Robotic balance simulator to characterize the adaptability and sensory code underlying the control of standing balance in humans

直立几乎是毫不费力的。在某些方面，我们的站立平衡就像我们的呼吸：两者都可以不由自主地发生，但我们可以意识到我们的平衡和呼吸，并在需要时进行有意识的控制。我们对直立姿势的有意识感知与其自动控制之间的联系最近受到了质疑。关键的问题已经被提出：我们的大脑和神经系统如何适应不断变化的姿势环境和挑战(例如，站在坚实的地面上还是站在站立的划板上)？我们的神经系统用什么感觉信息来进行调整？我们是否有意识地意识到神经系统用来维持和适应平衡的信号？ 所要求的设备将使我们能够解决这些关键的研究问题，如果没有它，这些问题是无法回答的。我们将建造一个独一无二的机器人平衡模拟器(与非传导力平台相结合)，使我们能够测试我们的平衡系统的适应能力，并描述我们对这些适应的感知。我们将通过打破神经系统的运动输出与其机械结果之间的密切联系来测试这种适应性。机器人平衡模拟器将允许我们探索控制平衡的策略的限制，并揭示我们的大脑如何编码、解码和利用感觉信息直立站立的关键特征。此外，定制设计的机器人平衡模拟器将允许我们直接记录清醒人类神经的活动，以确定控制站立平衡的神经信息。这代表着一个研究前沿，将通过机器人平衡模拟器的独特设计来实现。 本提案中要求的机器人平衡模拟器将加速创新发现，使我们的研究团队能够描述与站立平衡有关的神经信息。这种独特的设备带来的新发现将为控制模仿人类的机器人站立开辟新的建模途径。这项工作的直接受益者将是神经科学、生理学、平衡控制、计算机科学和工程领域的研究人员和研究实习生。这些创新也将使临床研究人员和临床医生受益，告知他们我们的神经系统在控制平衡方面的局限性和适应性，最终将为开发新的平衡训练和康复策略铺平道路。

Standing upright is almost effortless. In some ways, our standing balance is like our breathing: both can happen involuntarily, yet we can be aware of our balance and breathing, and take conscious control if needed. The links between our conscious perception of upright posture and its automatic control have been recently questioned. Critical issues have been raised: How do our brain and nervous system adapt to changing postural environments and challenges (e.g. standing on firm ground vs on a stand-up paddle board)? What sensory information does our nervous system use to make adjustments? Are we consciously aware of the signals used by our nervous system to maintain and adapt our balance? The requested equipment will enable us to address these key research questions that could not be answered without it. We will build a one-of-a-kind robotic balance simulator (combined with a non-conductive force platform) that will allow us to test our balance system’s ability to adapt and characterize our perception of these adaptations. We will test this adaptability by breaking the close link between the nervous system’s motor output from its mechanical outcomes. The robotic balance simulator will permit us to explore the limits of our strategies to control balance, and reveal key features of how our brain encodes, decodes and makes use of sensory information to stand upright. In addition, the custom-designed robotic balance simulator will allow us to record activity directly from nerves in awake humans to determine the neural information underlying the control of standing balance. This represents a research frontier that will be enabled by the unique design of the robotic balance simulator. The robotic balance simulator requested in this proposal will accelerate innovative discoveries, allowing our research team to describe the neural information that is involved in standing balance. The novel findings enabled by this unique equipment will foster new modelling avenues for the control of standing in robots designed to mimic humans. The immediate beneficiaries of this work will be researchers and research trainees working in the areas of neuroscience, physiology, balance control, computer science and engineering. These innovations will also benefit clinical researchers and clinicians, informing them about the limits and adaptability of our nervous system in controlling balance and ultimately will paving the way for the development of new balance training and rehabilitation strategies.