans and nonhuman primates. In addition to addressing the specific questions outlined above, the Stony Brook University Primate Locomotion Laboratory provides facilities for training both graduate and undergraduate students in the latest experimental methods, and on occasion hosts scholars from other institutions. In addition, the project investigators often supply data and answer specific questions regarding muscle activity patterns, limb use, or distribution of substrate reaction forces during primate locomotion for colleagues at other institutions. The Stony Brook Primate Locomotion Laboratory continues to serve as a major resource for students and senior researchers from around the world.