STOCHASTIC RESONANCE IN HUMAN MUSCLE SPINDLES

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：随机共振 是物理和生物系统中的一种现象， 随机噪声水平提高了信号检测。 在检测系统中 在阈值附近，随机噪声输入可以提高对小 通过将受体提高到阈值以上来放大信号。 一种生物 可能从随机共振中受益的系统是 本体感受系统，它为我们提供身体位置的感觉， 运动 随机共振可以增强运动时的本体感觉 是新颖的或必须精确地制造。 这项拨款中提出的实验 应用程序将调查随机共振的潜在作用， 在感觉受体水平上的人类本体感受系统和 感知水平。 本体感觉最不为人所知的一个方面 而运动控制是肌梭受体的传出激活， 协调运动的重要感官信息来源。 与典型的感觉感受器不同，肌梭既有传出神经， （“梭动”）和传入神经供应。 的中心假设 建议的项目是，随机共振的机制， 梭运动系统激活肌梭。 在融合运动期间 激活，与执行新颖或精确的运动一样， 梭内肌的随后收缩可能提供低幅度， 随机噪声刺激到接近阈值的肌梭受体。 随机共振机制可以将肌梭提高到阈值以上 更频繁，从而改善信号检测。 的示范 肌梭传入神经中的随机共振对两者都是重要的 理论和实践的原因。 从理论上讲， 共振可以解释一个尚未解决的问题，电机 协同 也就是说，梭动系统如何作用以增强信号 本体感受系统的检测特性。 在实践层面上， 人体本体感受系统中的随机共振演示 可以导致需要精确运动的操纵器的改进设计， 例如在飞行器控制中，以及用于 由于糖尿病性神经病变或正常衰老而导致感觉丧失的个体。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): Stochastic resonance is a phenomenon in both physical and biological systems where a particular level of random noise improves signal detection. In systems where detection is near threshold, a random noise input can improve sensitivity to small amplitude signals by boosting the receptors above threshold. One biological system that could potentially benefit from stochastic resonance is the proprioceptive system, which provides us with the sense of body position and movement. Stochastic resonance could enhance proprioception when movements are novel or must be made precisely. The experiments proposed in this grant application will investigate the potential role of stochastic resonance in the human proprioceptive system at the level of sensory receptors and the level of perception. One of the least understood aspects of proprioception and motor control is the efferent activation of the muscle spindle receptor, an important source of sensory information for coordinating movement. Unlike typical sensory receptors, muscle spindles have both an efferent ("fusimotor") and an afferent nerve supply. The central hypothesis of the proposed project is that stochastic resonance is the mechanism with which the fusimotor system activates muscle spindles. During fusimotor activation, as with the performance of novel or precise movements, the ensuing contraction of intrafusal muscle might provide a low amplitude, random noise stimulus to muscle spindle receptors that are near threshold. A stochastic resonance mechanism could boost muscle spindles above threshold more frequently, thereby improving signal detection. The demonstration of stochastic resonance in muscle spindle afferents is significant for both theoretical and practical reasons. On a theoretical level, stochastic resonance could provide an explanation for an unresolved problem of motor coordination. That is, how the fusimotor system acts to enhance the signal detection properties of the proprioceptive system. On a practical level, the demonstration of stochastic resonance in the human proprioceptive system could lead to improved design of manipulators requiring precise movements, such as in aircraft controls, and sensory enhancement devices for individuals with sensory loss due to diabetic neuropathy or normal aging.