THE ORGANIZATION OF A SIMPLE SYNERGY

描述(申请人提供)：在本期资助期内，我们 已经证明了平衡点假设的框架可以使用 解决协同组织的问题。一种新的分析方法 开发并测试了多元素系统的可变性结构 试验性的。下一个挑战是推广 这些工具和方法将不同的效应器系统和任务联系起来 它们与人体内的生理过程有关。如果实现了这一点 成功地，我们对人类运动功能的理解将达到一个水平 当直接应用目前的理论和隐喻概念时 运动障碍的实际问题和康复成为可能。 因此，我们的下一步计划包括：(1)测试新的分析方法 作为发现性能变量的工具的可变性结构， 在各种运动任务中有选择地稳定；(2)研究 与实践协同演进的过程；(3)走近中心 应用经颅磁法研究协同组织的机制 刺激。 我们计划解决以下具体假设：1)。在协同效应中， 个别元素的可变性被构造为选择性地稳定 功能重要的变量；2)。学习一种新颖的多元素任务引导 为了创造一种协同效应，反映在结构的变化上 元素状态空间内的可变性和元素对 刺激皮质脊髓束；将元素组织到 与实践的协同作用导致塑性变化，反映在特定任务中 手指力量对经颅磁刺激的反应模式；以及 4)。对扰动的快速校正以协同特定的方式组织， 从而使功能上重要变量的偏差最小化。他们的 质量模式(肌肉激活的时间)可能在很大程度上独立于 局部关节运动学和定量特征反映了关节运动学 符合EP假说。七个实验中的振荡和 建议使用离散的作用力生产来检验假设 一只手内的多指协调和多指之间的协调 两只手。我们还计划监测协同效应指数的变化。 组织实践一项不同寻常的多指协调任务。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): During the current period of funding, we have shown that the framework of the equilibrium-point hypothesis can be used to address issues of synergy organization. A novel method for analysis of the structure of variability of multi-element systems has been developed and tested experimentally. The next challenges are to generalize the applicability of these tools and approaches to different effector systems and tasks and to link them to physiological processes within the human body. If this is accomplished successfully, our understanding of the human motor function will reach a level when direct application of the presently theoretical and metaphorical notions to practical issue of motor disorders and rehabilitation becomes possible. Hence, our next plans include: (1) Testing the new method of analysis of the structure of variability as a tool for discovering performance variables that are selectively stabilized during a variety of motor tasks; (2) Studying the process of synergy evolution with practice; and (3) Approaching the central mechanisms of synergy organization using the method of transcranial magnetic stimulation. We plan to address the following specific hypothesis: 1). Within a synergy, variability of individual elements is structured so as to selectively stabilize functionally important variables; 2). Learning a novel multi-element task leads to the creation of a synergy reflected in changes of the structure of variability within the state space of elements and responses of the elements to stimulation of the corticospinal tract; 3). Organization of elements into synergies with practice leads to plastic changes reflected in task-specific patterns of finger force responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation; and 4). Quick corrections to perturbations are organized in a synergy-specific way, so as to minimize deviations of functionally important variables. Their qualitative pattern (timing of muscle activation) may be largely independent of the local joint kinematics while quantitative features reflect joint kinematics in accordance with the EP-hypothesis. Seven experiments with oscillatory and discrete force production are suggested to test the hypotheses using tasks of multi-finger coordination within a hand and multi-finger coordination between the two hands. We also plan to monitor changes in indices of synergy organization with practice of an unusual multi-finger coordination task.