STEPPING PATTERNS IN ANTS - INFLUENCE OF BODY MORPHOLOGY

1994 ◽  
Vol 192 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Zollikofer
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Functional Relationship ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Leg Length ◽  
Leg Extension ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Tripod Gait ◽  
Locomotory Behaviour ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Coordination Patterns

The locomotory behaviour of 12 ant species belonging to four different genera (Formicinae: Cataglyphis, Formica, Lasius; Myrmicinae: Myrmica) was studied by filming individuals during walking on smoked-glass plates. Subsequent multivariate analyses of walking kinematics and footfall positions showed marked species-specific as well as size-dependent differences in the locomotory behaviour. The geometric properties of the footfall patterns resulting from the alternating tripod gait scale to leg dimensions in a geometric manner. At high speed, footprint distances between succeeding tripods exceed maximum leg extension, indicating that ants are 'trotting' from one tripod to the next one with intermittent aerial phases. In at least one species (Cataglyphis bombycina), there is evidence for quadrupedal locomotion at the highest speed. The functional relationship between stride length (s, the distance between successive footprints of the same foot) and speed (v) was best described by a curvilinear model, s=avb. Exponent b ranges from 0.3 to 0.6 and reveals differences between species. Within species, exponent b is constant, whereas factor a scales to leg length. Females and males show metachronal interleg coordination patterns rather than the alternating tripod coordination pattern seen in workers of the same species.

scholarly journals Channel catfish use higher coordination to capture prey than to swallow

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1901) ◽  
pp. 20190507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Olsen ◽  
L. Patricia Hernández ◽  
Ariel L. Camp ◽  
Elizabeth L. Brainerd
Keyword(s):  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Multiple Flows ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Coordination Patterns

When animals move they must coordinate motion among multiple parts of the musculoskeletal system. Different behaviours exhibit different patterns of coordination, however, it remains unclear what general principles determine the coordination pattern for a particular behaviour. One hypothesis is that speed determines coordination patterns as a result of differences in voluntary versus involuntary control. An alternative hypothesis is that the nature of the behavioural task determines patterns of coordination. Suction-feeding fishes have highly kinetic skulls and must coordinate the motions of over a dozen skeletal elements to draw fluid and prey into the mouth. We used a dataset of intracranial motions at five cranial joints in channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ), collected using X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology, to test whether speed or task best explained patterns of coordination. We found that motions were significantly more coordinated (by 20–29%) during prey capture than during prey transport, supporting the hypothesis that the nature of the task determines coordination patterns. We found no significant difference in coordination between low- and high-speed motions. We speculate that capture is more coordinated to create a single fluid flow into the mouth while transport is less coordinated so that the cranial elements can independently generate multiple flows to reposition prey. Our results demonstrate the benefits of both higher and lower coordination in animal behaviours and the potential of motion analysis to elucidate motor tasks.

Tuning of a Basic Coordination Pattern Constructs Straight-Ahead and Curved Walking in Humans

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1524-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégoire Courtine ◽  
Marco Schieppati
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
Straight Ahead

We tested the hypothesis that common principles govern the production of the locomotor patterns for both straight-ahead and curved walking. Whole body movement recordings showed that continuous curved walking implies substantial, limb-specific changes in numerous gait descriptors. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to uncover the spatiotemporal structure of coordination among lower limb segments. PCA revealed that the same kinematic law accounted for the coordination among lower limb segments during both straight-ahead and curved walking, in both the frontal and sagittal planes: turn-related changes in the complex behavior of the inner and outer limbs were captured in limb-specific adaptive tuning of coordination patterns. PCA was also performed on a data set including all elevation angles of limb segments and trunk, thus encompassing 13 degrees of freedom. The results showed that both straight-ahead and curved walking were low dimensional, given that 3 principal components accounted for more than 90% of data variance. Furthermore, the time course of the principal components was unchanged by curved walking, thereby indicating invariant coordination patterns among all body segments during straight-ahead and curved walking. Nevertheless, limb- and turn-dependent tuning of the coordination patterns encoded the adaptations of the limb kinematics to the actual direction of the walking body. Absence of vision had no significant effect on the intersegmental coordination during either straight-ahead or curved walking. Our findings indicate that kinematic laws, probably emerging from the interaction of spinal neural networks and mechanical oscillators, subserve the production of both straight-ahead and curved walking. During locomotion, the descending command tunes basic spinal networks so as to produce the changes in amplitude and phase relationships of the spinal output, sufficient to achieve the body turn.

scholarly journals Static stability predicts the continuum of interleg coordination patterns in Drosophila

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas S. Szczecinski ◽  
Till Bockemühl ◽  
Alexander S. Chockley ◽  
Ansgar Büschges
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Summary Statement ◽  
Walking Speeds ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
Phase Relationships ◽  
The Continuum

AbstractDuring walking, insects must coordinate the movements of their six legs for efficient locomotion. This interleg coordination is speed-dependent; fast walking in insects is associated with tripod coordination patterns, while slow walking is associated with more variable, tetrapod-like patterns. To date, however, there has been no comprehensive explanation as to why these speed-dependent shifts in interleg coordination should occur in insects. Tripod coordination would be sufficient at low walking speeds. The fact that insects use a different interleg coordination pattern at lower speeds suggests that it is more optimal or advantageous at these speeds. Furthermore, previous studies focused on discrete tripod and tetrapod coordination patterns. Experimental data, however, suggest that changes observed in interleg coordination are part of a speed-dependent spectrum. Here, we explore these issues in relation to static stability as an important aspect of interleg coordination in Drosophila. We created a model that uses basic experimentally measured parameters in fruit flies to find the interleg phase relationships that maximize stability for a given walking speed. Based on this measure, the model predicted a continuum of interleg coordination patterns spanning the complete range of walking speeds. Furthermore, for low walking speeds the model predicted tetrapod-like patterns to be most stable, while at high walking speeds tripod coordination emerged as most optimal. Finally, we validated the basic assumption of a continuum of interleg coordination patterns in a large set of experimental data from walking fruit flies and compared these data with the model-based predictions.Summary statementA simple stability-based modelling approach can explain why walking insects use different leg coordination patterns in a speed-dependent way.

The effect of ground surface rugosity on ant running speed is species-specific rather than size dependent

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Grevé ◽  
S. Bláha ◽  
J. Teuber ◽  
M. Rothmaier ◽  
H. Feldhaar
Keyword(s):  
Ground Surface ◽  
Running Speed ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Species Specific

scholarly journals Impact of Different Developmental Instars on Locusta migratoria Jumping Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Mo ◽  
Donato Romano ◽  
Mario Milazzo ◽  
Giovanni Benelli ◽  
Wenjie Ge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Locusta Migratoria ◽  
Biomechanical Model ◽  
Elastic Parameter ◽  
Leg Length ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Locomotion Behavior ◽  
Geometrical Data ◽  
Jumping Robot

Ontogenetic locomotion research focuses on the evolution of locomotion behavior in different developmental stages of a species. Unlike vertebrates, ontogenetic locomotion in invertebrates is poorly investigated. Locusts represent an outstanding biological model to study this issue. They are hemimetabolous insects and have similar aspects and behaviors in different instars. This research is aimed at studying the jumping performance of Locusta migratoria over different developmental instars. Jumps of third instar, fourth instar, and adult L. migratoria were recorded through a high-speed camera. Data were analyzed to develop a simplified biomechanical model of the insect: the elastic joint of locust hind legs was simplified as a torsional spring located at the femur-tibiae joint as a semilunar process and based on an energetic approach involving both locomotion and geometrical data. A simplified mathematical model evaluated the performances of each tested jump. Results showed that longer hind leg length, higher elastic parameter, and longer takeoff time synergistically contribute to a greater velocity and energy storing/releasing in adult locusts, if compared to young instars; at the same time, they compensate possible decreases of the acceleration due to the mass increase. This finding also gives insights for advanced bioinspired jumping robot design.

Influence of Previous Iliotibial Band Syndrome on Coordination Patterns and Coordination Variability in Female Runners

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 305-311
Author(s):  
Eric Foch ◽  
Clare E. Milner
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Frontal Plane ◽  
Transverse Plane ◽  
Iliotibial Band ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Vector Coding ◽  
Iliotibial Band Syndrome ◽  
History Of ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
Ellipse Area

It is unknown if female runners who have sustained multiple iliotibial band syndrome occurrences run differently compared with runners who developed the injury once or controls. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed in coordination patterns and coordination variability among female runners with recurrent iliotibial band syndrome, 1 iliotibial band syndrome occurrence, and controls. Overground running trials were collected for 36 female runners (n = 18 controls). Lower extremity coordination patterns were examined during running via a vector coding analysis. Coordination variability was calculated via the ellipse area method. Separate 1-way (group) Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed to compare each coordination pattern and coordination variability. Lower extremity coordination between frontal plane hip–transverse plane hip, frontal plane pelvis–frontal plane thigh, and frontal plane thigh–transverse plane shank was similar among groups and so may not be related to the risk of iliotibial band syndrome. Runners with 1 iliotibial band syndrome occurrence demonstrated greater coordination variability for 2 of 3 couplings compared with both controls and runners with recurrent iliotibial band syndrome. Thus, the number of previous injury episodes may influence coordination variability in female runners with a history of iliotibial band syndrome.

Bimanual control strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 966-978
Author(s):  
Chaoyi Wang ◽  
Charles H Shea
Keyword(s):  
Control Strategy ◽  
Bimanual Coordination ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Circular Path ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Bimanual Control ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Index Of Difficulty ◽  
Line Path ◽  
Coordination Patterns

Two tasks (A and B) were designed which required participants to sequentially move through four target positions in a Lissajous display. Task A was designed so that participants could complete the task using either unimanual or bimanual control strategies. Task B was designed so that participants could complete the task using relatively simple or more complex bimanual control strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine which control strategy the participant utilises to complete the two tasks when Lissajous displays are provided and to determine the degree to which the size of the targets influences the control strategy chosen under these conditions. The movement amplitude between two adjacent targets and the target size resulted in an Index of Difficulty (ID) of 2 and 4 for each task. For both tasks, participants practised 15 trials (30 s per trial) for each ID and then was administered a test trial. The results for both Tasks A and B indicated that the ID2 condition resulted in a circular path, whereas the ID4 condition resulted in a straight-line path on the Lissajous plot. This suggests that at the low ID condition participants produced a continuous 1:1 with 90° phase offset bimanual coordination pattern. At the high ID condition, the participants consistently chose to switch to a more stable unimanual left and right movements in Task A and to transition between in-phase and anti-phase bimanual coordination patterns in Task B. In addition, both limbs’ movements were more harmonic in the low ID condition than in the high ID condition.

Potentiation and Recovery Following Low- and High-Speed Isokinetic Contractions in Boys

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anis Chaouachi ◽  
Monoem Haddad ◽  
Carlo Castagna ◽  
Del P. Wong ◽  
Fathi Kaouech ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Angular Velocity ◽  
Blood Lactate ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Ratings Of Perceived Exertion ◽  
Leg Extension ◽  
Isokinetic Contractions ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Single Set

The objective of this study was to examine the response and recovery to a single set of maximal, low and high angular velocity isokinetic leg extension-flexion contractions with boys. Sixteen boys (11–14 yrs) performed 10 isokinetic contractions at 60°.s−1 (Isok60) and 300°.s−1 (Isok300). Three contractions at both velocities, blood lactate and ratings of perceived exertion were monitored pretest and at 2, 3, 4, and 5 min of recovery (RI). Participants were tested in a random counterbalanced order for each velocity and recovery period. Only a single contraction velocity (300°.s−1 or 60°.s−1) was tested during recovery at each session to remove confounding influences between the recovery intervals. Recovery results showed no change in quadriceps’ power at 300°.s−1, quadriceps’ power, work and torque at 60°.s−1 and hamstrings’ power and work with 60°.s−1. There was an increase during the 2 min RI in hamstrings’ power, work and torque and quadriceps’

Comparison of Lumbopelvic Coordination between Trunk Flexion and Extension

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 937-941
Author(s):  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Xiaopeng Ning
Keyword(s):  
Relative Phase ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Trunk Flexion ◽  
Flexion Extension ◽  
Continuous Relative Phase ◽  
Phase Variability ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
Flexion And Extension

Lumbopelvic coordination describes the relative contributions of lumbar and pelvis to the total trunk flexion/extension motion, which has been identified as a major influential factor to spinal loading. The current study investigated the differences in lumbopelvic coordination between trunk flexion and extension. Thirteen subjects performed pace-controlled trunk flexion/extension motions in the sagittal plane while lumbopelvic continuous relative phase and phase variability were quantified. The results demonstrated that compared with trunk extension, lumbopelvic continuous relative phase and phase variability were 28% and 117% greater in trunk flexion motion, respectively, which indicated a more anti-phase and unstable coordination pattern. Quantifying these coordination patterns helps identifying abnormal patterns and serves as normative benchmarks during low back pain rehabilitation.

scholarly journals Effects of practice on a mechanical horse with an online feedback on performing a sitting postural coordination

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héloïse Baillet ◽  
David Leroy ◽  
Eric Vérin ◽  
Claire Delpouve ◽  
Jérémie Boulanger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Feedback Group ◽  
Postural Coordination ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Online Feedback ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Group 1

AbstractThe present research aims at quantifying the impact of practicing a new coordination pattern with an online visual feedback on the postural coordination performed on a mechanical horse. Forty-four voluntary participants were recruited in this study. They were randomly assigned to four practice groups based on i) with or without feedback (i.e., group 1, control, did not receive the feedback; group 2, 3 and 4 received an online feedback during practice) and ii) the specific trunk/horse coordination to target during practice (group 1, target coordination = 180° (without feedback); group 2, target coordination = 0°; group 3, target coordination = 90°; group 4, target coordination = 180°). All participants performed pre-, practice, post- and retention sessions. The pre-, post- and retention sessions consisted of four trials, with one trial corresponding to one specific target coordination to maintain between their own oscillations and the horse oscillations (spontaneous, 0°, 90°, and 180°). The practice phase was composed of three different sessions during which participants received an online feedback about the coordination between their own oscillations and the horse oscillations.Results showed a significant change with practice in the trunk/horse coordination patterns which persisted even after one month (retention-test). However, all the groups did not show the same nature of change, evidenced by a high postural variability during post-test for 0° and 90° target coordination groups, in opposition to the 180° and spontaneous groups who showed a decrease in coordination variability for the 180° group. The coordination in anti-phase was characterized as spontaneously adopted by participants on the mechanical horse, explaining the ease of performing this coordination (compared to the 0° and 90° target coordination). The effect of online visual feedback appeared not only on the coordination pattern itself, but most importantly on its variability during practice, including concerning initially stable coordination patterns.

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