scholarly journals Coordinating long-latency stretch responses across the shoulder, elbow, and wrist during goal-directed reaching

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (5) ◽  
pp. 2236-2249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Weiler ◽  
James Saravanamuttu ◽  
Paul L. Gribble ◽  
J. Andrew Pruszynski
Keyword(s):  
Simple Form ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Kinematic Redundancy ◽  
Mechanical Perturbation ◽  
Intersegmental Dynamics ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Voluntary Behavior ◽  
Visual Targets ◽  
Perturbation Magnitude ◽  
Stretch Response

The long-latency stretch response (muscle activity 50–100 ms after a mechanical perturbation) can be coordinated across multiple joints to support goal-directed actions. Here we assessed the flexibility of such coordination and whether it serves to counteract intersegmental dynamics and exploit kinematic redundancy. In three experiments, participants made planar reaches to visual targets after elbow perturbations and we assessed the coordination of long-latency stretch responses across shoulder, elbow, and wrist muscles. Importantly, targets were placed such that elbow and wrist (but not shoulder) rotations could help transport the hand to the target—a simple form of kinematic redundancy. In experiment 1 we applied perturbations of different magnitudes to the elbow and found that long-latency stretch responses in shoulder, elbow, and wrist muscles scaled with perturbation magnitude. In experiment 2 we examined the trial-by-trial relationship between long-latency stretch responses at adjacent joints and found that the magnitudes of the responses in shoulder and elbow muscles, as well as elbow and wrist muscles, were positively correlated. In experiment 3 we explicitly instructed participants how to use their wrist to move their hand to the target after the perturbation. We found that long-latency stretch responses in wrist muscles were not sensitive to our instructions, despite the fact that participants incorporated these instructions into their voluntary behavior. Taken together, our results indicate that, during reaching, the coordination of long-latency stretch responses across multiple joints counteracts intersegmental dynamics but may not be able to exploit kinematic redundancy.

scholarly journals Goal-dependent modulation of the long-latency stretch response at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 3242-3254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Weiler ◽  
Paul L. Gribble ◽  
J. Andrew Pruszynski
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Visual Target ◽  
Relative Magnitude ◽  
Kinematic Redundancy ◽  
Mechanical Perturbation ◽  
Intersegmental Dynamics ◽  
Shoulder Muscles ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Dependent Activity ◽  
Stretch Response

Many studies have demonstrated that muscle activity 50–100 ms after a mechanical perturbation (i.e., the long-latency stretch response) can be modulated in a manner that reflects voluntary motor control. These previous studies typically assessed modulation of the long-latency stretch response from individual muscles rather than how this response is concurrently modulated across multiple muscles. Here we investigated such concurrent modulation by having participants execute goal-directed reaches to visual targets after mechanical perturbations of the shoulder, elbow, or wrist while measuring activity from six muscles that articulate these joints. We found that shoulder, elbow, and wrist muscles displayed goal-dependent modulation of the long-latency stretch response, that the relative magnitude of participants' goal-dependent activity was similar across muscles, that the temporal onset of goal-dependent muscle activity was not reliably different across the three joints, and that shoulder muscles displayed goal-dependent activity appropriate for counteracting intersegmental dynamics. We also observed that the long-latency stretch response of wrist muscles displayed goal-dependent modulation after elbow perturbations and that the long-latency stretch response of elbow muscles displayed goal-dependent modulation after wrist perturbations. This pattern likely arises because motion at either joint could bring the hand to the visual target and suggests that the nervous system rapidly exploits such simple kinematic redundancy when processing sensory feedback to support goal-directed actions.

Fast corrective responses are evoked by perturbations approaching the natural variability of posture and movement tasks

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (10) ◽  
pp. 2821-2832 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Crevecoeur ◽  
I. Kurtzer ◽  
S. H. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Small Perturbations ◽  
Voluntary Motor ◽  
Intersegmental Dynamics ◽  
Shoulder Muscles ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Perturbation Magnitude ◽  
Elbow Motion ◽  
Muscle Responses

A wealth of studies highlight the importance of rapid corrective responses during voluntary motor tasks. These studies used relatively large perturbations to evoke robust muscle activity. Thus it remains unknown whether these corrective responses (latency 20–100 ms) are evoked at perturbation levels approaching the inherent variability of voluntary control. To fill this gap, we examined responses for large to small perturbations applied while participants either performed postural or reaching tasks. To address multijoint corrective responses, we induced various amounts of single-joint elbow motion with scaled amounts of combined elbow and shoulder torques. Indeed, such perturbations are known to elicit a response at the unstretched shoulder muscle, which reflects an internal model of arm intersegmental dynamics. Significant muscle responses were observed during both postural control and reaching, even when perturbation-related joint angle, velocity, and acceleration overlapped in distribution with deviations encountered in unperturbed trials. The response onsets were consistent across the explored range of perturbation loads, with short-latency onset for the muscles spanning the elbow joints (20–40 ms), and long-latency for shoulder muscles (onset > 45 ms). In addition, the evoked activity was strongly modulated by perturbation magnitude. These results suggest that multijoint responses are not specifically engaged to counter motor errors that exceed a certain threshold. Instead, we suggest that these corrective processes operate continuously during voluntary motor control.

Context-dependent inhibition of unloaded muscles during the long-latency epoch

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Y. Nashed ◽  
Isaac L. Kurtzer ◽  
Stephen H. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Inhibitory Response ◽  
Short Latency ◽  
Peripheral Target ◽  
Intersegmental Dynamics ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Dependent Inhibition ◽  
Elbow Motion ◽  
Different Levels

A number of studies have highlighted the sophistication of corrective responses in lengthened muscles during the long-latency epoch. However, in various contexts, unloading can occur, which requires corrective actions from a shortened muscle. Here, we investigate the sophistication of inhibitory responses in shortened muscles due to unloading. Our first experiment quantified the inhibitory responses following an unloading torque that displaced the hand either into or away from a peripheral target. We observed larger long-latency inhibitory responses when perturbed into the peripheral target compared with away from the target. In our second experiment, we characterized the degree of inhibition following unloading with respect to different levels of preperturbation muscle activity. We initially observed that the inhibitory activity during the short-latency epoch scaled with increased levels of preperturbation muscle activity. However, this scaling peaked early in the R2 epoch (∼50 ms) but then quickly diminished through the rest of the long-latency epoch. Finally, in experiment 3, we investigated whether inhibitory perturbation responses consider intersegmental dynamics of the limb. We quantified unloading responses for either pure shoulder or pure elbow torques that evoked similar motion at the shoulder but different elbow motion. The long-latency inhibitory response in the shoulder, unlike the short-latency, was greater for the shoulder torque compared with the response following an elbow torque, as previously observed for a loading response. Taken together, these results illustrate that the long-latency unloading response is capable of a similar level of complexity as observed when loads are applied to the limb.

Reflex Responses Induced by Tooth Unloading

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 1088-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal S. Türker ◽  
Melissa Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Local Anesthetic ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Masseter Muscle ◽  
Horizontal Direction ◽  
Reflex Response ◽  
Maxillary Incisor ◽  
Static Force ◽  
Incisor Tooth ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Unloading Reflex

The reflex response of the masseter muscle to the rapid unloading of a single maxillary incisor tooth was studied. Unloading of a static force of 2 N in the horizontal direction resulted in a short-latency excitation, inhibition, and long-latency excitation of masseter muscle activity occurring at latencies of approximately 13, 20, and 40 ms, respectively, with a corresponding change in bite force occurring slightly later in each case. Following the blocking of periodontal input by the injection of local anesthetic around the stimulated tooth, inhibitory responses were abolished. Therefore, it is concluded that the observed masseteric inhibition was caused by the unloading of periodontal mechanoreceptors and thus that these receptors may contribute to the jaw unloading reflex.

Influence of the behavioral goal and environmental obstacles on rapid feedback responses

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 999-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Y. Nashed ◽  
Frédéric Crevecoeur ◽  
Stephen H. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Motor System ◽  
Optimal Feedback Control ◽  
Motor Responses ◽  
Spatial Properties ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Circular Target ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Behavioral Goal ◽  
Feedback Responses

The motor system must consider a variety of environmental factors when executing voluntary motor actions, such as the shape of the goal or the possible presence of intervening obstacles. It remains unknown whether rapid feedback responses to mechanical perturbations also consider these factors. Our first experiment quantified how feedback corrections were altered by target shape, which was either a circular dot or a bar. Unperturbed movements to each target were qualitatively similar on average but with greater dispersion of end point positions when reaching to the bar. On random trials, multijoint torque perturbations deviated the hand left or right. When reaching to a circular target, perturbations elicited corrective movements that were directed straight to the location of the target. In contrast, corrective movements when reaching to a bar were redirected to other locations along the bar axis. Our second experiment quantified whether the presence of obstacles could interfere with feedback corrections. We found that hand trajectories after the perturbations were altered to avoid obstacles in the environment. Importantly, changes in muscle activity reflecting the different target shapes (bar vs. dot) or the presence of obstacles were observed in as little as 70 ms. Such changes in motor responses were qualitatively consistent with simulations based on optimal feedback control. Taken together, these results highlight that long-latency motor responses consider spatial properties of the goal and environment.

Long-latency, inhibitory spinal pathway to ankle flexors activated by homonymous group 1 afferents

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 2544-2553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ephrem T. Zewdie ◽  
Francois D. Roy ◽  
Yoshino Okuma ◽  
Jaynie F. Yang ◽  
Monica A. Gorassini
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Inhibitory Pathway ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Inhibitory Feedback ◽  
Spinal Pathway ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Pulse Stimulation

Inhibitory feedback from sensory pathways is important for controlling movement. Here, we characterize, for the first time, a long-latency, inhibitory spinal pathway to ankle flexors that is activated by low-threshold homonymous afferents. To examine this inhibitory pathway in uninjured, healthy participants, we suppressed motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), produced in the tibialis anterior (TA), by a prior stimulation to the homonymous common peroneal nerve (CPN). The TA MEP was suppressed by a triple-pulse stimulation to the CPN, applied 40, 50, and 60 ms earlier and at intensities of 0.5–0.7 times motor threshold (average suppression of test MEP was 33%). Whereas the triple-pulse stimulation was below M-wave and H-reflex threshold, it produced a long-latency inhibition of background muscle activity, approximately 65–115 ms after the CPN stimulation, a time period that overlapped with the test MEP. However, not all of the MEP suppression could be accounted for by this decrease in background muscle activity. Evoked responses from direct activation of the corticospinal tract, at the level of the brain stem or thoracic spinal cord, were also suppressed by low-threshold CPN stimulation. Our findings suggest that low-threshold muscle and cutaneous afferents from the CPN activate a long-latency, homonymous spinal inhibitory pathway to TA motoneurons. We propose that inhibitory feedback from spinal networks, activated by low-threshold homonymous afferents, helps regulate the activation of flexor motoneurons by the corticospinal tract.

scholarly journals Motor learning and transfer: from feedback to feedforward control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo S. Maeda ◽  
Paul L. Gribble ◽  
J. Andrew Pruszynski
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Shoulder Joint ◽  
Stretch Reflex ◽  
Feedforward Control ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Joint Torques ◽  
Motor Commands ◽  
Shoulder Muscle ◽  
Long Latency

AbstractPrevious work has demonstrated that when learning a new motor task, the nervous system modifies feedforward (ie. voluntary) motor commands and that such learning transfers to fast feedback (ie. reflex) responses evoked by mechanical perturbations. Here we show the inverse, that learning new feedback responses transfers to feedforward motor commands. Sixty human participants (34 females) used a robotic exoskeleton and either 1) received short duration mechanical perturbations (20 ms) that created pure elbow rotation or 2) generated self-initiated pure elbow rotations. They did so with the shoulder joint free to rotate (normal arm dynamics) or locked (altered arm dynamics) by the robotic manipulandum. With the shoulder unlocked, the perturbation evoked clear shoulder muscle activity in the long-latency stretch reflex epoch (50-100ms post-perturbation), as required for countering the imposed joint torques, but little muscle activity thereafter in the so-called voluntary response. After locking the shoulder joint, which alters the required joint torques to counter pure elbow rotation, we found a reliable reduction in the long-latency stretch reflex over many trials. This reduction transferred to feedforward control as we observed 1) a reduction in shoulder muscle activity during self-initiated pure elbow rotation trials and 2) kinematic errors (ie. aftereffects) in the direction predicted when failing to compensate for normal arm dynamics, even though participants never practiced self-initiated movements with the shoulder locked. Taken together, our work shows that transfer between feedforward and feedback control is bidirectional, furthering the notion that these processes share common neural circuits that underlie motor learning and transfer.

LONG-LATENCY INTRACORTICAL INHIBITION DURING UNILATERAL MUSCLE ACTIVITY

2017 ◽  
pp. 333-338
Author(s):  
Kapka Mancheva ◽  
Diana I. Stephanova ◽  
Werner Wolf ◽  
Andon Kossev
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Intracortical Inhibition ◽  
Long Latency

scholarly journals Generalizing movement patterns following shoulder fixation

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 1193-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo S. Maeda ◽  
Julia M. Zdybal ◽  
Paul L. Gribble ◽  
J. Andrew Pruszynski
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Shoulder Joint ◽  
Internal Model ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Partial Reduction ◽  
Forearm Rotation ◽  
General Internal ◽  
Shoulder Muscle ◽  
Intersegmental Dynamics ◽  
Partial Learning

Generalizing newly learned movement patterns beyond the training context is challenging for most motor learning situations. Here we tested whether learning of a new physical property of the arm during self-initiated reaching generalizes to new arm configurations. Human participants performed a single-joint elbow reaching task and/or countered mechanical perturbations that created pure elbow motion with the shoulder joint free to rotate or locked by the manipulandum. With the shoulder free, we found activation of shoulder extensor muscles for pure elbow extension trials, appropriate for countering torques that arise at the shoulder due to forearm rotation. After locking the shoulder joint, we found a partial reduction in shoulder muscle activity, appropriate because locking the shoulder joint cancels the torques that arise at the shoulder due to forearm rotation. In our first three experiments, we tested whether and to what extent this partial reduction in shoulder muscle activity generalizes when reaching in different situations: 1) different initial shoulder orientation, 2) different initial elbow orientation, and 3) different reach distance/speed. We found generalization for the different shoulder orientation and reach distance/speed as measured by a reliable reduction in shoulder activity in these situations but no generalization for the different elbow orientation. In our fourth experiment, we found that generalization is also transferred to feedback control by applying mechanical perturbations and observing reflex responses in a distinct shoulder orientation. These results indicate that partial learning of new intersegmental dynamics is not sufficient for modifying a general internal model of arm dynamics. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here we show that partially learning to reduce shoulder muscle activity following shoulder fixation generalizes to other movement conditions, but it does not generalize globally. These findings suggest that the partial learning of new intersegmental dynamics is not sufficient for modifying a general internal model of the arm’s dynamics.

scholarly journals Time course of changes in the long-latency feedback response parallels the fast process of short-term motor adaptation

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 388-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K. Coltman ◽  
Paul L. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Motor Adaptation ◽  
Feedback Controller ◽  
Fast Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Stages Of Learning ◽  
Stretch Response

We investigated whether changes in the feedback stretch response were related to the proposed fast and slow processes of motor adaptation. We found that the long-latency component of the feedback stretch response was upregulated in the early stages of learning and the time course was correlated with the fast process. While some propose that the fast process reflects an explicit strategy, we argue instead that it may be a proxy for the feedback controller.

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