Collaborative Research: Understanding the Rules for Human Rhythmic Motor Coordination

对于一个健康的成年人来说，走路似乎很容易。 然而，在这种表面上的简单性之下，我们的神经系统正在执行一项令人震惊的复杂任务。神经系统利用身体运动的感官信息，协调数十块肌肉的活动，使我们能够稳定而有效地在环境中移动。 例如，如果我们的神经系统感觉到我们的脚会过早着地，它会调整肌肉的激活，这样我们就不会绊倒。 在这个项目中，一个跨学科的研究团队旨在揭示神经系统用于进行这种调整的规则。 使用工程学的一般理论框架（用于理解，例如，旋转直升机桨叶迎角的节奏控制），该方法依赖于以各种方式轻轻扰动人的感官和身体，并观察神经系统如何调整肌肉激活。研究人员将首先在一种更简单的有节奏的运动中测试他们的方法，用球拍重复击打虚拟球，然后将研究结果扩展到步行过程中的协调性。通过构建一种理解节奏运动控制的一般方法，包括鱼类游泳，昆虫和鸟类飞行，以及人类和机器人行走，研究人员可能会为理解患有中风和不完全脊髓损伤等神经系统疾病的人的控制如何崩溃提供基础。这有可能促进神经肌肉康复和辅助设备的设计。[由CISE和SBE共同资助]

Walking for a healthy adult seems easy. However, underlying this apparent simplicity our nervous system is performing a task of astounding complexity. Using sensory information about body movement, the nervous system coordinates the activation of dozens of muscles so that we stably and efficiently move through our environment. For example, if our nervous system senses that our foot will strike the ground too soon, it will adjust muscle activations so we do not stumble and fall. In this project, an interdisciplinary team of investigators aims to uncover the rules the nervous system uses to make such adjustments. Using a general theoretical framework taken from engineering (used to understand, for example, the rhythmic control of the angle of attack of rotating helicopter blades), the method depends on gently perturbing a person's senses and body in various ways and observing how the nervous system adjusts muscle activations in response. The investigators will first test their methods on a simpler type of rhythmic movement, repetitive hitting of a virtual ball with a paddle, then extend the findings to coordination during walking. By constructing a general approach to understanding the control of rhythmic movements, including swimming in fish, flying in insects and birds, and walking in people and robots, the investigators may provide a foundation for understanding how control breaks down for people with neurological conditions such as stroke and incomplete spinal cord injury. This has the potential to advance neuromuscular rehabilitation and the design of assistive devices. [Co-funded by CISE and SBE]