scholarly journals Identifying the mechanical and neural properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles

2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 1297-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhillie D. Luciani ◽  
David M. Desmet ◽  
Amani A. Alkayyali ◽  
Joshua M. Leonardis ◽  
David B. Lipps
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Surface Electromyography ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Moment Arms ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Neck muscles are preferentially activated in specific force directions, but the constraints that the central nervous system considers when programming these preferred directions of muscle activity are unknown. The current study used ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to investigate whether the material properties of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles exhibit preferred directions similar to their preferred direction of muscle activity during an isometric task. Twenty-four healthy participants matched isometric forces in 16 axial directions. All force targets were scaled to 20% of a maximum voluntary contraction. Muscle activity was recorded with surface electromyography (EMG) from six muscles (the bilateral SCMs, upper trapezius, and splenius capitis muscles), and shear wave velocities (SWVs) were recorded with SWE from both SCM muscles. We observed statistically significant differences between the preferred directions of muscle activity and SWVs for both the left SCM ( P = 0.002) and the right SCM ( P < 0.001), with the SWE data exhibiting a more lateral preferred direction. Significant differences in the spatial focus ( P < 0.001) were also observed, with the dispersion of SWV data covering a greater angular range than the EMG data during isometric tasks. The preferred directions of muscle activity and material properties for the SCM muscles were closer than previous comparisons of muscle activity and moment arms, suggesting muscle mechanics could play a more important role than anatomy in how the central nervous system spatially tunes muscle activation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study used a novel combination of surface electromyography and ultrasound shear wave elastography to investigate the neuromuscular control of the neck. Our work highlights differences in how the activation and material properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles are modulated as the central nervous system stabilizes the neck during isometric force production. These findings provide normative data for future studies to investigate pathologic changes to both the activation and material properties of the sternocleidomastoid muscles.

scholarly journals A Fair and EMG-validated Comparison of Recruitment Criteria, Musculotendon Models and Muscle Coordination Strategies, for the Inverse-dynamics Based Optimization of Muscle Forces During Gait

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian MICHAUD ◽  
Mario Lamas ◽  
Urbano Lugrís ◽  
Javier Cuadrado
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cost Function ◽  
Inverse Dynamics ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Muscle Coordination ◽  
Actuator Dynamics ◽  
Moment Arms ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Abstract Experimental studies and EMG collections suggest that a specific strategy of muscle coordination is chosen by the central nervous system to perform a given motor task. A popular mathematical approach for solving the muscle recruitment problem is optimization. Optimization-based methods minimize or maximize some criterion (objective function or cost function) which reflects the mechanism used by the central nervous system to recruit muscles for the movement considered. The proper cost function is not known a priori, so the adequacy of the chosen function must be validated according to the obtained results. In addition of the many criteria proposed, several physiological representations of the musculotendon actuator dynamics along with different musculoskeletal models can be found in the literature, which hinders the selection of the best neuromusculotendon model for each application. Seeking to provide a fair base for comparison, this study measures the efficiency and accuracy of: i) four different criteria; ii) one static and three physiological representations of the musculotendon actuator dynamics; iii) a synergy-based method; all of them within the framework of inverse-dynamics based optimization. Motion/force/EMG gait analyses were performed on ten healthy subjects. A musculoskeletal model of the right leg actuated by 43 Hill-type muscles was scaled to each subject and used to calculate joint moments, musculotendon kinematics and moment arms. Muscle activations were then estimated using the different approaches, and these estimates were compared with EMG measurements. Although similar results were obtained with all the methods, it must be pointed out that a higher complexity of the method does not guarantee better results, as the best correlations with experimental values were obtained with two simplified approaches.

scholarly journals When 90% of the variance is not enough: residual EMG from muscle synergy extraction influences task performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 2180-2190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor R. Barradas ◽  
Jason J. Kutch ◽  
Toshihiro Kawase ◽  
Yasuharu Koike ◽  
Nicolas Schweighofer
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Dimensionality Reduction ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Muscle Synergy ◽  
Systematic Effect ◽  
Extraction Techniques ◽  
The Central Nervous System

The muscle synergy hypothesis posits that the central nervous system simplifies motor control by grouping muscles into modules. Current techniques use dimensionality reduction, such that the identified synergies reconstruct 90% of the muscle activity. We show that residual muscle activity following such identification can have a large systematic effect on movements, even when the number of synergies approaches the number of muscles. Current synergy extraction techniques must therefore be updated to identify true physiological synergies.

scholarly journals Motor adaptations to trunk perturbation: effects of experimental back pain and spinal tissue creep

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1591-1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Abboud ◽  
Catherine Daneau ◽  
François Nougarou ◽  
Claude Dugas ◽  
Martin Descarreaux
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Experimental Pain ◽  
Neuromuscular Adaptations ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Neuromuscular Responses ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Variable Recruitment

In complex anatomical systems, such as the trunk, motor control theories suggest that many motor solutions can be implemented to achieve a similar goal. Although reflex mechanisms act as a stabilizer of the spine, how the central nervous system uses trunk redundancy to adapt neuromuscular responses under the influence of external perturbations, such as experimental pain or spinal tissue creep, is still unclear. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize trunk neuromuscular adaptations in response to unexpected trunk perturbations under the influence of spinal tissue creep and experimental back pain. Healthy participants experienced a repetition of sudden external trunk perturbations in two protocols: 1) 15 perturbations before and after a spinal tissue creep protocol and 2) 15 perturbations with and without experimental back pain. Trunk neuromuscular adaptations were measured by using high-density electromyography to record erector spinae muscle activity recruitment patterns and a motion analysis system. Muscle activity reflex attenuation was found across unexpected trunk perturbation trials under the influence of creep and pain. A similar area of muscle activity distribution was observed with or without back pain as well as before and after creep. No change of trunk kinematics was observed. We conclude that although under normal circumstances muscle activity adaptation occurs throughout the same perturbations, a reset of the adaptation process is present when experiencing a new perturbation such as experimental pain or creep. However, participants are still able to attenuate reflex responses under these conditions by using variable recruitment patterns of back muscles. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study characterizes, for the first time, trunk motor adaptations with high-density surface electromyography when the spinal system is challenged by a series of unexpected perturbations. We propose that the central nervous system is able to adapt neuromuscular responses by using a variable recruitment pattern of back muscles to maximize the motor performance, even under the influence of pain or when the passive structures of the spine are altered.

scholarly journals Surface Electromyography Meets Biomechanics: Correct Interpretation of sEMG-Signals in Neuro-Rehabilitation Needs Biomechanical Input

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Disselhorst-Klug ◽  
Sybele Williams
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Surface Electromyography ◽  
Correct Interpretation ◽  
Movement Performance ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Biomechanical Factors ◽  
Muscular Activation ◽  
Semg Signals

Coordinated activation of muscles is the basis for human locomotion. Impaired muscular activation is related to poor movement performance and disability. To restore movement performance, information about the subject's individual muscular activation is of high relevance. Surface electromyography (sEMG) allows the pain-free assessment of muscular activation and many ready-to-use technologies are available. They enable the usage of sEMG measurements in several applications. However, due to the fact that in most rehabilitation applications dynamic conditions are analyzed, the correct interpretation of sEMG signals remains difficult which hinders the spread of sEMG in clinical applications. From biomechanics it is well-known that the sEMG signal depends on muscle fiber length, contraction velocity, contraction type and on the muscle's biomechanical moment. In non-isometric conditions these biomechanical factors have to be considered when analyzing sEMG signals. Additionally, the central nervous system control strategies used to activate synergistic and antagonistic muscles have to be taken into consideration. These central nervous system activation strategies are rarely known in physiology and are hard to manage in pathology. In this perspective report we discuss how the consideration of biomechanical factors leads to more reliable information extraction from sEMG signals and how the limitations of sEMG can be overcome in dynamic conditions. This is a prerequisite if the use of sEMG in rehabilitation applications is to extend. Examples will be given showing how the integration of biomechanical knowledge into the interpretation of sEMG helps to identify the central nervous system activation strategies involved and leads to relevant clinical information.

Modeling the central nervous system functionality in controlling the calf muscle activity during running with sport shoes

2019 ◽  
Vol 233 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Jalali ◽  
Mohammad-Reza Sayyed Noorani ◽  
Reza Hassannejad ◽  
Mir Mohammad Ettefagh
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Calf Muscle ◽  
Running Speed ◽  
Tuning Parameters ◽  
Safe Area ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Stiffness And Damping

Biological findings show that the activity of the calf muscle group is controlled by the central nervous system during running. The central nervous system tries to retain the peak values of the ground reaction force at constant levels as well as to minimize the vibration amplitude of soft tissues of the lower leg. Furthermore, these objectives are functions of stiffness and damping (compliance properties) of the calf muscle-tendon unit, especially gastrocnemius-Achilles. In this article, a new model for the calf muscle-tendon unit activity is presented in which the coefficients of stiffness and damping are exponential functions of the force produced at the Achilles tendon in the duration of stance phase, that is, they are time variant instead of having constant values. Then, the central nervous system functionality to control the activity of the muscle-tendon unit is formulated through definition of an optimization problem. This problem is solved by additionally considering the hardness of sport shoes. The muscle activity is indeed controlled via optimally adjusting two tuning parameters of the muscle-tendon unit model in terms of the hardness of shoes. This idea is examined separately for two running speeds. The results show the following: (1) The hardness of shoes affects the muscle activity. We find safe areas of the hardness parameters to design sport shoes. (2) When hard shoes are worn, the running speed has negligible effects on the tuning parameters, while with soft shoes the tuning parameters significantly change the muscle activity and the ground reaction force depended on running speed. (3) The ability of muscle in changing its compliance properties (specified by bound limits over the muscle-tendon unit tuning parameters) has the most influence in the safe area. (4) Rising running speed leads to a decrease in the safe area of shoes’ parameters.

Effects of Hyperoxia on Lung Utrastructure

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
Gladys Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Light Microscopy ◽  
Oxygen Effects ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Space Age ◽  
Alveolar Septa ◽  
Extensive Damage

With the advent of the space age and the need to determine the requirements for a space cabin atmosphere, oxygen effects came into increased importance, even though these effects have been the subject of continuous research for many years. In fact, Priestly initiated oxygen research when in 1775 he published his results of isolating oxygen and described the effects of breathing it on himself and two mice, the only creatures to have had the “privilege” of breathing this “pure air”.Early studies had demonstrated the central nervous system effects at pressures above one atmosphere. Light microscopy revealed extensive damage to the lungs at one atmosphere. These changes which included perivascular and peribronchial edema, focal hemorrhage, rupture of the alveolar septa, and widespread edema, resulted in death of the animal in less than one week. The severity of the symptoms differed between species and was age dependent, with young animals being more resistant.

Emigration of neutrophils in the central nervous system

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 788-789
Author(s):  
John L.Beggs ◽  
John D. Waggener ◽  
Wanda Miller ◽  
Jane Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Arterial Perfusion ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Intracisternal Injection ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
Interendothelial Junctions

Studies using mesenteric and ear chamber preparations have shown that interendothelial junctions provide the route for neutrophil emigration during inflammation. The term emigration refers to the passage of white blood cells across the endothelium from the vascular lumen. Although the precise pathway of transendo- thelial emigration in the central nervous system (CNS) has not been resolved, the presence of different physiological and morphological (tight junctions) properties of CNS endothelium may dictate alternate emigration pathways.To study neutrophil emigration in the CNS, we induced meningitis in guinea pigs by intracisternal injection of E. coli bacteria.In this model, leptomeningeal inflammation is well developed by 3 hr. After 3 1/2 hr, animals were sacrificed by arterial perfusion with 3% phosphate buffered glutaraldehyde. Tissues from brain and spinal cord were post-fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in alcohols and propylene oxide, and embedded in Epon. Thin serial sections were cut with diamond knives and examined in a Philips 300 electron microscope.

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