We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Evaluation of a Neuromechanical Walking Control Model Using Disturbance Experiments.
- Authors
Seungmoon Song; Geyer, Hartmut
- Abstract
Neuromechanical simulations have been used to study the spinal control of human locomotion which involves complexmechanical dynamics. So far,most neuromechanical simulation studies have focused on demonstrating the capability of a proposed control model in generating normal walking. As many of these models with competing control hypotheses can generate human-like normal walking behaviors, a more in-depth evaluation is required. Here, we conduct the more in-depth evaluation on a spinal-reflex-based control model using five representative gait disturbances, ranging from electrical stimulation to mechanical perturbation at individual leg joints and at the whole body. The immediate changes in muscle activations of the model are compared to those of humans across different gait phases and disturbance magnitudes. Remarkably similar response trends for the majority of investigated muscles and experimental conditions reinforce the plausibility of the reflex circuits of the model. However, the model's responses lack in amplitude for two experiments with whole body disturbances suggesting that in these cases the proposed reflex circuits need to be amplified by additional control structures such as location-specific cutaneous reflexes. A model that captures these selective amplifications would be able to explain both steady and reactive spinal control of human locomotion. Neuromechanical simulations that investigate hypothesized control models are complementary to gait experiments in better understanding the control of human locomotion.
- Subjects
HUMAN locomotion; PHYSIOLOGICAL aspects of walking; WALKING speed; GAIT in humans; SPINAL reflexes
- Publication
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2017, Vol 11, p1
- ISSN
1662-5188
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fncom.2017.00015