scholarly journals Enhancing the Internal Representation of the Body Through Sensorimotor Training in Sports and Dance Improves Balance Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Fabre
Keyword(s):  
Balance Control ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sensorimotor Training

scholarly journals Effect of Incorporating Short-Foot Exercises in the Balance Rehabilitation of Flat Foot: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1358
Author(s):  
Dongchul Moon ◽  
Juhyeon Jung
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Postural Stability ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Sensorimotor Training ◽  
Flat Foot ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Balance Rehabilitation

Effective balance rehabilitation is essential to address flat foot (pes planus) which is closely associated with reduced postural stability. Although sensorimotor training (SMT) and short-foot exercise (SFE) have been effective for improving postural stability, the combined effects of SMT with SFE have not been evaluated in previous studies. The aim of this study was to compare the lone versus combined effects of SMT with SFE on postural stability among participants with flat foot. This was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 32 flat-footed participants were included in the study (14 males and 18 females) and assigned to the SMT combined with SFE group and SMT alone group. All participants underwent 18 sessions of the SMT program three times a week for six weeks. Static balance, dynamic balance, and the Hmax/Mmax ratio were compared before and after the interventions. Static and dynamic balance significantly increased in the SMT combined with SFE group compared with the SMT alone group. However, the Hmax/Mmax ratio was not significantly different between the two groups. Therefore, this study confirms that the combination of SMT and SFE is superior to SMT alone to improve postural balance control in flat-footed patients in clinical settings.

scholarly journals The gravitational imprint on sensorimotor planning and control

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. White ◽  
J. Gaveau ◽  
L. Bringoux ◽  
F. Crevecoeur
Keyword(s):  
Internal Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Altered Gravity ◽  
Partial Adjustment ◽  
Gravitational Forces ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
Biomechanical Constraints ◽  
And Control ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

Humans excel at learning complex tasks, and elite performers such as musicians or athletes develop motor skills that defy biomechanical constraints. All actions require the movement of massive bodies. Of particular interest in the process of sensorimotor learning and control is the impact of gravitational forces on the body. Indeed, efficient control and accurate internal representations of the body configuration in space depend on our ability to feel and anticipate the action of gravity. Here we review studies on perception and sensorimotor control in both normal and altered gravity. Behavioral and modeling studies together suggested that the nervous system develops efficient strategies to take advantage of gravitational forces across a wide variety of tasks. However, when the body was exposed to altered gravity, the rate and amount of adaptation exhibited substantial variation from one experiment to another and sometimes led to partial adjustment only. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the brain uses a multimodal and flexible representation of the effect of gravity on our body and movements. Future work is necessary to better characterize the nature of this internal representation and the extent to which it can adapt to novel contexts.

scholarly journals Hardware-In-the-Loop Equipment for the Development of an Automatic Perturbator for Clinical Evaluation of Human Balance Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 8886
Author(s):  
Carlo Ferraresi ◽  
Daniela Maffiodo ◽  
Walter Franco ◽  
Giovanni Gerardo Muscolo ◽  
Carlo De Benedictis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Balance Control ◽  
The Body ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Control Analysis ◽  
Hardware In The Loop ◽  
Control Laws ◽  
Component Selection ◽  
Risk Of Falls ◽  
Human Balance ◽  
Human Balance Control

Nowadays, increasing attention is being paid to techniques aimed at assessing a subject’s ability to maintain or regain control of balance, thus reducing the risk of falls. To this end, posturographic analyses are performed in different clinical settings, both in unperturbed and perturbed conditions. This article presents a new Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) equipment designed for the development of an automatic perturbator for postural control analysis, capable of providing controlled mechanical stimulation by means of an impulsive force exerted on a given point of the body. The experimental equipment presented here includes the perturbator and emulates its interaction with both the subject’s body and the operator performing the test. The development of the perturbator and of the entire HIL equipment is described, including component selection, modeling of the entire system, and experimentally verified simulations used to study and define the most appropriate control laws.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor feedback based on task-relevant error robustly predicts temporal recruitment and multidirectional tuning of muscle synergies

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed A. Safavynia ◽  
Lena H. Ting
Keyword(s):  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Muscle Synergy ◽  
Muscle Synergies ◽  
Muscle Coordination ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Sensorimotor Feedback ◽  
Task Level

We hypothesized that motor outputs are hierarchically organized such that descending temporal commands based on desired task-level goals flexibly recruit muscle synergies that specify the spatial patterns of muscle coordination that allow the task to be achieved. According to this hypothesis, it should be possible to predict the patterns of muscle synergy recruitment based on task-level goals. We demonstrated that the temporal recruitment of muscle synergies during standing balance control was robustly predicted across multiple perturbation directions based on delayed sensorimotor feedback of center of mass (CoM) kinematics (displacement, velocity, and acceleration). The modulation of a muscle synergy's recruitment amplitude across perturbation directions was predicted by the projection of CoM kinematic variables along the preferred tuning direction(s), generating cosine tuning functions. Moreover, these findings were robust in biphasic perturbations that initially imposed a perturbation in the sagittal plane and then, before sagittal balance was recovered, perturbed the body in multiple directions. Therefore, biphasic perturbations caused the initial state of the CoM to differ from the desired state, and muscle synergy recruitment was predicted based on the error between the actual and desired upright state of the CoM. These results demonstrate that that temporal motor commands to muscle synergies reflect task-relevant error as opposed to sensory inflow. The proposed hierarchical framework may represent a common principle of motor control across motor tasks and levels of the nervous system, allowing motor intentions to be transformed into motor actions.

Impairments of Postural Balance in Surgically Treated Lumbar Disc Herniation Patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-234
Author(s):  
Ziva M. Rosker ◽  
Jernej Rosker ◽  
Nejc Sarabon
Keyword(s):  
Postural Balance ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
The Body ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Body Sway ◽  
Support Surface ◽  
Balance Task ◽  
Lateral Body ◽  
Unstable Support

Reports on body sway control following microdiscectomy lack reports on side-specific balance deficits as well as the effects of trunk balance control deficits on body sway during upright stances. About 3 weeks post microdiscectomy, the body sway of 27 patients and 25 controls was measured while standing in an upright quiet stance with feet positioned parallel on an unstable support surface, a tandem stance with the involved leg positioned in front or at the back, a single-leg stance with both legs, and sitting on an unstable surface. Velocity, average amplitude, and frequency-direction–specific parameters were analyzed from the center of pressure movement, measured by the force plate. Statistically significant differences between the 2 groups were observed for the medial–lateral body sway frequency in parallel stance on a stable and unstable support surface and for the sitting balance task in medial-lateral body sway parameters. Medium to high correlations were observed between body sway during sitting and the parallel stance, as well as between the tandem and single-legged stances. Following microdiscectomy, deficits in postural balance were side specific, as expected by the nature of the pathology. In addition, the results of this study confirmed the connection between proximal balance control deficits and balance during upright quiet balance tasks.

Kinematics in Newly Walking Toddlers Does Not Depend Upon Postural Stability

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 754-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri P. Ivanenko ◽  
Nadia Dominici ◽  
Germana Cappellini ◽  
Francesco Lacquaniti
Keyword(s):  
Postural Stability ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Vertical Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Gait Kinematics ◽  
Locomotor Strategy ◽  
Stepping In Place

When a toddler starts to walk without support, gait kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) activity differ from those of older children and the body displays considerable oscillations due to poor equilibrium. Postural instability clearly affects motor patterns in adults, but does instability explain why toddlers walk with a different gait? Here we addressed this question by comparing kinematics and EMGs in toddlers performing their first independent steps with or without hand or trunk support. Hand support significantly improved postural stability and some general gait parameters, reducing percent of falls, step width, lateral hip deviations and trunk oscillations. However, the kinematic and EMG patterns were unaffected by increased postural stability. In particular, the co-variance of the angular motion of the lower limb segments, the pattern of bilateral coordination of the vertical movement of the two hip joints, high variability of the foot path, the elliptic or single peak trajectory of the foot in the swing phase, and characteristic EMG bursts at foot contact remained idiosyncratic of toddler locomotion. Instead the toddler pattern shared fundamental features with adult stepping in place, suggesting that toddlers implement a mixed locomotor strategy, combining forward progression with elements of stepping in place. Furthermore, gait kinematics remained basically unchanged until the occurrence of the first unsupported steps and rapidly matured thereafter. We conclude that idiosyncratic features in newly walking toddlers do not simply result from undeveloped balance control but may represent an innate kinematic template of stepping.

scholarly journals Subject-Specific Muscle Synergies in Human Balance Control Are Consistent Across Different Biomechanical Contexts

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 3084-3098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gelsy Torres-Oviedo ◽  
Lena H. Ting
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Nonnegative Matrix ◽  
The Body ◽  
Muscle Synergy ◽  
Muscle Synergies ◽  
Support Surface ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Muscle Activation Patterns ◽  
Specific Muscle

The musculoskeletal redundancy of the body provides multiple solutions for performing motor tasks. We have proposed that the nervous system solves this unconstrained problem through the recruitment of motor modules or functional muscle synergies that map motor intention to action. Consistent with this hypothesis, we showed that trial-by-trial variations in muscle activation for multidirectional balance control in humans were constrained by a small set of muscle synergies. However, apparent muscle synergy structures could arise from characteristic patterns of sensory input resulting from perturbations or from low-dimensional optimal motor solutions. Here we studied electromyographic (EMG) responses for balance control across a range of biomechanical contexts, which alter not only the sensory inflow generated by postural perturbations, but also the muscle activation patterns used to restore balance. Support-surface translations in 12 directions were delivered to subjects standing in six different postural configurations: one-leg, narrow, wide, very wide, crouched, and normal stance. Muscle synergies were extracted from each condition using nonnegative matrix factorization. In addition, muscle synergies from the normal stance condition were used to reconstruct muscle activation patterns across all stance conditions. A consistent set of muscle synergies were recruited by each subject across conditions. When balance demands were extremely different from the normal stance (e.g., one-legged or crouched stance), task-specific muscle synergies were recruited in addition to the preexisting ones, rather generating de novo muscle synergies. Taken together, our results suggest that muscle synergies represent consistent motor modules that map intention to action, regardless of the biomechanical context of the task.

Analysis of Physiological Signals of Individuals with Eyes Closed Subjected to Unexpected Direction-Specific Stimuli Causing Instability

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2754-2763
Author(s):  
Sunhye Shin ◽  
Chul Un Hong ◽  
Kyong Kim ◽  
Tae Kyu Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Postural Balance ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Center Of Gravity ◽  
Training System ◽  
The Body ◽  
Physiological Signals ◽  
Eyes Closed ◽  
Lower Extremity Muscle

Research regarding the cerebral cortex and muscle activity patterns of the body used for postural balance control when sudden instability stimuli occur is lacking. This study analyzed individuals' physiological signals when direction-specific instability stimuli were applied while their eyes were closed. Healthy adults in their 20s maintained their postural balance while looking at the center of gravity provided by a monitor with a three-dimensional dynamic postural balance training system. We performed electroencephalography (EEG) and measured trunk and lower extremity muscle activity of participants with their eyes closed when subjected to four direction-specific instability stimuli (anterior, posterior, left, and right). EEG results showed that gamma waves increased significantly with an unbalanced stimulus when the participant's eyes were open and closed. The increased gamma wave rate with eyes closed was low in the exercise planning area, where information is relatively integrated and exercise is planned without visual information. EMG results showed fewer gamma waves on EEG due to the low focus on postural control because participants could not observe the center of gravity, which is the basis for balance. The trunk and lower extremity muscles tended to be used more due to the larger body perturbation angle. These outcomes can be used as basic data regarding how the human brain and muscles maintain postural balance when an unexpected external instability stimulus occurs. Quantitative postural balance rehabilitation training protocols for the elderly and those with disabilities can be created based on these outcomes.

Modulation of neglect hemianesthesia by transcutaneous electrical stimulation

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Vallar ◽  
Maria Luisa Rusconi ◽  
Bruno Bernardini
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
Tactile Perception ◽  
The Body ◽  
Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Right Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

AbstractThe effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation on deficits of tactile perception contralateral to a hemispheric lesion were investigated in 10 right brain-damaged patients and in four left brain-damaged patients. The somatosensory deficit recovered, transiently and in part, after stimulation of the side of the neck contralateral to the side of the lesion, in all 10 patients with lesions in the right hemisphere, both with (six cases) and without (four cases) left visuo-spatial hemineglect, and in one left brain-damaged patient with right hemineglect. In three left brain-damaged patients without hemineglect, the treatment had no detectable effects. In one right brain-damaged patient, the stimulation of the side of the neck ipsilateral to the side of the lesion temporarily worsened the somatosensory deficit. These effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation are similar to those of vestibular stimulation. The suggestion is made that these treatments modulate, through afferent sensory pathways, higher-order spatial representations of the body, which are pathologically distorted toward the side of the lesion. The modulatory effect is direction-specific: the defective internal representation of the contralesional side may be either partly restored, improving the disorder of tactile perception, or further impoverished, worsening the deficit. The possible neural basis of this modulation is discussed. (JINS, 1996, 2, 452–459.)

scholarly journals A Case of Application of Bedside Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy on Treatment of MODS Caused by Fish Bile Poisoning

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zou ◽  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Gang Yu ◽  
Ximing Deng ◽  
Meiling Yu
Keyword(s):  
Renal Replacement Therapy ◽  
Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy ◽  
Replacement Therapy ◽  
Organ Dysfunction ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Electrolyte Balance ◽  
Liver And Kidney ◽  
Fish Bile

One case of 54 years old female patient was admitted to hospital due to vomiting and diarrhea for 3 days and abnormal renal function for 1 day. The patient appeared repeatedly vomiting and watery stools 6 hours after eating 2 grain of raw carp fish bile and gradually appeared oliguresis, whole body skin yellow dye and fever symptoms. The condition of patient had no improvement after visiting the emergency department of local county hospital. She was checked in department of nephropathy in our hospital for further diagnosis and treatment. Because the patient's condition was serious and the function of liver and kidney was damaged, diagnosed as severe multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), she was transferred to ICU rescue to protect the liver, maintain water and electrolyte balance, control blood sugar, improve the circulation and give other drug treatments and actively carry out bedside continuous renal replacement therapy. Then the body temperature and hemogram of the patients became normal, liver and kidney function improved obviously, urinary production became normal, skin yellow dye faded and vital signs became stable. The successful treatment of this patient indicated that bedside continuous renal replacement therapy can not only have a good support for the kidneys but also reduce the waterfall effect of inflammatory of patients with severe MODS, which has great therapeutic effect on the multi organ dysfunction caused by fish bile poisoning.

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