Sensorimotor and Perceptual Function of Muscle Proprioception in Microgravity

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-273
Author(s):  
J.P. Roll ◽  
K. Popov ◽  
V. Gurfinkel ◽  
M. Lipshits ◽  
C. André-Deshays ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Tibialis Anterior Muscle ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Flexor Muscle ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Postural Responses ◽  
Third Dimension

Adaptive properties of the human proprioceptive systems were studied during the French-Soviet orbital flight (Aragatz mission, December 1988). The present space experiment investigated the hypothesis that the modifications of both biomechanical and physiological conditions occurring under microgravity involve considerable reorganization of body perception and postural control. The proprioceptive information originating in muscles is known to contribute, together with visual, vestibular, and sole cutaneous information to postural regulation. Moreover, by specifically activating the proprioceptive channel, muscle vibration is able to elicit both illusory movement sensations and postural responses. This experimental tool was used in microgravity in order to test various aspects of muscle sensory function. Ankle flexor and extensor vibration was applied under different experimental conditions. Quantitative analysis of motor responses was carried out on leg muscle EMG, goniometric, and kinesigraphic recordings. Joystick recordings and astronauts’ comments were used to describe the kinaesthetic sensations. The main results were as follows: 1) Under microgravity, the sensitivity of muscle receptors remains unchanged. 2) During the flight, the tonic vibration reflexes (TVR) increased significantly in flexor muscles, which exhibited a sustained tonic activity. 3) The whole-body postural responses normally induced by ankle flexor muscle vibration were suppressed, whereas they remained unchanged or were only reduced when vibrations were applied to the ankle extensor muscles. In all cases, the postural response velocity decreased. 4) A disfacilitation of the vibration-induced postural illusions was observed to occur during long-term exposure to microgravity. These illusions became atypical however. For example: body lift illusion could be induced by tibialis anterior muscle vibration, whereas it was never induced in the controls. The characteristics of the illusory body movements described under normal gravity can be restored by artificially increasing the axial foot support forces during the flight. In conclusion, these data suggest that a functional reorganization of the proprioceptive information processing occurs in microgravity, affecting both perceptual and motor aspects of behavior. It is possible that these proprioceptive adaptations may be partly attributable to the new whole-body propulsive foot functions imposed by exposure to weightlessness and to the adaptation of motor behavior to the third dimension of space.

Test–Retest Reliability and Concurrent Validity of an fMRI-Compatible Pneumatic Vibrator to Stimulate Muscle Proprioceptors

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 465-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Goossens ◽  
Lotte Janssens ◽  
Madelon Pijnenburg ◽  
Karen Caeyenberghs ◽  
Charlotte Van Rompuy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Concurrent Validity ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Electromagnetic Vibration ◽  
Postural Responses ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Pneumatic Vibrator

Processing proprioceptive information in the brain is essential for optimal postural control and can be studied with proprioceptive stimulation, provided by muscle vibration, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Classic electromagnetic muscle vibrators, however, cannot be used in the high-strength magnetic field of the fMRI scanner. Pneumatic vibrators offer an fMRI-compatible alternative. However, whether these devices produce reliable and valid proprioceptive stimuli has not been investigated, although this is essential for these devices to be used in longitudinal research. Test–retest reliability and concurrent validity of the postural response to muscle vibration, provided by custom-made fMRI-compatible pneumatic vibrators, were assessed in a repeated-measures design. Mean center of pressure (CoP) displacements during, respectively, ankle muscle and back muscle vibration (45–60 Hz, 0.5 mm) provided by an electromagnetic and a pneumatic vibrator were measured in ten young healthy subjects. The test was repeated on the same day and again within one week. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to assess (a) intra- and interday reliability of the postural responses to, respectively, pneumatic and electromagnetic vibration, and (b) concurrent validity of the response to pneumatic compared to electromagnetic vibration. Test–retest reliability of mean CoP displacements during pneumatic vibration was good to excellent (ICCs = 0.64–0.90) and resembled that of responses to electromagnetic vibration (ICCs = 0.64–0.94). Concurrent validity of the postural effect of pneumatic vibration was good to excellent (ICCs = 0.63–0.95). In conclusion, the proposed fMRI-compatible pneumatic vibrator can be used with confidence to stimulate muscle spindles during fMRI to study central processing of proprioception.

Stance- and Locomotion-Dependent Processing of Vibration-Induced Proprioceptive Inflow From Multiple Muscles in Humans

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 772-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégoire Courtine ◽  
Alessandro Marco De Nunzio ◽  
Micaela Schmid ◽  
Maria Vittoria Beretta ◽  
Marco Schieppati
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Neck Muscle ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Mapping Study ◽  
Body Mapping ◽  
Neck Muscle Vibration ◽  
Postural Changes ◽  
Postural Orientation

We performed a whole-body mapping study of the effect of unilateral muscle vibration, eliciting spindle Ia firing, on the control of standing and walking in humans. During quiet stance, vibration applied to various muscles of the trunk-neck system and of the lower limb elicited a significant tilt in whole body postural orientation. The direction of vibration-induced postural tilt was consistent with a response compensatory for the illusory lengthening of the stimulated muscles. During walking, trunk-neck muscle vibration induced ample deviations of the locomotor trajectory toward the side opposite to the stimulation site. In contrast, no significant modifications of the locomotor trajectory could be detected when vibrating various muscles of the lower as well as upper limb. The absence of correlation between the effects of muscle vibration during walking and standing dismisses the possibility that vibration-induced postural changes can account for the observed deviations of the locomotor trajectory during walking. We conclude that the dissimilar effects of trunk-neck and lower limb muscle vibration during walking and standing reflect a general sensory-motor plan, whereby muscle Ia input is processed according to both the performed task and the body segment from which the sensory inflow arises.

scholarly journals Bimanual coupling effect during a proprioceptive stimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Biggio ◽  
A. Bisio ◽  
F. Garbarini ◽  
Marco Bove
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Coupling Effect ◽  
Line Drawing ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Imagery Condition ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Contralateral Hand ◽  
Bimanual Coupling ◽  
The Right

AbstractCircle-line drawing paradigm is used to study bimanual coupling. In the standard paradigm, subjects are asked to draw circles with one hand and lines with the other hand; the influence of the concomitant tasks results in two “elliptical” figures. Here we tested whether proprioceptive information evoked by muscle vibration inducing a proprioceptive illusion (PI) of movement at central level, was able to affect the contralateral hand drawing circles or lines. A multisite 80 Hz-muscle vibration paradigm was used to induce the illusion of circle- and line-drawing on the right hand of 15 healthy participants. During muscle vibration, subjects had to draw a congruent or an incongruent figure with the left hand. The ovalization induced by PI was compared with Real and Motor Imagery conditions, which already have proved to induce bimanual coupling. We showed that the ovalization of a perceived circle over a line drawing during PI was comparable to that observed in Real and Motor Imagery condition. This finding indicates that PI can induce bimanual coupling, and proprioceptive information can influence the motor programs of the contralateral hand.

scholarly journals Partitional calorimetry

2019 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew N. Cramer ◽  
Ollie Jay
Keyword(s):  
Heat Balance ◽  
Estimation Error ◽  
Fluid Replacement ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Exposure Limits ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Direct Calorimetry ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Partitional Calorimetry

For thermal physiologists, calorimetry is an important methodological tool to assess human heat balance during heat or cold exposures. A whole body direct calorimeter remains the gold standard instrument for assessing human heat balance; however, this equipment is rarely available to most researchers. A more widely accessible substitute is partitional calorimetry, a method by which all components of the conceptual heat balance equation—metabolic heat production, conduction, radiation, convection, and evaporation—are calculated separately based on fundamental properties of energy exchange. Since partitional calorimetry requires relatively inexpensive equipment (vs. direct calorimetry) and can be used over a wider range of experimental conditions (i.e., different physical activities, laboratory or field settings, clothed or seminude), it allows investigators to address a wide range of problems such as predicting human responses to thermal stress, developing climatic exposure limits and fluid replacement guidelines, estimating clothing properties, evaluating cooling/warming interventions, and identifying potential thermoregulatory dysfunction in unique populations. In this Cores of Reproducibility in Physiology (CORP) review, we summarize the fundamental principles underlying the use of partitional calorimetry, present the various methodological and arithmetic requirements, and provide typical examples of its use. Strategies to minimize estimation error of specific heat balance components, as well as the limitations of the method, are also discussed. The goal of this CORP paper is to present a standardized methodology and thus improve the accuracy and reproducibility of research employing partitional calorimetry.

scholarly journals Embryonic Stage of Congenital Zika Virus Infection Determines Fetal and Postnatal Outcomes in Mice

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1807
Author(s):  
Eri Nakayama ◽  
Yasuhiro Kawai ◽  
Satoshi Taniguchi ◽  
Jessamine E. Hazlewood ◽  
Ken-ichi Shibasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Neonatal Death ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Fetal Loss ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Wide Range

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy causes a wide spectrum of congenital abnormalities and postnatal developmental sequelae such as fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), microcephaly, or motor and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we investigated whether a mouse pregnancy model recapitulated a wide range of symptoms after congenital ZIKV infection, and whether the embryonic age of congenital infection changed the fetal or postnatal outcomes. Infection with ZIKV strain PRVABC59 from embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5) to E8.5, corresponding to the mid-first trimester in humans, caused fetal death, fetal resorption, or severe IUGR, whereas infection from E9.5 to E14.5, corresponding to the late-first to second trimester in humans, caused stillbirth, neonatal death, microcephaly, and postnatal growth deficiency. Furthermore, 4-week-old offspring born to dams infected at E12.5 showed abnormalities in neuropsychiatric state, motor behavior, autonomic function, or reflex and sensory function. Thus, our model recapitulated the multiple symptoms seen in human cases, and the embryonic age of congenital infection was one of the determinant factors of offspring outcomes in mice. Furthermore, maternal neutralizing antibodies protected the offspring from neonatal death after congenital infection at E9.5, suggesting that neonatal death in our model could serve as criteria for screening of vaccine candidates.

Interaction Between Finger Opposition Movements and Aftereffects of 1Hz-rTMS on Ipsilateral Motor Cortex

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 1690-1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Avanzino ◽  
Marco Bove ◽  
Andrea Tacchino ◽  
Carlo Trompetto ◽  
Carla Ogliastro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Voluntary Movement ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Opposition Movements

One-hertz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (1Hz-rTMS) over ipsilateral motor cortex is able to modify up to 30 min the motor performance of repetitive finger opposition movements paced with a metronome at 2 Hz. We investigated whether the long-lasting rTMS effect on motor behavior can be modulated by subsequent engagement of the contralateral sensorimotor system. Motor task was performed in different experimental conditions: immediately after rTMS, 30 min after rTMS, or when real rTMS was substituted with sham rTMS. Subjects performing the motor task immediately after rTMS showed modifications in motor behavior ≤30 min after rTMS. On the other hand, when real rTMS was substituted with sham stimulation or when subjects performed the motor task 30 min after the rTMS session, the effect was no longer present. These findings suggest that the combination of ipsilateral 1Hz-rTMS and voluntary movement is crucial to endure the effect of rTMS on the movement itself, probably acting on synaptic plasticity-like mechanism. This finding might provide some useful hints for neurorehabilitation protocols.

Interaction between acoustic startle and habituated neck postural responses in seated subjects

2007 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 1574-1586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Sébastien Blouin ◽  
Gunter P. Siegmund ◽  
J. Timothy Inglis
Keyword(s):  
Startle Response ◽  
Acoustic Startle ◽  
Acoustic Startle Response ◽  
Neck Muscles ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Neck Muscle ◽  
Postural Response ◽  
Root Mean Square Amplitude ◽  
Postural Responses ◽  
Spatial Changes

Postural and startle responses rapidly habituate with repeated exposures to the same stimulus, and the first exposure to a seated forward acceleration elicits a startle response in the neck muscles. Our goal was to examine how the acoustic startle response is integrated with the habituated neck postural response elicited by forward accelerations of seated subjects. In experiment 1, 14 subjects underwent 11 sequential forward accelerations followed by 5 additional sled accelerations combined with a startling tone (124-dB sound pressure level) initiated 18 ms after sled acceleration onset. During the acceleration-only trials, changes consistent with habituation occurred in the root-mean-square amplitude of the neck muscles and in the peak amplitude of five head and torso kinematic variables. The subsequent addition of the startling tone restored the amplitude of the neck muscles and four of the five kinematic variables but shortened onset of muscle activity by 9–12 ms. These shortened onset times were further explored in experiment 2, wherein 16 subjects underwent 11 acceleration-only trials followed by 15 combined acceleration-tone trials with interstimulus delays of 0, 13, 18, 23, and 28 ms. Onset times shortened further for the 0- and 13-ms delays but did not lengthen for the 23- and 28-ms delays. These temporal and spatial changes in EMG can be explained by a summation of the excitatory drive converging at or before the neck muscle motoneurons. The present observations suggest that habituation to repeated sled accelerations involves extinguishing the startle response and tuning the postural response to the whole body disturbance.

scholarly journals Acrophobia and visual height intolerance: advances in epidemiology and mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 267 (S1) ◽  
pp. 231-240
Author(s):  
Doreen Huppert ◽  
Max Wuehr ◽  
Thomas Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Visual Exploration ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Bilateral Vestibulopathy ◽  
Double Support ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
Visual Height Intolerance

AbstractHistorical descriptions of fear at heights date back to Chinese and Roman antiquity. Current definitions distinguish between three different states of responses to height exposure: a physiological height imbalance that results from an impaired visual control of balance, a more or less distressing visual height intolerance, and acrophobia at the severest end of the spectrum. Epidemiological studies revealed a lifetime prevalence of visual height intolerance including acrophobia in 28% of adults (32% in women; 25% in men) and 34% among prepubertal children aged 8–10 years without gender preponderance. Visual height intolerance first occurring in adulthood usually persists throughout life, whereas an early manifestation in childhood usually shows a benign course with spontaneous relief within years. A high comorbidity was found with psychiatric disorders (e.g. anxiety and depressive syndromes) and other vertigo syndromes (e.g. vestibular migraine, Menière’s disease), but not with bilateral vestibulopathy. Neurophysiological analyses of stance, gait, and eye movements revealed an anxious control of postural stability, which entails a co-contraction of anti-gravity muscles that causes a general stiffening of the whole body including the oculomotor apparatus. Visual exploration is preferably reduced to fixation of the horizon. Gait alterations are characterized by a cautious slow walking mode with reduced stride length and increased double support phases. Anxiety is the critical factor in visual height intolerance and acrophobia leading to a motor behavior that resembles an atavistic primitive reflex of feigning death. The magnitude of anxiety and neurophysiological parameters of musculoskeletal stiffening increase with increasing height. They saturate, however, at about 20 m of absolute height above ground for postural symptoms and about 40 m for anxiety (70 m in acrophobic participants). With respect to management, a differentiation should be made between behavioral recommendations for prevention and therapy of the condition. Recommendations for coping strategies target behavioral advices on visual exploration, control of posture and locomotion as well as the role of cognition. Treatment of severely afflicted persons with distressing avoidance behavior mainly relies on behavioral therapy.

Postsaccadic eye position contributes to oculomotor error estimation in saccadic adaptation

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 1909-1917
Author(s):  
Svenja Gremmler ◽  
Markus Lappe
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Eye Position ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Position Information ◽  
Saccadic Adaptation ◽  
Position Signal ◽  
Motor Error ◽  
Saccade Control

We investigated whether the proprioceptive eye position signal after the execution of a saccadic eye movement is used to estimate the accuracy of the movement. If so, saccadic adaptation, the mechanism that maintains saccade accuracy, could use this signal in a similar way as it uses visual feedback after the saccade. To manipulate the availability of the proprioceptive eye position signal we utilized the finding that proprioceptive eye position information builds up gradually after a saccade over a time interval comparable to typical saccade latencies. We confined the retention time of gaze at the saccade landing point by asking participants to make fast return saccades to the fixation point that preempt the usability of proprioceptive eye position signals. In five experimental conditions we measured the influence of the visual and proprioceptive feedback, together and separately, on the development of adaptation. We found that the adaptation of the previously shortened saccades in the case of visual feedback being unavailable after the saccade was significantly weaker when the use of proprioceptive eye position information was impaired by fast return saccades. We conclude that adaptation can be driven by proprioceptive eye position feedback. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that proprioceptive eye position information is used after a saccade to estimate motor error and adapt saccade control. Previous studies on saccadic adaptation focused on visual feedback about saccade accuracy. A multimodal error signal combining visual and proprioceptive information is likely more robust. Moreover, combining proprioceptive and visual measures of saccade performance can be helpful to keep vision, proprioception, and motor control in alignment and produce a coherent representation of space.

scholarly journals Energy expenditure and substrate utilization during whole body vibration

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravena Santos Raulino ◽  
Fernanda Meira de Aguiar ◽  
Núbia Carelli Pereira de Avelar ◽  
Isabela Gomes Costa ◽  
Jacqueline da Silva Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Weight Management ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Interval Training ◽  
Fat Oxidation ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Additional Increase ◽  
Intensity Of Exercise

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: the aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of vibration during interval training would raise oxygen consumption VO2 to the extent necessary for weight management and to evaluate the influence of the intensity of the vibratory stimulus for prescribing the exercise program in question.METHODS: VO2, measured breath by breath, was evaluated at rest and during the four experimental conditions to determine energy expenditure, metabolic equivalent MET, respiratory exchange ratio RER, % Kcal from fat, and rate of fat oxidation. Eight young sedentary females age 22±1 years, height 163.88± 7.62 cm, body mass 58.35±10.96 kg, and VO2 max 32.75±3.55 mLO2.Kg-1.min-1 performed interval training duration = 13.3 min to the upper and lower limbs both with vibration 35 Hz and 2 mm, 40 Hz and 2 mm, 45 Hz and 2 mm and without vibration. The experimental conditions were randomized and balanced at an interval of 48 hours.RESULTS: the addition of vibration to exercise at 45 Hz and 2 mm resulted in an additional increase of 17.77±12.38% of VO2 compared with exercise without vibration. However, this increase did not change the fat oxidation rate p=0.42 because intensity of exercise 29.1±3.3 %VO2max, 2.7 MET was classified as mild to young subjects.CONCLUSION: despite the influence of vibration on VO2 during exercise, the increase was insufficient to reduce body weight and did not reach the minimum recommendation of exercise prescription for weight management for the studied population.

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