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At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Scratch responses in normal cats: hindlimb kinematics and muscle synergies.

1. Scratch responses evoked by a tactile stimulus applied to the outer ear canal were characterized in nine adult cats. Chronic electromyographic (EMG) electrodes were surgically implanted in selected flexor and extensor muscles of the hip, knee, and ankle joints to determine patterns of muscle activity during scratching. In some trials EMG records were synchronized with kinematic data obtained by digitizing high-speed ciné film, and in one cat, medial gastrocnemius (MG) tendon forces were recorded along with EMG. For analysis the response was divided into three components: the approach, cyclic, and return periods. Usually scratch responses were initiated with the cat in a sitting position, but in some trials the animal initiated the response from a standing or lying posture. 2. During the approach period the hindlimb ipsilateral to the stimulated ear was lifted diagonally toward the head by a combination of hip and ankle flexion with knee extension. Hindlimb motions during the approach period were associated with sustained EMG activity in hip-flexor, knee-extensor (occasionally), and ankle-flexor muscles. Initial hindlimb motions were typically preceded by head movements toward the hindpaw, and at the end of the approach period, the head was tilted downward with the stimulated pinna lower than the contralateral ear. During the return period movements were basically the reverse of the approach period, with the hindpaw returning to the ground and the head moving away from the hindlimb. 3. During the cyclic period the number of cycles per response varied widely from 1 to 60 cycles with an average of 13 cycles, and cycle frequency ranged from 4 to 8 cycles/s, with a mean of 5.6 cycles/s. During each cycle the paw trajectory followed a fairly circular path, and the cycle was defined by three phases: precontact, contact, and postcontact. On average the contact phase occupied approximately 50% of the cycle and was characterized by extensor muscle activity and extension at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The hindpaw contacted the pinna or neck at the base of the pinna throughout the contact phase, and paw contact typically resulted in a rostral motion of the head as the hindlimb extended. 4. The postcontact phase constituted approximately 24% of scratch cycle and was usually initiated by the onset of knee flexion. Ankle and then hip flexion followed knee flexion, and flexor muscles were active during the postcontact phase as the paw was withdrawn from the head. The precontact phase constituted approximately 26% of scratch cycle and was initiated by knee joint extension and knee-extensor activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Plasticity of the extensor group I pathway controlling the stance to swing transition in the cat.

1. This study examines whether the efficacy of polysynaptic group I excitatory pathways to extensor motoneurons are modified after axotomy of a synergistic nerve. Previously, it has been shown that stimulation of extensor nerves at group I strength can extend the stance phase and delay swing. Stimulation of the lateral gastrocnemius and soleus (LG/S) nerve prolongs stance for the duration of the stimulus train, whereas stimulation of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) nerve moderately increases stance. Our hypothesis was that after axotomy of the LG/S nerve the efficacy of the MG group I input would increase. 2. This idea was tested in 10 adult cats that had their left LG/S nerves axotomized for 3-28 days. On the experimental day the cats were decerebrated and the left (experimental) and right (control) LG/S and MG nerves were stimulated during late stance as the animals were walking on a motorized treadmill. A significant increase in the efficacy of the left MG nerve occurred 5 days after axotomy of the LG/S nerve when compared with the control response. By contrast, the previously cut LG/S nerve showed a reduction in efficacy after 3 days compared with the control limb. 3. Functionally, this plasticity may be an important mechanism by which the strength of the group I pathway is calibrated to different loads on the extensor muscles.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Multijoint muscle regulation mechanisms examined by measured human arm stiffness and EMG signals.

Stiffness properties of the musculo-skeletal system can be controlled by regulating muscle activation and neural feedback gain. To understand the regulation of multijoint stiffness, we examined the relationship between human arm joint stiffness and muscle activation during static force control in the horizontal plane by means of surface electromyographic (EMG) studies. Subjects were asked to produce a specified force in a specified direction without cocontraction or they were asked to keep different cocontractions while producing or not producing an external force. The stiffness components of shoulder, elbow, and their cross-term and the EMG of six related muscles were measured during the tasks. Assuming that the EMG reflects the corresponding muscle stiffness, the joint stiffness was predicted from the EMG by using a two-link six-muscle arm model and a constrained least-square-error regression method. Using the parameters estimated in this regression, single-joint stiffness (diagonal terms of the joint-stiffness matrix) was decomposed successfully into biarticular and monoarticular muscle components. Although biarticular muscles act on both shoulder and elbow, they were found to covary strongly with elbow monoarticular muscles. The preferred force directions of biarticular muscles were biased to the directions of elbow monoarticular muscles. Namely, the elbow joint is regulated by the simultaneous activation of monoarticular and biarticular muscles, whereas the shoulder joint is regulated dominantly by monoarticular muscles. These results suggest that biarticular muscles are innervated mainly to control the elbow joint during static force-regulation tasks. In addition, muscle regulation mechanisms for static force control tasks were found to be quite different from those during movements previously reported. The elbow single-joint stiffness was always higher than cross-joint stiffness (off-diagonal terms of the matrix) in static tasks while elbow single-joint stiffness is reported to be sometimes as small as cross-joint stiffness during movement. That is, during movements, the elbow monoarticular muscles were occasionally not activated when biarticular muscles were activated. In static tasks, however, monoarticular muscle components in single-joint stiffness were increased considerably whenever biarticular muscle components in single- and cross-joint stiffness increased. These observations suggest that biarticular muscles are not simply coupled with the innervation of elbow monoarticular muscles but also are regulated independently according to the required task. During static force-regulation tasks, covariation between biarticular and elbow monoarticular muscles may be required to increase stability and/or controllability or to distribute effort among the appropriate muscles.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Ankle muscle stiffness alone cannot stabilize balance during quiet standing.

This communication addresses again the hypothesis that the stabilization of balance during quiet standing is achieved by the stiffness of ankle muscles without anticipatory active control. It is shown that a recently proposed method of estimating ankle stiffness directly from the analysis of the posturographic data is incorrect because it ignores the modulation of motoneuronal activity and grossly overestimates the real range of values in relation with the critical value of stiffness. Moreover, a new simulation study with a realistic model of ankle muscles demonstrates the mechanical instability of the system when there is no anticipatory control input. However, the simulations also suggest that in normal subjects the active stiffness mechanisms of stabilization have similar weights in determining the restoring forces that are necessary for preventing the body from falling.

Ankle Joint↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postural control measured by visual feedback posturography.

The objective was to study the applicability and repeatability of visual feedback posturography (VFP) in assessing postural control of 23 healthy subjects. The subjects had to move their center of gravity (COG) marker on a computer screen to chosen targets by leaning their body on the platform, and the accuracy, velocity, and side difference of these movements were measured. The intraclass correlation coefficients for all parameters during repeated tests were significant (r = 0.93 - 0.96; p < 0.01). Hold percentage within the targets and COG marker velocity to the targets did not change significantly during repeated tests. Balance index and hit delay were significantly smaller during the 4th and 5th than during the 1st test session (p < 0.05), but they did not change significantly between the other test sessions. The normative limit for side difference in postural control was 22%. VFP can be used to follow active postural control due to its high test-retest repeatability. However, learning effects in some parameters must be taken into account when applying VFP repeatedly in different patient populations to assess the progress in postural control.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Surgical treatment of spasticity in cerebral palsy.

Since 1971, we have surgically treated spasticity in 109 cases of cerebral palsy with posterior rhizotomy. The best results have been obtained with functional posterior rhizotomy, an original modification of Foerster's technique, in which the selection of the roots/rootlets to be sectioned is based on functional exploration of the spinal circuits involved in the maintenance of spasticity, using intraoperative electrostimulation on dorsal roots. This method makes selective sections possible, thereby saving a larger number of normal proprioceptive afferents, with consequent reduction in negative side effects. No recurrencies have been observed in our 3-year follow-up. The main indication is Little's disease.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1992

Clinical correlates of sway in elderly people living at home.

Postural sway has been noted to increase with advancing age and to correlate with a wide variety of clinical features. The relationships between sway and various clinical features were explored in a group of elderly subjects living at home and free from neurological illness and severe incapacity. Each subject underwent a thorough physical examination and sway was measured in the anteroposterior and lateral planes with eyes open and closed using a modified Wright's ataxiameter. Vibration sense was the only clinical feature to show a consistent relationship with all 4 measurements of sway in men. Age showed only a weak and inconsistent relationship to sway in both men and women. Weak but inconsistent relationships were noted between sway and mental function, tone, passive joint movement, antidepressant and tranquilliser therapy. This suggests that dorsal column function is of prime importance in the maintenance of balance and that the previously noted increase in postural sway with advancing age may have been exaggerated by the presence of disease processes.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Caloric nystagmus in three dimensions under otolithic control in rhesus monkeys. A preliminary report.

The caloric nystagmus of rhesus monkeys in the 'optimum' supine or prone position was recorded three-dimensionally using magnetic search coils. The horizontal component of the nystagmus was in the direction expected from the convection flow theory of Bárány. The torsional component changed its direction according to the side of caloric stimulation independent of head position with regard to gravity, i.e., counterclockwise nystagmus by right ear stimulation and clockwise nystagmus by left ear stimulation both in the supine or in the prone positions. The direction of the vertical component depended upon the head position and not upon the side of stimulation, i.e., up-beating nystagmus in the supine position and down-beating nystagmus in the prone position. The durations and the contours of slow phase velocity of the horizontal, vertical and torsional components were different from each other. The origins of the first phase of caloric nystagmus in three dimensions may be explained by activation of all the three semicircular canals. As for the second phase of caloric nystagmus in the supine or in the prone position, the torsional component was comparatively strong and lasted the longest among the three components. The second phase of caloric nystagmus was markedly modified by head position with regard to gravity. These findings suggest that it is the otolithic organs that determine the moving plane of second phase caloric nystagmus.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of horizontal nystagmus in different head positions: a study by damped pendular rotation test.

Damped pendular rotation was given with the initial maximum speed of 180 degrees/s. The subject's head was tilted forward at an angle of 30 degrees from the upright position, or kept in the upright position, or tilted backward at 30 degrees from the upright position. Electronystagmography was used to evaluate the maximal slow-phase eye velocity (mx SPEV) of the horizontal nystagmus. Differences existed in mx SPEVs of the horizontal nystagmus for the head-tilted positions at 30 degrees forward or backward and that obtained in the upright position. The mx SPEV of the horizontal nystagmus in the upright position was higher than those acquired in the head-tilted positions.

Adult↗