Hidden Constraints on the Control of Movement

Matthew Tresch, PhD presso i Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiology Shirley Ryan AbilityLab della Northwestern University, terrà un Seminario, martedì, 23 Ottobre 2018, alle ore 12:00, sul tema "Hidden constraints on the control of movement: the importance of internal joint stresses and strains in determining muscle activations". Il Seminario è organizzato dal Laboratorio di Fisiologia Neuromotoria, diretto dal Prof. Francesco Lacquaniti.

Abstract: One of the guiding principles of motor control is that it is riddled with redundancy at all levels of analysis.  For example, at the level of muscle activations there are many more muscles than degrees of freedom that need to be controlled to achieve task goals.  However, this focus on how muscles contribute to task performance ignores another important consequence of muscle activation: how muscles affect stresses and strains within joints. Muscle actions on internal joint structures can be invisible at the level of task performance but, if improperly regulated, might lead to joint pain or injury.  Our recent work examines these issues in the context of the neural control of quadriceps muscles in rats during locomotion.  These results suggest a reconsideration of the variables that the nervous system accounts for when choosing muscle activations and highlight the importance of understanding the richness of muscle actions when interpreting neural control strategies.

POLO DIDATTICO - Aula 8