Amplitude modulation of the soleus H reflex in the human during active and passive stepping movements

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Brooke ◽  
J. Cheng ◽  
J. E. Misiaszek ◽  
K. Lafferty

1. It was hypothesized that passive movement of either the whole leg or its separate segments, in a manner mimicking human gait, leads to attenuation of the soleus H reflex. It was further hypothesized that this attenuation arises from presynaptic effects. Reflex amplitudes were observed in humans during natural bipedal and unipedal stepping on the spot, during passive stepping, during passive movement of the lower limb segments about the hip, knee, and ankle individually in a stepping fashion, and during passive movement with tonic contraction of the soleus muscle. 2. In natural stepping at a cadence of 54 steps/min, the reflex means were substantially depressed in the swing phase (P < 0.01). (Means, standing control 90.1%, unipedal 8.3%, bipedal 6.9%, of maximum M wave.) During the stance phase, reflex magnitudes were mildly and significantly elevated in four of six subjects, compared with standing controls (P < 0.05). 3. For passive stepping, subjects were dorsally tilted 20 and 90 degrees (lying supine) from the vertical position, to obtain quiet electromyograms (EMGs) in the postural muscles. Recorded during natural stepping, the right leg was manipulated to match the electrogoniometer traces of the three major joints. 4. At 20 degrees of tilt of the body, mean H reflexes were significantly lower, by 26.4%, compared with the supine position (P < 0.05). During passive stepping movement of the leg at 54 steps/min, the reflex was profoundly attenuated over the entire cycle (P < 0.01). The significantly attenuated reflexes during active stepping and during passive stepping movement of the whole leg were not significantly different at the point where the limb approached full flexion in the swing phase (P > 0.48). This was the case for measurements made at either body position, 20 degrees dorsal tilt or supine. 5. Passive flexion-extension, around either the hip or the knee, significantly inhibited the mean reflex magnitude close to full flexion, at either body position (P < 0.01). Such movement around the ankle resulted in significant inhibition of the reflex in two of the four subjects (P < 0.05). The numeric sum of the reflex depression arising from the flexion-extension of the individual joints was greater than that arising from movement of the whole limb. 6. With the ankle braced, the significant reflex attenuation remained when a tonic isometric contraction of the soleus muscle was introduced. This suggests premotoneuronal mechanisms for the inhibition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Mamiya ◽  
Pralaksha Gurung ◽  
John Tuthill

SummaryAnimals rely on an internal sense of body position and movement to effectively control motor behavior. This sense of proprioception relies on diverse populations of mechanosensory neurons distributed throughout the body. However, little is known about how proprioceptor neurons collectively encode sensory stimuli. Here, we investigate neural coding of leg proprioception in Drosophila, using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging of proprioceptors during controlled movements of the fly tibia. We found that the axons of leg proprioceptors are organized into distinct functional projections that contain topographic representations of specific kinematic features. Using subtype-specific genetic driver lines, we show that one group of axons encodes tibia position (flexion/extension), another encodes movement direction, and a third encodes bidirectional movement and vibration frequency. Thus, proprioceptive sensing of a single leg joint is mediated by multiple subtypes of specialized sensory neurons. This architecture may help to maximize information transmission, processing speed, and robustness, which are critical for feedback control of the limbs during locomotion.


2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 715-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Duysens ◽  
C M Bastiaanse ◽  
B C.M Smits-Engelsman ◽  
V Dietz

During human gait, electrical stimulation of the foot elicits facilitatory P2 (medium latency) responses in TA (tibialis anterior) at the onset of the swing phase, while the same stimuli cause suppressive responses at the end of swing phase, along with facilitatory responses in antagonists. This phenomenon is called phase-dependent reflex reversal. The suppressive responses can be evoked from a variety of skin sites in the leg and from stimulation of some muscles such as rectus femoris (RF). This paper reviews the data on reflex reversal and adds new data on this topic, using a split-belt paradigm. So far, the reflex reversal in TA could only be studied for the onset and end phases of the step cycle, simply because suppression can only be demonstrated when there is background activity. Normally there are only 2 TA bursts in the step cycle, whereas TA is normally silent during most of the stance phase. To know what happens in the stance phase, one needs to have a means to evoke some background activity during the stance phase. For this purpose, new experiments were carried out in which subjects were asked to walk on a treadmill with a split-belt. When the subject was walking with unequal leg speeds, the walking pattern was adapted to a gait pattern resembling limping. The TA then remained active throughout most of the stance phase of the slow-moving leg, which was used as the primary support. This activity was a result of coactivation of agonistic and antagonistic leg muscles in the supporting leg, and represented one of the ways to stabilize the body. Electrical stimulation was given to a cutaneous nerve (sural) at the ankle at twice the perception threshold. Nine of the 12 subjects showed increased TA activity during stance phase while walking on split-belts, and 5 of them showed pronounced suppressions during the first part of stance when stimuli were given on the slow side. It was concluded that a TA suppressive pathway remains open throughout most of the stance phase in the majority of subjects. The suggestion was made that the TA suppression increases loading of the ankle plantar flexors during the loading phase of stance.Key words: human gait, cutaneous reflexes, sural nerve, tibialis anterior, split belt, reflex reversal.


2020 ◽  
pp. 8-19
Author(s):  
A. V. Rylskiy ◽  
A. N. Oranskaya ◽  
K. G. Gurevich

Objective: To study the effectiveness of the biological feedback (BOS) method in the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral circulation disorders. Materials and methods: 555 patients with chronic cerebral ischemia were examined. All the patients were diagnosed with problems with movement coordination in vertical position. If necessary, the patients received standard conservative therapy. In addition to it, a method for increasing physical activity based on the BOS method was used. A stabilometric examination was carried out on Trust-M equipment. Patient 10m walking time was evaluated. The patients’ quality of life was assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on the measurement of patient height and weight. Results: Before the start of the treatment, there is a tendency of a decrease in the average speed of movement in BOS with age. The average speed of movement in women is lower than that in men. With age, the maximum horizontal speed of movement also decreases. After the treatment, the speed of movement in men decreased in all age groups, and in women, the speed increased in groups older than 60 years. In all age groups, women had a larger increase in the rate of movement. Before the treatment, men spent less time than women on performing a walking test of 10 m. After the treatment, the test time decreases only in the group of men of 61 years and older, and in women — in the group of 51 years and older. The original quality of life of men, measured by the VAS scale, is higher than that of women. These diff erences become unreliable starting from the third BOS session. As a result of the treatment, the energy spent on maintaining the vertical position of the body in the group of persons up to 50 years is reduced. The correlations of mean force between the BMI and the energy spent on maintaining the vertical body position and upright posture retention were obtained. In persons under 50 years of age, the correlation coeffi cient in men is signifi cantly greater than in women. The correlation coeffi cient tends to decrease with age. Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that BOS therapy can have a positive eff ect on patients with cerebrovascular diseases (the increased speed of movement and reduced energy consumption on keeping the body in an upright position). The intensity of the eff ect depends on gender and age.


Author(s):  
Fernanda Mottin Refinetti ◽  
Ricardo Drews ◽  
Umberto Cesar Corrêa ◽  
Flavio Henrique Bastos

Crustaceana ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1695-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Allen ◽  
A. G. Lewis

Locomotor appendage-body relationships were used to examine whether swimming or reduction in sinking rate is the more important function in the second nauplius and copepodid stages of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837). Except for the similarity in swimming appendage surface areas without setae, the appendages of the two stages are morphologically distinct. Although the nauplius is smaller than the copepodid it has long slender appendages that, with setae, provide greater total surface area than the paddle-shaped copepodid thoracic legs. Copepodid thoracic legs are more similar to those used for swimming by planktonic copepods although with more limited propulsion capability. Naupliar appendages project from the body while copepodid appendages can be folded against the ventral surface, improving hydrodynamic flow as well as body position after attachment to a host. Both copepodid and naupliar appendages are of sufficient size that they should provide escape velocities of more than 100 mm ⋅ s−1. The nature and display of the naupliar appendages suggest they could be used to reduce sinking rate by as much as 64%, reducing the need to swim to maintain a suitable location in the water. Although copepodid thoracic legs could reduce sinking rate by over 40%, their position on the ventral surface and the nature of other appendages suggests a more important use, for orientation and attachment once a host is located.


1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
YOICHIRO OGATA ◽  
SHOHEI OGI ◽  
KATSUHIRO OZAKI ◽  
RIE NAKAO ◽  
SHIGEKI YOKOYAMA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1852) ◽  
pp. 20170359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Nair ◽  
Christy Nguyen ◽  
Matthew J. McHenry

An escape response is a rapid manoeuvre used by prey to evade predators. Performing this manoeuvre at greater speed, in a favourable direction, or from a longer distance have been hypothesized to enhance the survival of prey, but these ideas are difficult to test experimentally. We examined how prey survival depends on escape kinematics through a novel combination of experimentation and mathematical modelling. This approach focused on zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) larvae under predation by adults and juveniles of the same species. High-speed three-dimensional kinematics were used to track the body position of prey and predator and to determine the probability of behavioural actions by both fish. These measurements provided the basis for an agent-based probabilistic model that simulated the trajectories of the animals. Predictions of survivorship by this model were found by Monte Carlo simulations to agree with our observations and we examined how these predictions varied by changing individual model parameters. Contrary to expectation, we found that survival may not be improved by increasing the speed or altering the direction of the escape. Rather, zebrafish larvae operate with sufficiently high locomotor performance due to the relatively slow approach and limited range of suction feeding by fish predators. We did find that survival was enhanced when prey responded from a greater distance. This is an ability that depends on the capacity of the visual and lateral line systems to detect a looming threat. Therefore, performance in sensing, and not locomotion, is decisive for improving the survival of larval fish prey. These results offer a framework for understanding the evolution of predator–prey strategy that may inform prey survival in a broad diversity of animals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 961-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Battisto ◽  
Katharina V. Echt ◽  
Steven L. Wolf ◽  
Paul Weiss ◽  
Madeleine E. Hackney

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (3) ◽  
pp. H949-H958 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Jepsen ◽  
P. Gaehtgens

Laser-Doppler (LD) fluxmetry was performed in the palmar finger skin of healthy subjects to study the mechanisms contributing to the postural vascular response. Local transmural pressure in the skin blood vessels of the region studied was altered for 1 min in two experimental series either by passive movement of the arm to different vertical hand positions relative to heart level or by application of external pressure (-120-180 mmHg) to the finger. Heart and respiratory rate, arterial blood pressure, and LD flux in the contralateral finger (kept at heart level) were measured. The measurements suggest a compound reaction of local (myogenic) and systemic (neurogenic) mechanisms: the local regulatory component appears as a graded active vascular response elicited by passive vessel distension or compression. A systemic component, associated with a single deep inspiration, is frequently observed during the actual movement of the arm. In addition, prolonged holding of the test hand in a given vertical position also elicits a delayed vascular response in the control hand at heart level, which may be generated by volume receptors in the intrathoracic low-pressure system.


Author(s):  
Rahul Subramanian ◽  
Naga Venkata Rakesh ◽  
Robert F. Beck

Accurate prediction of the roll response is of significant practical relevance not only for ships but also ship type offshore structures such as FPSOs, FLNGs and FSRUs. This paper presents a new body-exact scheme that is introduced into a nonlinear direct time-domain based strip theory formulation to study the roll response of a vessel subjected to moderately large amplitude incident waves. The free surface boundary conditions are transferred onto a representative incident wave surface at each station. The body boundary condition is satisfied on the instantaneous wetted surface of the body below this surface. This new scheme allows capturing nonlinear higher order fluid loads arising from the radiated and wave diffraction components. The Froude-Krylov and hydrostatic loads are computed on the intersection surface of the exact body position and incident wave field. The key advantage of the methodology is that it improves prediction of nonlinear hydrodynamic loads while keeping the additional computational cost small. Physical model tests have been carried out to validate the computational model. Fairly good agreement is seen. Comparisons of the force components with fully linear and body-nonlinear models help in bringing out the improvements due to the new formulation.


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