This paper describes the development of a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) planar motor under closed loop control, which can be applied as an ultra precision multi-axis manipulator. In papers presented so far on this topic, a SAW motor is driven in open loop. The slider is manipulated by inducing a repetitive small number of wave periods. In this way a slow slider motion can be generated, which howe...

In patients with degenerative ataxia, various abnormalities in motor cortex activation by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been observed, including a reduction of intracortical facilitation and a lengthening of the silent period. However, the groups of patients examined in previous studies were heterogeneous, involving patients with autosomal-dominant and idiopathic cerebellar ataxi...

A major part of the power consumption in the low-wattage reciprocating compressors, used for household refrigeration units, is associated with the motor. A variable speed compressor as opposed to a single speed compressor is known to provide energy savings due to its ability to match the load demand from the pump more closely to the power delivered by the pump. The current article presents an o...

Coordinated locomotor muscle activity is generated by the spinal central pattern generators (CPGs), which are modulated by peripheral and supraspinal inputs. The CPGs would consist of multiple motor modules generating basic muscle activity, which are distributed rostrocaudally along the spinal cord. To activate the motor modules in proper sequence, rostrocaudally traveling waves of activation i...

A clearly defined progression of fasting small intestinal motor development is seen in the human infant from disorganised low amplitude motor activity before 31 weeks gestation through an intermediate phase of increasing motor organisation and amplitude to the development of a normal cyclical pattern of motor activity with clearly defined phase I, II, and III activity between 37 weeks gestation...

Paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis (PKC) is characterized by abnormal involuntary movements precipitated by sudden movement. As a result, a possible impairment of cerebral organization of voluntary motor activity is hypothesized in PKC. We examined a 14-year-old boy affected by a sporadic form of PKC, adopting a multimodal psychophysiological approach, including P300, contingent negative va...

1. Transection of the ventral nerve cord of female grasshoppers activates the rhythmical motor programme for oviposition digging. 2. Electrical stimulation of the cut nerve cord had the following effects on elicited oviposition motor activity: (i) shortand long-lasting inhibition of activity, (ii) phase resetting and (iii) modulation of burst frequency. 3. Cold saline applied to the nerve cord ...

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of motor practice on cognitive and motor performance in older adults under single- and dual-task conditions. Fourteen younger (19-28 years) and 12 older adults (67-75 years) performed a precision grip sine wave force-tracking and a working memory task under single- and dual-task conditions. Participants performed a pretest, 100 motor practice t...

The responsiveness of the human central nervous system can change profoundly with exercise, injury, disuse, or disease. Changes occur at both cortical and spinal levels but in most cases excitability of the motoneuron pool must be assessed to localize accurately the site of adaptation. Hence, it is critical to understand, and employ correctly, the methods to test motoneuron excitability in huma...

Understanding wave propagation in discrete excitable media is challenging because of poorly understood phenomena associated with spatial discreteness [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The study of the transmission of nerve impulses along myelinated axons is a paradigmatic example. Myelinated nerve fibers, such as the motor axons of vertebrates, are covered almost everywhere by a thick insulating coat of myelin....