Experimental Studies on Primate Locomotion

人类属于灵长类动物，我们的许多解剖学和生理学可以在灵长类动物遗产的背景下得到最好的理解。有证据表明，这种遗传的一个方面可能是神经控制肢体运动的独特模式。与其他哺乳动物相比，这一观点是基于对灵长类动物在运动过程中独特的肢体运动和肌肉使用模式的观察。然而，由于这些独特的灵长类动物的运动行为只在少数猴子和猿中被记录下来，所以得出什么是或不是该目的特征还为时过早。目前的研究是为了解决这个知识库中最重要的空白，即最原始的灵长类动物——原猿的运动行为的可比信息。本研究将解决两个具体问题：第一个是关于原猿灵长类动物四足运动时肌肉使用模式的肌电图记录。前颅肌的肌肉补充模式是否更接近于高等灵长类动物和非灵长类动物，还是它们表现出自己独特的模式？已经收集了三个原猴物种的可比较数据，本提案将增加另外三个物种的数据，以便充分采样原猴解剖和运动多样性的范围。有了这个完整的数据集，将有可能更好地表征原猿的肌肉使用，并确定之前的结论是否真的是整个目的特征。第二个研究问题集中在懒猴，Nycticebus coucang。这种灵长类动物运动模式的一个令人惊讶的方面是其前肢和后肢之间不寻常的重量支撑分布。由于目前还没有令人满意的解释，灵长类动物是如何实现其独特的体重支撑分布的，因此建议对共同模式的例外进行调查，这可能是理解模式本身的关键。该提案要求继续支持石溪灵长类动物运动实验室，该实验室已经存在了近30年，目的是对人类和非人类灵长类动物的运动多样性进行实证研究，使用最先进的技术来记录肢体运动模式、肌肉募集情况和底物反作用力。收集到的信息已被用于解决各种各样关于人类和非人类灵长类动物进化的形式/功能关系的问题。除了解决上述具体问题外，石溪大学灵长类动物运动实验室还为研究生和本科生提供最新实验方法的培训设施，并偶尔接待来自其他机构的学者。此外，项目研究者经常为其他机构的同事提供数据并回答有关肌肉活动模式、肢体使用或灵长类动物运动时底物反作用力分布的具体问题。石溪灵长类动物运动实验室继续为来自世界各地的学生和高级研究人员提供主要资源。

Humans belong to the Order Primates, and much of our anatomy and physiology can be best understood in the context of our primate heritage. There is some evidence that one aspect of that heritage may be unique patterns of neural control of limb movements. This proposition is based on observations documenting distinctive limb motions and patterns of muscle use during locomotion in primates compared to other mammals. However, because these uniquely primate aspects of locomotor behavior have been documented for only a handful of monkeys and apes, it is still premature to conclude what is or isn't characteristic of the Order. The current study was initiated to address the most significant gap in this knowledge base, namely, comparable information on the locomotor behavior of the most primitive primates - prosimians. This study will address two specific questions: The first concerns electromyographic documentation of patterns of muscle use during quadrupedal locomotion in prosimian primates. Do prosimian muscle recruitment patterns more closely resemble those of higher primates, those of nonprimates, or do they display some unique pattern of their own? Comparable data have already been collected on three prosimian species, and this proposal will add data for three additional species in order to adequately sample the range of anatomical and locomotor diversity among prosimians. With this completed data set, it will be possible to better characterize muscle use among prosimians, and determine whether previous conclusions are truly characteristic of the entire Order. The second research question focuses on the slow loris, Nycticebus coucang. One surprising aspect of this primate's locomotor mode is an unusual distribution of weight support between its fore- and hind limbs. Since there is currently no satisfactory explanation for how primates achieve their unique distribution of weight support, it is proposed that investigation of an exception to the common pattern may be a key to understanding the pattern itself.This proposal constitutes a request for continuing support for the Stony Brook Primate Locomotion Laboratory, a facility that has existed for nearly 30 years for the purpose of empirical investigation of the locomotor diversity displayed by humans and nonhuman primates, using state-of-the-art technology to document limb movement patterns, muscle recruitment profiles, and substrate reaction forces. The information collected has been used to address a wide variety of questions concerning form/function relationships that pertain to the evolution of humans and nonhuman primates. In addition to addressing the specific questions outlined above, the Stony Brook University Primate Locomotion Laboratory provides facilities for training both graduate and undergraduate students in the latest experimental methods, and on occasion hosts scholars from other institutions. In addition, the project investigators often supply data and answer specific questions regarding muscle activity patterns, limb use, or distribution of substrate reaction forces during primate locomotion for colleagues at other institutions. The Stony Brook Primate Locomotion Laboratory continues to serve as a major resource for students and senior researchers from around the world.