Control of human standing posture

人体站立姿势的控制

• 批准号: 105424-2013
• 负责人: Garland, Jayne
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=521929
• 关键词: Control; human; standing; posture

My NSERC-funded research program examines how the brain controls muscle force and movement, particularly under conditions of fatigue and postural control, through the study of motor unit behaviour. The motor unit is the means for the commands from the brain to create forces in the muscle. Maintenance of upright standing is fundamental to human mobility. Standing balance is of utmost importance to prevent the devastating consequences of falls in the aged. The calf muscles are essential for standing balance and previously all the calf muscles were thought to be activated uniformly in standing. Traditionally, muscle activation is measured with two surface electrodes or fine-wire electrodes placed in the muscle but these techniques collect information from motor units confined to a relatively small muscle region (mm to cm). We will use an innovative way of studying populations of motor units occupying different regions of the calf muscles. This is achieved by using grids of 20-24 very small electrodes (called HDS-EMG) placed over the entire muscle. Using this novel technology, we will examine whether there are important regional differences in how the muscles must react to balance disturbances. We will create balance disturbances by applying loads at the subjects' hips. Loads of varying magnitude will be applied in different directions (with and without fatiguing the calf muscles) to determine if the calf muscles are activated in specific regions based on the characteristics of the balance disturbance. Young healthy subjects will be compared to elderly subjects to determine if the regional activation serves to fine tune the postural response to the balance disturbance which may be lacking in the elderly. Finally, we will explore the relationship of activation of areas of the brain with areas of localized activity in the muscle to determine if the brain influences the pattern of muscle activation during balance disturbances. This knowledge will advance our understanding of human postural control and provide insight on falls in the elderly.

我的NSERC资助研究计划研究了大脑如何通过研究运动单位行为来控制肌肉力量和运动，尤其是在疲劳和姿势控制条件下如何控制肌肉力量和运动。 运动单元是大脑命令在肌肉中产生力的手段。 维持直立的地位是人类流动性的基础。 站立平衡对于防止老年人跌倒的毁灭性后果至关重要。 小腿肌肉对于站立平衡至关重要，以前所有小腿肌肉都被认为均匀地激活了站立。 传统上，用两个表面电极或肌肉中的细丝电极测量肌肉激活，但是这些技术从局限于相对较小的肌肉区域（MM至CM）中收集信息。 我们将使用一种创新的方式来研究占据小腿肌肉不同区域的运动单位人群。 这是通过使用20-24个非常小的电极（称为HDS-EMG）的网格来实现的。 使用这种新型技术，我们将检查肌肉必须对平衡干扰的反应方式是否存在重要的区域差异。 我们将通过在受试者的臀部上施加负载来创建平衡干扰。 不同的大小的负载将在不同方向（有和不疲劳的小腿肌肉）上施加，以确定小腿肌肉是否根据平衡扰动的特征在特定区域中激活。 将年轻的健康受试者与老年受试者进行比较，以确定区域激活是否可以微调对老年人可能缺乏的平衡扰动的姿势反应。 最后，我们将探索大脑区域的激活与肌肉中局部活动的区域的激活关系，以确定大脑在平衡干扰过程中是否影响肌肉激活的模式。 这些知识将促进我们对人类姿势控制的理解，并就老年人的跌倒提供洞察力。