The Cortical Response Evoked by Robotic Wrist Perturbations Reflects Level of Proprioceptive Impairment After Stroke

Background: Proprioception is important for regaining motor function in the paretic upper extremity after stroke. However, clinical assessments of proprioception are subjective and require verbal responses from the patient to applied proprioceptive stimuli. Cortical responses evoked by robotic wrist perturbations and measured by...

Cortical dynamics during preparation and execution of reactive balance responses with distinct postural demands

The contributions of the cerebral cortex to human balance control are clearly demonstrated by the profound impact of cortical lesions on the ability to maintain standing balance. The cerebral cortex is thought to regulate subcortical postural centers to maintain upright balance and posture under varying environmental conditions and task...

Evidence in support of the Independent Channel Model describing the sensorimotor control of human stance using a humanoid robot

The Independent Channel (IC) model is a commonly used linear balance control model in the frequency domain to analyze human balance control using system identification and parameter estimation. The IC model is a rudimentary and noise-free description of balance behavior in the frequency domain, where a stable model representation is not...

The reliance on vestibular information during standing balance control decreases with severity of vestibular dysfunction

The vestibular system is involved in gaze stabilization and standing balance control. However, it is unclear whether vestibular dysfunction affects both processes to a similar extent. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine how the reliance on vestibular information during standing balance control is related to gaze...

A sensitivity analysis of an inverted pendulum balance control model

Balance control models are used to describe balance behavior in health and disease. We identified the unique contribution and relative importance of each parameter of a commonly used balance control model, the Independent Channel (IC) model, to identify which parameters are crucial to describe balance behavior. The balance behavior was expressed...

Assessment of the underlying systems involved in standing balance: The additional value of electromyography in system identification and parameter estimation

Background: Closed loop system identification (CLSIT) is a method to disentangle the contribution of underlying systems in standing balance. We investigated whether taking into account lower leg muscle activation in CLSIT could improve the reliability and accuracy of estimated parameters identifying the underlying systems. Methods: Standing...