Human balance control

人体平衡控制

• 批准号: 386609-2013
• 负责人: Tokuno, Craig
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Brock University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=550513
• 关键词: Human; balance; control

The ability to maintain balance is essential for the execution of many daily activities. While it is agreed that balance control is achieved through the integration of sensory information and the generation of appropriate motor commands, little is currently known about the specific structures within the central nervous system that are responsible for the underlying mechanisms of human balance control. Previous research have primarily focused on the processing of sensorimotor information at the spinal level but it is only recently that research have begun to recognize the importance of the supraspinal structures, particularly the cerebral cortex, for maintaining a stable upright posture. Despite this recent work, there exists many questions concerning the relative contributions of the spinal and supraspinal structures, and whether plasticity or shifts in responsibilities can occur for human balance control. Therefore, the overall objective of the proposed research program is to investigate how supraspinal and spinal structures within the central nervous system contribute to human balance control and how these contributions depend on the type, phase and constraints of the balance task. A series of experiments will be conducted whereby participants are instructed to maintain a stable upright posture while undergoing a variety of balance tasks. During these experiments, the excitability of the spinal pathways will be assessed by electrically stimulating peripheral nerves to elicit Hoffmann reflexes in the lower limb postural muscles while the involvement of the supraspinal areas will be determined by eliciting motor-evoked potentials using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Research findings from the proposed research will allow us to better localize and identify the specific locations and neural mechanisms underlying the maintenance and regulation of human balance control. Knowledge developed from the program will also improve our ability to determine how falls and balance deficits arise as a result of various physiological and contextual constraints.

保持平衡的能力对于许多日常活动的执行是必不可少的。虽然人们一致认为平衡控制是通过整合感觉信息和产生适当的运动指令来实现的，但目前对中枢神经系统中负责人类平衡控制潜在机制的具体结构知之甚少。以前的研究主要集中在脊髓水平的感觉运动信息的处理上，但直到最近，研究才开始认识到脊柱上结构，特别是大脑皮层，对维持稳定的直立姿势的重要性。尽管最近有了这些工作，但关于脊柱和脊柱上结构的相对贡献，以及人类平衡控制的可塑性或责任转移是否会发生，仍存在许多问题。因此，拟议的研究计划的总体目标是调查中枢神经系统内的棘上和脊柱结构如何有助于人类的平衡控制，以及这些贡献如何取决于平衡任务的类型、阶段和限制。将进行一系列实验，指导参与者在进行各种平衡任务时保持稳定的直立姿势。在这些实验中，脊髓通路的兴奋性将通过电刺激周围神经在下肢姿势肌肉中引发Hoffmann反射来评估，而脊髓上区域的参与将通过使用经颅磁刺激诱发运动诱发电位来确定。拟议研究的研究结果将使我们能够更好地定位和确定维持和调节人体平衡控制的特定位置和神经机制。从该项目中获得的知识也将提高我们确定跌倒和平衡缺陷是如何由于各种生理和背景限制而产生的能力。