Typical action perception and interpretation without motor simulation

Every day, we interact with people synchronously, immediately understand what they are doing, and easily infer their mental state and the likely outcome of their actions from their kinematics. According to various motor simulation theories of perception, such efficient perceptual processing of others’ actions cannot be achieved by visual analysis of the movements alone but requires a process of motor simulation—an unconscious, covert imitation of the observed movements. According to this hypothesis, individuals incapable of simulating observed movements in their motor system should have difficulty perceiving and interpreting observed actions. Contrary to this prediction, we found across eight sensitive experiments that individuals born with absent or severely shortened upper limbs (upper limb dysplasia), despite some variability, could perceive, anticipate, predict, comprehend, and memorize upper limb actions, which they cannot simulate, as efficiently as typically developed participants. We also found that, like the typically developed participants, the dysplasic participants systematically perceived the position of moving upper limbs slightly ahead of their real position but only when the anticipated position was not biomechanically awkward. Such anticipatory bias and its modulation by implicit knowledge of the body biomechanical constraints were previously considered as indexes of the crucial role of motor simulation in action perception. Our findings undermine this assumption and the theories that place the locus of action perception and comprehension in the motor system and invite a shift in the focus of future research to the question of how the visuo-perceptual system represents and processes observed body movements and actions.

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Wearable sensing devices for upper limbs: A systematic review

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part H Journal of Engineering in Medicine ◽

10.1177/0954411920953031 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 235 (1) ◽

pp. 117-130

Author(s):

Mingjie Dong ◽

Bin Fang ◽

Jianfeng Li ◽

Fuchun Sun ◽

Huaping Liu

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Electronic Devices ◽

The Body ◽

Future Research ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Wearable Sensing ◽

Fast Development ◽

Manufacturing Technologies

Wearable sensing devices, which are smart electronic devices that can be worn on the body as implants or accessories, have attracted much research interest in recent years. They are rapidly advancing in terms of technology, functionality, size, and real-time applications along with the fast development of manufacturing technologies and sensor technologies. By covering some of the most important technologies and algorithms of wearable devices, this paper is intended to provide an overview of upper-limb wearable device research and to explore future research trends. The review of the state-of-the-art of upper-limb wearable technologies involving wearable design, sensor technologies, wearable computing algorithms and wearable applications is presented along with a summary of their advantages and disadvantages. Toward the end of this paper, we highlight areas of future research potential. It is our goal that this review will guide future researchers to develop better wearable sensing devices for upper limbs.

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Analisis Postur Kerja Operator dengan Metode Rula di Area Gas Cutting

Jurnal INTECH Teknik Industri Universitas Serang Raya ◽

10.30656/intech.v3i2.881 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 73

Author(s):

Irwan Pegiardi ◽

Firdanis Setyaning Handika ◽

Supriyadi Supriyadi

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

Research Method ◽

The Body ◽

Sitting Position ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

Work Posture ◽

Long Time ◽

Group A ◽

Group B

The gas cutting area has several jobs that are risky to the operator, such as activities with squatting, bending positions. This study aims to determine the risk of work in the gas cutting area as a basis for improving work posture. The method used is RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) is a research method for investigating disorders of the upper limbs. By measuring the group A score and group B score. Based on the results of the RULA value in the process of operating the machine with a sitting position with a score 3. clearing the cutting plate with a bent position with a score of 5, and the highest score 6 in the grinding plate cutting. To reduce pain in the neck, torso, and arms, operators should not do work postures that cause pain in the body for a long time.

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Motor simulation does not underlie action perception: evidence from upper limb dysmelia

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/15.12.559 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. 559 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gilles Vannuscorps ◽

Alfonso Caramazza

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

Action Perception ◽

Motor Simulation

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Alterations in intermuscular coordination underlying isokinetic exercise after a stroke and their implications on neurorehabilitation

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1186/s12984-021-00900-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jeong-Ho Park ◽

Joon-Ho Shin ◽

Hangil Lee ◽

Jinsook Roh ◽

Hyung-Soon Park

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

Dimensional Space ◽

Control Group ◽

Muscle Synergies ◽

Stroke Survivors ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

End Point ◽

Biomechanical Constraints ◽

The Impact ◽

Neurologically Intact

Abstract Background Abnormal intermuscular coordination limits the motor capability of stroke-affected upper limbs. By evaluating the intermuscular coordination in the affected limb under various biomechanical task constraints, the impact of a stroke on motor control can be analyzed and intermuscular coordination-based rehabilitation strategies can be developed. In this study, we investigated upper limb intermuscular coordination after a stroke during isokinetic movements. Methods Sixteen chronic stroke survivors and eight neurologically intact individuals were recruited. End-point forces and electromyographic activities of the shoulder and elbow muscles were measured while the participants performed isokinetic upper limb movements in a three-dimensional space. Intermuscular coordination of the stroke survivors and the control participants was quantified in the form of muscle synergies. Then, we compared the number, composition, and activation coefficients of muscle synergies and the end-point force between the groups. The correlation between the alteration of muscle synergies and the level of motor impairment was investigated. Results Four and five muscle synergies in the stroke and control groups were observed, respectively. The composition of muscle synergies was comparable between the groups, except that the three heads of the deltoid muscle were co-activated and formed one synergy in the stroke group, whereas those muscles formed two synergies in the control group. When the number of muscle synergies between the groups matched, the comparable composition of muscle synergies was observed in both groups. Alternatively, the modulation of synergy activation coefficients was altered after a stroke. The severity of motor impairments was negatively correlated with the similarity of the post-stroke synergies with respect to the mean control synergies. Conclusions Stroke-affected upper limbs seemed to modularize the activation of the shoulder and elbow muscles in a fairly similar way to that of neurologically intact individuals during isokinetic movements. Compared with free (i.e., unconstrained) movement, exercise under biomechanical constraints including the isokinetic constraint might promote the activation of muscle synergies independently in stroke survivors. We postulated the effect of biomechanical constraints on the intermuscular coordination and suggested a possible intermuscular coordination-based rehabilitation protocol that provides the biomechanical constraint appropriate to a trainee throughout the progress of rehabilitation.

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The Effect of a Full Upper-Limb Control System and Its Usage in Stroke Rehabilitation

10.21203/rs.3.rs-164525/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kuan Cha ◽

Jinying Wang ◽

Yan Li ◽

Longbin Shen ◽

Zhuoming Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Upper Limb ◽

The Body ◽

Control Group ◽

Body Ownership ◽

Leap Motion ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation ◽

Experimental Group

Abstract Backgrounds: Transferring behaviors of a human’s upper-limbs to an avatar is widely used in the field of virtual reality rehabilitation. To realize the transfer, movement tracking technology is required. Traditionally, wearable tracking devices are used to do the tracking, however the devices are expensive and cumbersome. Recently, non-wearable upper-limb tracking solutions are proposed, which are cheaper and more comfortable to interact. But most of the existing products cannot track full upper-limbs including both the arms and all the fingers, which limits the motion paradigm and further may lead to limited rehabilitation effect. Methods: In this paper, a novel method was first proposed for full avatar’s upper-limb control which integrates the fine finger motion and the arm wide range motion. Then, based on the method, a Virtual Reality Rehabilitation System (VRRS) was developed for upper-limb rehabilitation. To test the performance of VRRS, two experiments were designed. First, in order to investigate the effect of VRRS on virtual body ownership, agency, location of the body and usability, we compared it with the partial upper-limb tracking method based on Leap Motion controller (LP) in same virtual environments. Then, to study the feasibility of VRRS in rehabilitation, we recruited 16 stroke patients and split them into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. Each group consisted 8 patients, with and without employing VRRS respectively.Results: The control of full avatar’s upper-limbs improved the users’ senses on body ownership, agency and location of the body. The users preferred to use VRRS. In addition, although the upper-limb motor function of patients from both groups were improved, the difference between the FM scores tested on the first day and the last day of the experimental group was more significant than that of the control group. Conclusions: VRRS based on the proposed method for full avatar’s upper-limbs control was developed, which improved the user experience on embodiment and effectively improved the rehabilitation effect for upper-limbs of stroke patients.Trial registration:The study was registered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University Identifier: KY-2020-036; Date of registration - June 01, 2020.

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Sonification as Concurrent Augmented Feedback for Motor Skill Learning and the Importance of Mapping Design

The Open Psychology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874350101508010192 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 192-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

John F. Dyer ◽

Paul Stapleton ◽

Matthew W. M. Rodger

Keyword(s):

Motor System ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Whole Body ◽

Future Research ◽

Action Perception ◽

Acoustic Information ◽

Neuroscience Research ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Visual Domain

There is a whole body of research that provides evidence that the motor system plays a crucial role in controlling as well as perceiving movements. So far a lot of evidence for the interaction of action and perception derives from studies in the visual domain. However, up to now not much is known about the role of acoustic information. The focus of this review is to provide an overview regarding the role of the motor system and auditory sense during action perception and motor control. Recent theories and studies that discuss the interaction of perception and action will be reviewed with an emphasis on the use of acoustic information. Empirical evidence derived from behavioral as well as neuroscience research using simple as well as whole-body movements will be provided. Additionally, we will provide perspectives regarding future research questions to bring forward our understanding of the role of acoustic information in the control and perception of actions and its underlying mechanisms.

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A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1186/s12984-021-00957-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kuan Cha ◽

Jinying Wang ◽

Yan Li ◽

Longbin Shen ◽

Zhuoming Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Upper Limb ◽

The Body ◽

Body Ownership ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Upper Limb Rehabilitation ◽

Limb Rehabilitation ◽

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation

Abstract Background The transfer of the behaviors of a human’s upper limbs to an avatar is widely used in the field of virtual reality rehabilitation. To perform the transfer, movement tracking technology is required. Traditionally, wearable tracking devices are used for tracking; however, these devices are expensive and cumbersome. Recently, non-wearable upper-limb tracking solutions have been proposed, which are less expensive and more comfortable. However, most products cannot track the upper limbs, including the arms and all the fingers at the same time, which limits the limb parts for tracking in a virtual environment and may lead to a limited rehabilitation effect. Methods In this paper, a novel virtual reality rehabilitation system (VRRS) was developed for upper-limb rehabilitation. The VRRS could track the motion of both upper limbs, integrate fine finger motion and the range of motion of the entire arm and map the motion to an avatar. To test the performance of VRRS, two experiments were designed. In the first experiment, we investigated the effect of VRRS on virtual body ownership, agency and location of the body and usability in 8 healthy participants by comparing it with a partial upper-limb tracking method based on a Leap Motion controller (LP) in the same virtual environments. In the second experiment, we examined the feasibility of VRRS in upper-limb rehabilitation with 27 stroke patients. Results VRRS improved the users’ senses of body ownership, agency, and location of the body. The users preferred using the VRRS to using the LP. In addition, we found that although the upper limb motor function of patients from all groups was improved, the difference between the FM scores tested on the first day and the last day of the experimental group was more significant than that of the control groups. Conclusions A VRRS with motion tracking of the upper limbs and avatar control including the arms and all the fingers was developed. It resulted in an improved user experience of embodiment and effectively improved the effects of upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients. Trial registration The study was registered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University Identifier: KY-2020–036; Date of registration: June 01, 2020.

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Alterations in intermuscular coordination underlying isokinetic exercise after a stroke and their implications on neurorehabilitation

10.21203/rs.3.rs-107705/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jeong-Ho Park ◽

Joon-Ho Shin ◽

Hangil Lee ◽

Jinsook Roh ◽

Hyung-Soon Park

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

Dimensional Space ◽

Control Group ◽

Muscle Synergies ◽

Stroke Survivors ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

End Point ◽

Biomechanical Constraints ◽

The Impact ◽

Neurologically Intact

Abstract Background: Abnormal intermuscular coordination limits the motor capability of stroke-affected upper limbs. By evaluating the intermuscular coordination in the affected limb under various biomechanical task constraints, the impact of a stroke on motor control can be analyzed and intermuscular coordination-based rehabilitation strategies can be developed. In this study, we investigated upper limb intermuscular coordination after a stroke during isokinetic movements. Methods: Sixteen chronic stroke survivors and eight neurologically intact individuals were recruited. End-point forces and electromyographic activities of the shoulder and elbow muscles were measured while the participants performed isokinetic upper limb movements in a three-dimensional space. Intermuscular coordination of the stroke survivors and the control participants was quantified in the form of muscle synergies. Then, we compared the number, composition, and activation coefficients of muscle synergies and the end-point force between the groups. The correlation between the alteration of muscle synergies and the level of motor impairment was investigated. Results: Four and five muscle synergies in the stroke and control groups were observed, respectively. The composition of muscle synergies was comparable between the groups, except that the three heads of the deltoid muscle were co-activated and formed one synergy in the stroke group, whereas those muscles formed two synergies in the control group. When the number of muscle synergies between the groups matched, the comparable composition of muscle synergies was observed in both groups. Alternatively, the modulation of synergy activation coefficients was altered after a stroke. The severity of motor impairments was negatively correlated with the similarity of the post-stroke synergies with respect to the mean control synergies. Conclusions: Stroke-affected upper limbs seemed to modularize the activation of the shoulder and elbow muscles in a fairly similar way to that of neurologically intact individuals during isokinetic movements. Compared with free (i.e., unconstrained) movement, exercise under biomechanical constraints including the isokinetic constraint might promote the activation of muscle synergies independently in stroke survivors. We postulated the effect of biomechanical constraints on the intermuscular coordination and suggested a possible intermuscular coordination-based rehabilitation protocol that provides the biomechanical constraint appropriate to a trainee throughout the progress of rehabilitation.

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A letter on a hand: Rotating together or separately?

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021818758264 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 472-480

Author(s):

Jialing Chen ◽

Qingfen Hu ◽

Yi Shao

Keyword(s):

Mental Rotation ◽

Motor System ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Simulation Theory ◽

Error Rates ◽

Complex Interaction ◽

Motor Simulation ◽

Biomechanical Constraints ◽

Speed And Accuracy ◽

Hand Image

The motor system plays a role in some object mental rotation tasks, and researchers have reported that people may use a strategy of motor simulation to mentally rotate objects. In this study, we used images of a hand with a letter printed on the palm to directly determine whether a hand image can be automatically rotated during the deliberate mental rotation of an object and whether the hand and object are rotated in the same trajectory. A total of 41 participants were shown the stimuli and asked to decide whether the letters, which were upright or tilted at specific degrees, were normal or mirrored. The hand images in the background showed either a left or a right hand in the palm view, with fingers pointing upwards, medial, downwards, or lateral. Reaction times and error rates were measured to determine the speed and accuracy of mental rotation. A complex interaction between the hand posture and letter orientation revealed that the hand image was mentally rotated automatically, together with the deliberate mental rotation of the letter. The biomechanical constraints of the hand also influenced reaction times, suggesting the involvement of the motor system in the concomitant mental rotation of the hand image. Consistent with the motor simulation theory, the participants seemed to imagine the hand carrying the object in its movement. These behavioural data support the motor simulation theory and elucidate specific processes of mental rotation that have not been addressed by neuroimaging studies.

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