How do we select combinations of limb segments to carry out physical tasks? Three possible determinants of limb-segment selection are hypothesized here: (1) optimal amplitudes and frequencies of motion for the effectors; (2) preferred movement axes for the effectors; and (3) a tendency to continue using already-recruited limb-segments. We tested these factors in a graphic production task. Seven...

Selection of muscles for botulinum toxin injection for limb dystonia is particularly challenging. Limb dystonias vary more widely in the pattern of dystonic movement and involved muscles than cervical dystonia or blepharospasm. The large variation in how healthy individuals perform skilled hand movements, the large number of muscles in the hand and forearm, and the presence of compensatory acti...

By comparing treadmill walking in hemiparetic and non-disabled individuals at matched speeds, Chen et al. [Chen G, Patten C, Kothari DH, Zajac FE. Gait differences between individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis and non-disabled controls at matched speeds. Gait Posture (2004)] identified gait deviations that were consistent with impaired swing initiation and single limb support in the paretic ...

Purpose: This work aimed to develop a novel indicator of upper limb manipulative movements. A principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm was applied kinematic measurements movements the limbs performed during an everyday activity. Methods: Kinematics while drinking from mug were investigated using commercially available Xsens MVN BIOMECH inertial sensor-based motion capture system. The study ...

The patterns of muscle mass distribution along the lengths of limbs may have important effects on the mechanics and energetics of quadrupedalism. Specifically, Myers and Steudel (J. Morphol. 234 (1997) 183) have shown that fore- and hindlimb Natural Pendular Periods (NPPs) may affect quadrupedal kinematics and must converge to reduce locomotor energetic costs. This study quantifies patterns of ...

BACKGROUND Debates over the evolution of hominin bipedalism, a defining human characteristic, revolve around whether early bipeds walked more like humans, with energetically efficient extended hind limbs, or more like apes with flexed hind limbs. The 3.6 million year old hominin footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania represent the earliest direct evidence of hominin bipedalism. Determining the kinemat...

This study presents wavelet packet feature assessment of neural control information in paretic upper limb muscles of stroke survivors for myoelectric pattern recognition, taking advantage of high-resolution time-frequency representations of surface electromyogram (EMG) signals. On this basis, a novel channel selection method was developed by combining the Fisher's class separability index and t...