Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Hominid Forefoot Kinematics, Kinetics, and Bone Architecture

博士论文改进：原始人前脚运动学、动力学和骨骼结构

• 批准号: 0726124
• 负责人: Brian Richmond
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2009-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0726124&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Hominid; Forefoot

Habitual bipedalism - walking exclusively on two legs - is a form of gait practiced by humans to the exclusion of all other living primates, even their closest relatives, the African and Asian great apes. Traditionally, debates over the gait of the earliest human ancestors (hominins) have centered on the interpretation of lower limb structure. The methods used to date have proved to be inconclusive, especially regarding the functional implications of the structure of the forefoot. This problem is further compounded by a lack of data on how the forefoot function during gait in living humans and great apes (hominids), and how differences in function relate to foot structure.The proposed dissertation research will quantify the three-dimensional trabecular (spongy) bone structure at the 1st-3rd metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJ) and measure MTPJ angles (kinematics) and respective plantar pressures (kinetics) in living hominids in order to test hypotheses about the locomotor regimes of fossil hominins. Trabecular bone is highly responsive to mechanical demand during life and therefore offers a new approach to test hypotheses that have long remained unresolved about joint function in fossils. Forefoot kinematics and kinetics will be documented for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and humans at key points during the gait cycle. This study will determine whether trabecular bone structure can differentiate species by joint postures and loading regimes. This approach will then be used to assess whether early hominins possessed a modern human-like toe-off mechanism. The overarching goals of this research are to help resolve current debates about early hominin locomotor regimes and provide a better understanding of the evolution of hominin and modern human bipedalism.The proposed research has several broad impacts. First, the results of this project will be relevant to all vertebrate morphologists studying form and function relationships. This project will also encourage interdisciplinary research by allowing a female doctoral student to be trained in techniques of physical anthropology and biomechanics under the guidance of both American and Belgian scientists.

习惯性的两足行走--完全用两条腿走路--是人类练习的一种步态，排除了所有其他现存的灵长类动物，甚至包括它们的近亲--非洲和亚洲的大猩猩。传统上，关于人类最早的祖先(原始人)步态的争论一直集中在对腿部结构的解释上。到目前为止，所用的方法被证明是不确定的，特别是关于前足结构的功能含义。由于缺乏关于活人和类人猿(类人猿)在步态过程中前脚功能如何以及功能差异如何与足部结构相关的数据，这一问题进一步加剧了这个问题。论文研究将量化第一至第三跖趾关节(MTPJ)的三维小梁(海绵)骨结构，并测量活的原始人的MTPJ角(运动学)和相应的足底压力(动力学)，以检验关于化石古人运动机制的假说。骨小梁对生命中的机械需求高度敏感，因此提供了一种新的方法来检验长期以来仍未解决的关于化石关节功能的假设。前脚运动学和动力学将记录在步态周期的关键点上的黑猩猩(泛猩猩)、矮黑猩猩(泛帕尼斯库斯)和人类。这项研究将确定骨小梁结构是否可以通过关节姿势和载荷制度来区分物种。然后，这一方法将被用来评估早期古人类是否拥有一种类似现代人类的脚趾脱离机制。这项研究的总体目标是帮助解决当前关于早期原始人运动机制的争论，并更好地理解原始人和现代人两足动物的进化。首先，这个项目的结果将与所有研究形式和功能关系的脊椎动物形态学家相关。该项目还将鼓励跨学科研究，允许一名女博士生在美国和比利时科学家的指导下接受身体人类学和生物力学技术培训。