Neuromechanical Factors of the Adaptable Control of Locomotor Movements in Humans

人类的运动使我们能够适应不同的地形或行走环境。它提供了丰富的灵活性，可以跨过道路上的障碍，调整行走表面的变化，或对身体节段机械性能的变化做出反应。中枢神经系统(CNS)可以改变基本行走节奏以外的动作，以确保足够的支撑、平衡和安全的肢体轨迹。为了在修改过程中协调姿势和运动，中枢神经系统依赖于通过感觉信息更新的肢体和身体力学知识。**我研究的主要目标是了解机械和神经系统在促进步态修改方面的相互作用。本研究的主要方向是：**1)实验项目将探索在对机械和神经系统提出改变要求的步行任务中姿势和运动的协调。步态评估将使用肌肉活动、运动学和动力学的测量来确定这些运动适应的来源和性质。研究将重点放在依赖于任务/环境的机械需求的运动策略的选择上。将特定的注意力集中在过渡期，即个体从一个行走任务或环境转移到另一个阶段，因为这类事件与跌倒高度相关！**2)结合了两足**运动系统的机械和神经特性的计算机模型的发展。神经方面评估运动策略在中枢指令和感觉反馈机制中的表现。这些贡献将在很大程度上受到从动物和人体实验中获得的知识的指导。同时，力学模型将寻求确定与这些适应相关的特定组织贡献。**最终目标是整合经验和分析方向，以了解运动策略的神经机械决定因素。****************

Human locomotion allows us to adapt to various terrains or walking environments. It affords a rich flexibility to step over barriers in one's path, adjust to changes in the walking surface or react to changes in the mechanical properties of body segments. The central nervous system (CNS) can modify movements beyond a basic walking rhythm to ensure adequate support, balance and safe limb trajectories. To coordinate posture & movement during modifications, the CNS depends on knowledge of limb and body mechanics as updated through sensory information.**The principal objective of my research is to understand the interaction of the mechanical & neural systems in facilitating gait modifications. The primary directions of this research are:**1) Experimental projects will probe the coordination of posture & movement during walking tasks that place altered demands on the mechanical & neural systems. Gait assessment will employ measures of muscle activity, kinematics and kinetics to identify the source and nature of these locomotor adaptations. Studies will focus on the selection of motor strategies that are dependent on mechanical demands of the task/environment. Specific concentration placed on transitional periods, when individuals move from one walking task or environment to another as such events have been highly correlated to falls! **2) Advancement of computer models incorporating the mechanical & neural properties of a bipedal**locomotor system. Neural aspects assess how locomotor strategies are represented in both central commands and sensory feedback mechanisms. These contributions will largely be guided by the knowledge gained from both animal and human experiments. At the same time, mechanical models will seek to identify specific tissue contributions related to these adaptations. **The ultimate goal is to integrate both empirical and analytical directions to understand the neuromechanical determinants of locomotor strategies. ****************