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背后，我们的神经系统正在执行一项极其复杂的任务。利用身体运动的感觉信息，神经系统协调几十块肌肉的激活，使我们在环境中稳定有效地移动。例如，如果我们的神经系统感觉到我们的脚将很快着地，它会调整肌肉的激活，这样我们就不会绊倒和摔倒。在这个项目中，一个跨学科的研究小组旨在揭示神经系统用来进行这种调整的规则。采用工程学的一般理论框架（例如，用于理解直升机旋转叶片攻角的节奏控制），该方法依赖于以各种方式轻微扰乱人的感官和身体，并观察神经系统如何调整肌肉激活作为回应。研究人员将首先在一种更简单的有节奏的运动上测试他们的方法，即用球拍反复击打虚拟球，然后将研究结果扩展到行走时的协调。通过构建理解有节奏运动控制的一般方法，包括鱼的游泳，昆虫和鸟类的飞行，人和机器人的行走，研究人员可能为理解控制如何破坏神经系统疾病（如中风和不完全性脊髓损伤）的人提供基础。这有可能促进神经肌肉康复和辅助装置的设计。[CISE与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]