Matching Items (571)
Description
The ultimate goal of human movement control research is to understand how natural movements performed in daily activities, are controlled. Natural movements require coordination of multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) of the arm. Here, patterns of arm joint control during daily functional tasks were examined, which are performed through rotation of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist with the use of seven DOF: shoulder flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and internal/external rotation; elbow flexion/extension and pronation/supination; wrist flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation. Analyzed movements imitated two activities of daily living: combing the hair and turning the page in a book. Kinematic and kinetic analyses were conducted. The studied kinematic characteristics were displacements of the 7 DOF and contribution of each DOF to hand velocity. The kinetic analysis involved computation of 3-dimensional vectors of muscle torque (MT), interaction torque (IT), gravity torque (GT), and net torque (NT) at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Using a relationship NT = MT + GT + IT, the role of active control and the passive factors (gravitation and inter-segmental dynamics) in rotation of each joint was assessed by computing MT contribution (MTC) to NT. MTC was computed using the ratio of the signed MT projection on NT to NT magnitude. Despite the variety of joint movements required across the different tasks, 3 patterns of shoulder and elbow coordination prevailed in each movement: 1) active rotation of the shoulder and predominantly passive rotation of the elbow; 2) active rotation of the elbow and predominantly passive rotation of the shoulder; and 3) passive rotation of both joints. Analysis of wrist control suggested that MT mainly compensates for passive torque and provides adjustment of wrist motion according to requirements of both tasks. The 3 shoulder-elbow coordination patterns during which at least one joint moves largely passively represent joint control primitives underlying performance of well-learned arm movements, although these patterns may be less prevalent during non-habitual movements. The advantage of these control primitives is that they require minimal neural effort for joint coordination, and thus increase neural resources that can be used for cognitive tasks.
ContributorsMarshall, Dirk (Author) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Thesis advisor) / Schaefer, Sydney (Thesis advisor) / Buneo, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The ultimate goal of human movement control research is to understand how natural movements performed in daily reaching activities, are controlled. Natural movements require coordination of multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) of the arm. Patterns of arm joint control were studied during daily functional tasks, which were performed through the rotation of seven DOF in the arm. Analyzed movements which imitated the following 3 activities of daily living: moving an empty soda can from a table and placing it on a further position; placing the empty soda can from initial position at table to a position at shoulder level on a shelf; and placing the empty soda can from initial position at table to a position at eye level on a shelf. Kinematic and kinetic analyses were conducted for these three movements. The studied kinematic characteristics were: hand trajectory in the sagittal plane, displacements of the 7 DOF, and contribution of each DOF to hand velocity. The kinetic analysis involved computation of 3-dimensional vectors of muscle torque (MT), interaction torque (IT), gravity torque (GT), and net torque (NT) at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Using the relationship NT = MT + GT + IT, the role of active control and passive factors (gravitation and inter-segmental dynamics) in rotation of each joint by computing MT contribution (MTC) to NT was assessed. MTC was computed using the ratio of the signed MT projection on NT to NT magnitude. Despite a variety of joint movements available across the different tasks, 3 patterns of shoulder and elbow coordination prevailed in each movement: 1) active rotation of the shoulder and predominantly passive rotation of the elbow; 2) active rotation of the elbow and predominantly passive rotation of the shoulder; and 3) passive rotation of both joints. Analysis of wrist control suggested that MT mainly compensates for passive torque and provides adjustment of wrist motion according to requirements of each task. In conclusion, it was observed that the 3 shoulder-elbow coordination patterns (during which at least one joint moved) passively represented joint control primitives, underlying the performance of well-learned arm movements, although these patterns may be less prevalent during non-habitual movements.
ContributorsSansgiri, Dattaraj (Author) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Thesis advisor) / Schaefer, Sydney (Thesis advisor) / Buneo, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Recently, it was demonstrated that startle-evoked-movements (SEMs) are present during individuated finger movements (index finger abduction), but only following intense training. This demonstrates that changes in motor planning, which occur through training (motor learning - a characteristic which can provide researchers and clinicians with information about overall rehabilitative effectiveness), can be analyzed with SEM. The objective here was to determine if SEM is a sensitive enough tool for differentiating expertise (task solidification) in a common everyday task (typing). If proven to be true, SEM may then be useful during rehabilitation for time-stamping when task-specific expertise has occurred, and possibly even when the sufficient dosage of motor training (although not tested here) has been delivered following impairment. It was hypothesized that SEM would be present for all fingers of an expert population, but no fingers of a non-expert population. A total of 9 expert (75.2 ± 9.8 WPM) and 8 non-expert typists, (41.6 ± 8.2 WPM) with right handed dominance and with no previous neurological or current upper extremity impairment were evaluated. SEM was robustly present (all p < 0.05) in all fingers of the experts (except the middle) and absent in all fingers of non-experts except the little (although less robust). Taken together, these results indicate that SEM is a measurable behavioral indicator of motor learning and that it is sensitive to task expertise, opening it for potential clinical utility.
ContributorsBartels, Brandon Michael (Author) / Honeycutt, Claire F (Thesis advisor) / Schaefer, Sydney (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental neuropsychiatric condition with early childhood onset, thus most research has focused on characterizing brain function in young individuals. Little is understood about brain function differences in middle age and older adults with ASD, despite evidence of persistent and worsening cognitive symptoms. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in younger persons with ASD demonstrate that large-scale brain networks containing the prefrontal cortex are affected. A novel, threshold-selection-free graph theory metric is proposed as a more robust and sensitive method for tracking brain aging in ASD and is compared against five well-accepted graph theoretical analysis methods in older men with ASD and matched neurotypical (NT) participants. Participants were 27 men with ASD (52 +/- 8.4 years) and 21 NT men (49.7 +/- 6.5 years). Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans were collected for six minutes (repetition time=3s) with eyes closed. Data was preprocessed in SPM12, and Data Processing Assistant for Resting-State fMRI (DPARSF) was used to extract 116 regions-of-interest defined by the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) atlas. AAL regions were separated into six large-scale brain networks. This proposed metric is the slope of a monotonically decreasing convergence function (Integrated Persistent Feature, IPF; Slope of the IPF, SIP). Results were analyzed in SPSS using ANCOVA, with IQ as a covariate. A reduced SIP was in older men with ASD, compared to NT men, in the Default Mode Network [F(1,47)=6.48; p=0.02; 2=0.13] and Executive Network [F(1,47)=4.40; p=0.04; 2=0.09], a trend in the Fronto-Parietal Network [F(1,47)=3.36; p=0.07; 2=0.07]. There were no differences in the non-prefrontal networks (Sensory motor network, auditory network, and medial visual network). The only other graph theory metric to reach significance was network diameter in the Default Mode Network [F(1,47)=4.31; p=0.04; 2=0.09]; however, the effect size for the SIP was stronger. Modularity, Betti number, characteristic path length, and eigenvalue centrality were all non-significant. These results provide empirical evidence of decreased functional network integration in pre-frontal networks of older adults with ASD and propose a useful biomarker for tracking prognosis of aging adults with ASD to enable more informed treatment, support, and care methods for this growing population.
ContributorsCatchings, Michael Thomas (Author) / Braden, Brittany B (Thesis advisor) / Greger, Bradley (Thesis advisor) / Schaefer, Sydney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Adapting to one novel condition of a motor task has been shown to generalize to other naïve conditions (i.e., motor generalization). In contrast, learning one task affects the proficiency of another task that is altogether different (i.e. motor transfer). Much more is known about motor generalization than about motor transfer, despite of decades of behavioral evidence. Moreover, motor generalization is studied as a probe to understanding how movements in any novel situations are affected by previous experiences. Thus, one could assume that mechanisms underlying transfer from trained to untrained tasks may be same as the ones known to be underlying motor generalization. However, the direct relationship between transfer and generalization has not yet been shown, thereby limiting the assumption that transfer and generalization rely on the same mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to test whether there is a relationship between motor generalization and motor transfer. To date, ten healthy young adult subjects were scored on their motor generalization ability and motor transfer ability on various upper extremity tasks. Although our current sample size is too small to clearly identify whether there is a relationship between generalization and transfer, Pearson product-moment correlation results and a priori power analysis suggest that a significant relationship will be observed with an increased sample size by 30%. If so, this would suggest that the mechanisms of transfer may be similar to those of motor generalization.
ContributorsSohani, Priyanka (Author) / Schaefer, Sydney (Thesis advisor) / Daliri, Ayoub (Committee member) / Honeycutt, Claire (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
High childhood obesity rates have resulted in many interventions to attempt to lower these rates. Interventions such as day camps, residential camps, therapy-based interventions and family-based interventions lead to changes in weight and self-esteem but family-based intervention leads to the longest-term success for children ages nine to 17. Analysis of the interventions was measured using tools such as BMI, BMI-percentiles, and weight. Psychological measures such as self-esteem, happiness, and quality of life analysis was preferred, however were not measured in all studies. While most interventions resulted in weight loss and increased self-esteem, results were often not long-term. Studies provided evidence that family-based therapy has potential to last long-term, however there is a lack of research. To determine the most effective childhood nutrition intervention research must conduct follow-ups for many years after the initial intervention to ensure they provide long-term results.
ContributorsAnderson, Megan Lee (Author) / McCoy, Maureen (Thesis director) / Kniskern, Megan (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to develop proposal lesson plans for 4th-6th graders based on active learning to integrate movement physical activity into the curriculum. The 4th-6th graders were chosen, as this is the age where teaching typically transitions from active learning to sedentary/lecture style teaching. Research compiled indicated positive effects of active based learning on children such as increased attention span, retention, and general focus. A survey was created to not only assess the perception of active versus didactic learners, but to also assess the effects of movement-based learning on the variables that research claimed to change. The lesson plans developed here should be transferable to a classroom lesson to evaluate the hypothesized results.
ContributorsTanna, Nimisha (Author) / Hyatt, JP (Thesis director) / Ainsworth, Barbara (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
About 75% of men and 66.58% of women are considered overweight or obese (BMI ≥25). $117 billion dollars is spent each year in medical costs due to physical inactivity. Aerobic exercise has been well defined in its’ benefits to cardiovascular health; however, the effects of resistance training are still not well defined. The purpose of this preliminary analysis was to evaluate the vascular health effects (central and peripheral blood pressure and VO2 max) of two different types of resistance training programs: high load, low repetitions resistance training and low load, high repetitions resistance training. Fourteen participants aged 18-55 years (6 males, 8 females) were involved in this preliminary analysis. Data were collected before and after the 12-week long exercise program (36 training sessions) via pulse wave analysis and VO2peak testing. Multivariate regression analysis of training program effects, while adjusting for body mass index and time, did not result in significant training effects on central and peripheral diastolic blood pressure, nor VO2peak. A statistical trend was observed between the different training programs for systolic blood pressure, suggesting that subjects partaking in the high load, low repetitions program exhibited higher systolic blood pressures than the low load, high repetitions group. With a larger sample size, the difference in systolic blood pressure may increase between training program groups and indicate that greater loads with minimal repetitions may increase lead to clinically significant elevations in blood pressure. Further work is needed to uncover the relationship between different types of resistance training and blood pressure, especially if these lifting regimens are continued for longer lengths of time.
ContributorsHill, Cody Alan (Co-author) / Hill, Cody (Co-author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis director) / Angadi, Siddhartha (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Introduction: Individuals with rotator cuff tears have been found to compensate in their movement patterns by using lower thoracohumeral elevation angles during certain tasks, as well as increased internal rotation of the shoulder (Vidt et al., 2016). Leading joint hypothesis suggests there is one leading joint that creates the foundation for the entire limb motion, and there are other subordinate joints which monitor the passive interaction torque and create a net torque aiding to limb motions required for the task. This experiment seeks to establish a better understanding of joint control strategies during a wide range of arm movements. Based on the leading joint hypothesis, we hypothesize that when a subject has a rotator cuff tear, their performance of planar and three-dimensional motions should be altered not only at the shoulder, which is often the leading joint, but also at other joints on the arm, such as the elbow and wrist. This paper will focus on the effect of normal aging on the control of the joints of the arm.
Methods: There were 4 groups of participants: healthy younger adults (n=14)(21.74 ± 1.97), healthy older adults (n=12)(55-75), older adults (n=4)(55-75) with a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear, and older adults (n=4)(55-75) with a full-thickness rotator cuff tear (RCT). All four groups completed strength testing, horizontal drawing and pointing tasks, and three dimensional (3D) activities of daily living. Kinematic and kinetic variables of the arm were obtained during horizontal and 3D tasks using data from 12 reflective markers placed on the arm, 8 motion capture cameras, and Cortex motion capture software (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA). Strength testing tasks were measured using a dynamometer. All strength testing and 3D tasks were completed for three trials and horizontal tasks were completed for two trials.
Results: Results of the younger adult participants showed that during the forward portion of seven 3D tasks, there were four phases of different joint control mechanics seen in a majority of the movements. These phases included active rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow joint, active rotation of the shoulder with passive rotation of the elbow, passive rotation of the shoulder with active rotation of the elbow, and passive rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow. Passive rotation during movements was a result of gravitational torque on the different segments of the arm and interaction torque caused as a result of the multi-joint structure of human limbs. The number of tested participants for the minor RCT, and RCT older adults groups is not yet high enough to produce significant results and because of this their results are not reported in this article. Between the older adult control group and the young adult control group in the tasks upward reach to eye height and hair comb there were significant differences found between the groups. The differences were found in shorter overall time and distance between the two groups in the upward eye task.
Discussion: Through the available results, multiple phases were found where one or both of the joints of the arm moved passively which further supports the LJH and extends it to include 3D movements. With available data, it can be concluded that healthy older adults use movement control strategies, such as shortening distance covered, decreasing time percentage in active joint phases, and increasing time percentage in passive joint phases, to account for atrophy along with other age-related declines in performance, such as a decrease in range of motion. This article is a part of a bigger project which aims to better understand how older adults with RCTs compensate for the decreased strength, the decreased range of motion, and the pain that accompany this type of injury. It is anticipated that the results of this experiment will lead to more research toward better understanding how to treat patients with RCTs.
Methods: There were 4 groups of participants: healthy younger adults (n=14)(21.74 ± 1.97), healthy older adults (n=12)(55-75), older adults (n=4)(55-75) with a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear, and older adults (n=4)(55-75) with a full-thickness rotator cuff tear (RCT). All four groups completed strength testing, horizontal drawing and pointing tasks, and three dimensional (3D) activities of daily living. Kinematic and kinetic variables of the arm were obtained during horizontal and 3D tasks using data from 12 reflective markers placed on the arm, 8 motion capture cameras, and Cortex motion capture software (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA). Strength testing tasks were measured using a dynamometer. All strength testing and 3D tasks were completed for three trials and horizontal tasks were completed for two trials.
Results: Results of the younger adult participants showed that during the forward portion of seven 3D tasks, there were four phases of different joint control mechanics seen in a majority of the movements. These phases included active rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow joint, active rotation of the shoulder with passive rotation of the elbow, passive rotation of the shoulder with active rotation of the elbow, and passive rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow. Passive rotation during movements was a result of gravitational torque on the different segments of the arm and interaction torque caused as a result of the multi-joint structure of human limbs. The number of tested participants for the minor RCT, and RCT older adults groups is not yet high enough to produce significant results and because of this their results are not reported in this article. Between the older adult control group and the young adult control group in the tasks upward reach to eye height and hair comb there were significant differences found between the groups. The differences were found in shorter overall time and distance between the two groups in the upward eye task.
Discussion: Through the available results, multiple phases were found where one or both of the joints of the arm moved passively which further supports the LJH and extends it to include 3D movements. With available data, it can be concluded that healthy older adults use movement control strategies, such as shortening distance covered, decreasing time percentage in active joint phases, and increasing time percentage in passive joint phases, to account for atrophy along with other age-related declines in performance, such as a decrease in range of motion. This article is a part of a bigger project which aims to better understand how older adults with RCTs compensate for the decreased strength, the decreased range of motion, and the pain that accompany this type of injury. It is anticipated that the results of this experiment will lead to more research toward better understanding how to treat patients with RCTs.
ContributorsFlores, Noah Mateo (Author) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Thesis director) / Vidt, Meghan (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
After volunteering at a clinic in Guatemala and seeing the sexism that is so engrained into their culture, I decided to take a look at the U.S. healthcare system. I wanted to uncover the stereotypes, statistics and gender and societal norms that are present in our culture. I first started with the application process and the acceptance rates to medical school. I discovered that men are accepted to medical school at higher rates than women unless that man is deemed dangerous or foreign. I then moved on to the environment in medical school. Many women are subjected to snide comments or “bro talk” made to make them feel inferior. Men always graduate at higher rates than women, which could be because of the unwelcoming environment in medical school or the lack of female faculty chairs or mentors. After medical school, a new doctor must choose a specialty. Men gravitate towards specialties that focus on surgical work and large sums of money. Women tend to choose specialties that require a more soothing and caring environment. Women are more likely to pick specialties where there is a higher proportion of female residents. After specialties, I then explored the life of a doctor. Slightly over half of all doctors in the workforce are men and they make an average of $78,288 more per year than female physicians. Women are discriminated against if they become pregnant on the job and they are more likely to develop mental health issues. Female physicians are overall, more compassionate, rule abiding and patient-focused than their male counterparts but are not receiving the acknowledgments that they deserve. After delving into the U.S. healthcare system, I have realized that sexism in the workforce is blatantly apparent and is one of the outcomes of our patriarchal society. The only way we can make a change is to acknowledge the problem and come together as a society to combat the issue.
ContributorsPurkey, Caroline Rose (Author) / Collins, Michael (Thesis director) / Barry, Anne (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05