The neural control of balance during locomotion is currently not well understood, even in the light considerable advances research on standing. In this paper, we lay out problem for task and present a list different strategies available to central nervous system solve problem. We discuss biomechanics walking body, using simplified model that iteratively gains degrees freedom complexity. Each addition allows strategies, which introduce turn: foot placement shift, ankle strategy, hip push-off...

Neural control of standing balance has been extensively studied. However, most falls occur during walking rather than standing, and findings from research do not necessarily carry over to walking. This is primarily due the constraints gait cycle: Body configuration changes dramatically cycle, necessitating different responses as this changes. Notably, certain can only be initiated at specific points in leading onset times ranging 350 600 ms, much longer what observed (50-200 ms). Here, we...

Lateral balance is a critical factor in keeping the human body upright during walking. Two important mechanisms for control are stepping strategy, which foot placement changed direction of sensed fall to modulate how gravitational force acts on body, and lateral ankle mass actively accelerated by an torque. Currently, there minimal evidence about these two strategies complement one another achieve locomotion. We use Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) induce sensation at heel-off gait...

Our main interest is to identify how humans maintain upright while walking. Balance during standing and walking different, primarily due a gait cycle which the nervous system must contend with variety of body configurations frequent perturbations (i.e., heel-strike). We have identified three mechanisms that healthy young adults use respond visually perceived fall side. The lateral ankle mechanism foot placement are used shift center pressure in direction fall, mass away from fall. push-off...

The ability to differentiate between self-motion and motion in the environment is an important factor for maintaining upright balance control. Visual can elicit sensation of a fall by cueing false position sense. While there evidence supporting role central vision risk, including measures contrast sensitivity, depth perception, size visual field, relationship detection thresholds control remains unknown. aim this study explore (VMDTs) sensitivity disturbances while walking. Thirty young...

In many situations, the human movement system has more degrees of freedom than needed to achieve a given task. Martin et al. (Neural Comput 21(5):1371–1414, 2009) accounted for signatures such redundancy like self-motion and motor equivalence in process model which neural oscillator generated timed end-effector virtual trajectories that dynamics transformed into joint while decoupling task-relevant task-irrelevant combinations angles. Neural control muscle activation biomechanical arm were...

Existing models of human walking use low-level reflexes or neural oscillators to generate movement. While appropriate the stable, rhythmic movement patterns steady-state walking, these lack ability change their spontaneously new movements in specific, goal-directed way characteristic voluntary movements. Here we present a neuromuscular model locomotion that bridges this gap and combines execute goal directed with generation are required for robust locomotion. The represents goals swing leg...

We have previously identified three balance mechanisms that young healthy adults use to maintain while walking. The are: (1) lateral ankle mechanism, an active modulation of inversion/eversion in stance; (2) foot placement shift the swing placement; and (3) push-off plantarflexion angle during double stance. Here we seek determine whether there are changes neural control when walking at different cadences speeds. Twenty-one walked on a self-paced treadmill immersed 3D virtual reality cave,...

Maintaining balance during walking is a continuous sensorimotor control problem. Throughout the movement, central nervous system has to collect sensory data about current state of body in space, use this information detect possible threats and adapt movement pattern ensure stability. Failure loop can lead dire consequences form falls, injury death. Such failures tend become more prevalent as people get older. While research established number factors associated with higher risk we know...

The upright body in quiet stance is usually modeled as a single-link inverted pendulum. This agrees with most of the relevant sensory organs being at far end pendulum, i.e., eyes and vestibular system head. Movement has often been explained terms "ankle strategy," where movement generated by ankle musculature, while more proximal muscle groups are only rarely activated for faster movements or response to perturbations, instance, flexing hips what called "hip strategy." Recent empirical...

Reaching for objects and grasping them is a fundamental skill any autonomous robot that interacts with its environment. Although this seems trivial to adults, who effortlessly pick up even they have never seen before, it hard other animals, human infants, most robots. Any time during movement preparation execution, reaching are updated if the visual scene changes (with delay of about 100 ms). The capability online updating highlights how tightly perception, planning, generation integrated in...

The human body is mechanically unstable during walking. Maintaining upright stability requires constant regulation of muscle force by the central nervous system to push against ground and move mass in desired way. Activation muscles lower response sensory or mechanical perturbations walking usually highly phase-dependent, because effect any specific has on movement depends upon configuration. Yet resulting patterns upper after same are largely phase-independent. This puzzling, change...

Task-specific actions emerge from spontaneous movement during infancy. It has been proposed that task-specific through a discovery-learning process. Here method is described in which 3-4 month old infants learn task by discovery and their leg movements are captured to quantify the learning This uses an infant activated mobile rotates plays music based on specified action of infants. Supine activate moving feet vertically across virtual threshold. paradigm unique as independently discover...

Abstract The split-belt treadmill has been used to examine the adaptation of spatial and temporal gait parameters. Historically, similar studies have focused on anterior-posterior (AP) spatiotemporal parameters because this paradigm is primarily a perturbation in AP direction, but it important understand whether how medial-lateral (ML) control adapts scenario. ML balance must be actively controlled adapted different walking environments. Furthermore, well established that older adults...

For autonomous robots to manipulate objects in unknown environments, they must be able move their arms without colliding with nearby objects, other agents or humans. The simultaneous avoidance of multiple obstacles real time by all link segments a manipulator is still hard task both practice and theory. We present systematic scheme for the generation collision free movements redundant manipulators scenes arbitrarily many obstacles. Based on dynamical systems approach robotics, constraints...

The walking human body is mechanically unstable. Loss of stability and falling more likely in certain groups people, such as older adults or people with neuromotor impairments, well situations, when experiencing conflicting distracting sensory inputs. Stability during often characterized biomechanically, by measures based on dynamics the base support. Neural control upright stability, other hand, does not factor into commonly used measures. Here we analyze accounting for both biomechanics...

The movement of autonomous agents in natural environments is restricted by potentially large numbers constraints. To generate behavior that fulfills all given constraints simultaneously, the attractor dynamics approach to generation represents each constraint a dynamical system with attractors or repellors at desired undesired values relevant variable. These systems are transformed into vector fields over control variables robotic agent force state whole directions beneficial satisfaction...

Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) have deficits in processing of somatosensory and proprioceptive information. To compensate for these deficits, they tend to rely on vision over proprioception single plane upper lower limb movements standing. It is not known whether this also applies walking, an activity where the threat balance higher. Through study, we used visual perturbations understand how individuals without CP integrate input walking control. Additionally, probed mechanisms driving...

Abstract We have previously identified three balance mechanisms that young healthy adults use to maintain while walking. The are: 1) lateral ankle mechanism, an active modulation of inversion/eversion in stance; 2) foot placement shift the swing placement; and 3) push-off plantarflexion angle during double stance. Here we seek determine whether there are changes neural control when walking at different cadences speeds. Twenty-one walked on a self-paced treadmill immersed 3D virtual reality...