Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are proposed as a reliable test to supplement the current vestibular test battery by providing diagnostic information about saccular and/or inferior vestibular nerve function. VEMPs are short-latency electromyograms (EMGs) evoked by high-level acoustic stimuli and recorded from surface electrodes over the tonically contracted sternocleidomastoid mus...

This paper presents our recent advances in speech recognition based on surface electromyography (EMG). This technology allows for Silent Speech Interfaces since EMG captures the electrical potentials of the human articulatory muscles rather than the acoustic speech signal. Our earlier experiments have shown that the EMG signal is greatly impacted by the mode of speaking. In this study we extend...

In this study, six patients who were judged to produce speech with excessive laryngeal tension participated in 14 30-min biofeedback training sessions. The EMG signal, measured by bipolar surface electrodes placed over the cricothyroid region, was amplified, integrated, and used to control the output of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and a noise generator. A voltage comparator was used a...

INTRODUCTION The surface electromyogram (EMG) is a highly complex, structured signal. It contains a wealth of information on both the state of the muscle and on the central nervous system control patterns that govern its activation. Identifying the information that can be extracted reliably from the EMG signal and determining the optimal recording and analysis methods to achieve this, remains a...

Recent evidence suggests the minimization of muscular effort rather than of the size of bodily sway may be the primary, nervous system goal when regulating the human, standing posture. Different programs have been proposed for balance training; none however has been focused on the activation of postural muscles during standing. In this study we investigated the possibility of minimizing the act...

The amplitude of the surface EMG does not reach the level achieved during a maximal voluntary contraction force at the end of a sustained, submaximal contraction, despite near-maximal levels of voluntary effort. The depression of EMG amplitude may be explained by several neural and muscular adjustments during fatiguing contractions, including decreased net neural drive to the muscle, changes in...

Conventional bipolar EMG provides imprecise muscle activation estimates due to possibly heterogeneous activity within muscles and due to improper alignment of the electrodes with the muscle fibers. Principal component analysis (PCA), applied on multi-channel monopolar EMG yielded substantial improvements in muscle activation estimates in pennate muscles. We investigated the degree of heterogene...

Ganesh G, Franklin, DW, Gassert R, Imamizu H, Kawato M. Accurate real-time feedback of surface EMG during fMRI. J Neurophysiol 97: 912–920, 2007. First published September 27, 2006; doi:10.1152/jn.00679.2006. Real-time acquisition of EMG during functional MRI (fMRI) provides a novel method of controlling motor experiments in the scanner using feedback of EMG. Because of the redundancy in the hu...

The objective of this study was to demonstrate how two different linear envelope detectors, as used in the quantification of surface electromyographic (EMG) signals, can lead to differences in the properties of observed computer-averaged EMG profiles. Eight healthy male subjects, aged 24 to 32 years, participated in the study. Computer-averaged EMG profiles for the gluteus medius muscle were re...

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a debilitating disorder caused by malfunctioning of the urethral sphincter. Anatomical and histological properties of the sphincter, its innervation and supporting structures are explained in relation to the closing mechanism of the bladder outlet. Urethral sphincter function is discussed from the passive concept of urethral pressure transmission to the 'ham...