Can somatosensory enhancement amplify rhythmic human arm and leg movement?

我之前的工作揭示了手臂和腿之间强烈的神经元联系，这些联系通过体感反馈来塑造和适应运动行为。目前的提案测试了以前用于评估肢体间协调的路径的有效性，现在以有针对性的方式放大这种协调来驾驭性能。现在，我正在测试强化感觉刺激与有节奏的运动行为同时应用的效果。使用疲劳和脊髓反射调节作为替代表现标准，这项建议将评估在有节奏的手臂和腿部骑自行车时，手部或脚部皮肤输入增强的潜力，以放大神经兴奋性和运动表现。非局部神经肌肉疲劳，通常被认为与本提案中使用的运动和运动表现有关，被定义为远端或对侧非运动肢体的神经生理和/或表现结果的改变。这种类型的疲劳在许多形式的运动中都是突出的，这些运动包括手臂和腿的有节奏的激活。因此，疲劳在这里被定义为一种神经元间兴奋性的持续变化，这种变化是由于一轮有节奏的运动活动导致反射幅度的短期(例如，停止运动后几分钟)变化而产生的。 在这项拨款中建议的项目集中在两个与感官增强时间相关的主题中：A)在节奏活动期间；或B)在节奏活动之前。这些项目评估了增强体感刺激的潜力，以：1)在手臂或腿部骑自行车时延长运动输出(例如，缓解疲劳，主题A)(项目1-3)；2)提高性能的主要因素(主题B，项目4-7)；3)通过活动肢体的数量(手臂、腿和手臂项目8)放大。增强的皮肤输入将被传递到手、脚、手和脚，在有节奏的手臂、腿以及跨自行车和感觉项目的手臂和腿的组合自行车中。 我的长期目标是确定增强的体感反馈在多大程度上与CPG机制相互作用，在人类运动过程中放大运动输出。为了实现我的长期目标，下一步必须进行一项详细的调查，研究人类的体感系统可能在多大程度上被感觉交通人为地增强。因此，这项研究的目的是通过电激活支配手脚皮肤的皮肤神经来增强感觉刺激，系统地表征放大CPG元件在运动行为中调节手臂和腿部运动的有效性。我的下一阶段研究计划的工作假设是，在手臂和腿的有节奏的活动中，应用增强的感官输入将放大手臂和腿之间的兴奋性。

My prior work reveals strong neuronal linkages between arms and legs that are sculpted and adapted to motor behaviour by somatosensory feedback. The current proposal tests the efficacy of pathways formerly used to assess interlimb coordination to now amplify that coordination to harness performance in a targeted way. Now, I am testing the efficacy of enhanced sensory stimulation applied coincidentally with rhythmic motor behavior. Using fatigue and spinal cord reflex modulation as proxy performance criteria, this proposal will assess the potential for enhanced cutaneous input from the hands or feet to amplify neural excitability and motor performance during rhythmic arm and leg cycling. Non-local neuromuscular fatigue, that is typically thought of in association with athletic and exercise performance as used within this proposal, is defined as alteration in neurophysiological and/or performance outcomes of a remote or contralateral non-exercised limb. This type of fatigue is prominent in many forms of exercise involving rhythmic activation of the arms and legs. Thus, fatigue is operationally defined here as a persistent change in interneuronal excitability produced by a bout of rhythmic motor activity that produces short term (e.g. minutes after cessation of movement) changes in reflex amplitudes. Projects proposed in this grant constellate within 2 themes related to the timing of sensory enhancement: A) during; or, B) prior to rhythmic activity. These projects assess the potential for enhanced somatosensory stimulation to: 1) prolong motor output (e.g. mitigate against fatigue, Theme A) during arm or leg cycling (Projects 1-3); 2) prime for enhanced performance (Theme B, Projects 4-7); 3) be amplified by the number of active limbs (arm, leg, and arm Project 8). Enhanced cutaneous input will be delivered to the hands, feet, and hands and feet during rhythmic arm, leg, and combined arm and leg cycling across projects of cycling and sensation. My long-term objective is to establish the extent to which enhanced somatosensory feedback interacting with CPG mechanisms amplifies motor output during human locomotion. To achieve my long-term objective, a detailed investigation of the extent to which the human somatosensory system may be artificially enhanced by sensory traffic is a requisite next step. Hence the objective for this research is to systematically characterize efficacy of amplifying CPG elements regulating arm and leg movement during motor behaviour using enhanced sensory stimulation via electrical activation of cutaneous nerves innervating the skin of the hands and feet. The working hypothesis for this next phase of my research program is that the application of enhanced sensory input will amplify excitability between the arms and legs during rhythmic activity of both arms and legs.