Humboldt University of Berlin - Department of Training and Movement Sciences; Humboldt University of Berlin - Berlin School of Movement Science; Dalhousie University - Atlantic Mobility Action Project, Brain Repair Centre
Humboldt University of Berlin - Department of Training and Movement Sciences; Humboldt University of Berlin - Berlin School of Movement Science; Heidelberg University - Network Aging Research
University of Kassel, Institute for Sport and Sports Science, Department of Training and Movement Science; University of Oldenburg, Institute of Sport Science, Department of Sport and Movement Science
Is the control of movement less stable when we walk or run in challenging settings? Intuitively, one might answer that it is, given that adding external (e.g. rough terrain) or internal (e.g. age-related impairments) constraints to locomotion makes our movements less stable. Here, we investigated how young and old humans synergistically activate muscles during locomotion when different perturbation levels are introduced. Of these control signals, called muscle synergies, we analyzed the stability over time. Surprisingly, we found that both external and internal perturbations force the central nervous system to produce muscle activation patterns that are more stable. These outcomes show that robust locomotion in challenging settings is achieved by increasing the stability of control signals, whereas easier tasks allow for more unstable control.
Santuz, Alessandro and Brüll, Leon and Ekizos, Antonis and Schroll, Arno and Eckardt, Nils and Kibele, Armin and Schwenk, Michael and Arampatzis, Adamantios, Humans Exploit Robust Locomotion by Improving the Stability of Control Signals (June 7, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3400855 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3400855
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.
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