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- Creators: Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963
Description
Humans are capable of transferring learning for anticipatory control of dexterous object manipulation despite changes in degrees-of-freedom (DoF), i.e., switching from lifting an object with two fingers to lifting the same object with three fingers. However, the role that tactile information plays in this transfer of learning is unknown. In this study, subjects lifted an L-shaped object with two fingers (2-DoF), and then lifted the object with three fingers (3-DoF). The subjects were divided into two groups--one group performed the task wearing a glove (to reduce tactile sensibility) upon the switch to 3-DoF (glove group), while the other group did not wear the glove (control group). Compensatory moment (torque) was used as a measure to determine how well the subject could minimize the tilt of the object following the switch from 2-DoF to 3-DoF. Upon the switch to 3-DoF, subjects wearing the glove generated a compensatory moment (Mcom) that had a significantly higher error than the average of the last five trials at the end of the 3-DoF block (p = 0.012), while the control subjects did not demonstrate a significant difference in Mcom. Additional effects of the reduction in tactile sensibility were: (1) the grip force for the group of subjects wearing the glove was significantly higher in the 3-DoF trials compared to the 2-DoF trials (p = 0.014), while the grip force of the control subjects was not significantly different; (2) the difference in centers of pressure between the thumb and fingers (ΔCoP) significantly increased in the 3-DoF block for the group of subjects wearing the glove, while the ΔCoP of the control subjects was not significantly different; (3) lastly, the control subjects demonstrated a greater increase in lift force than the group of subjects wearing the glove (though results were not significant). Combined together, these results suggest different force modulation strategies are used depending on the amount of tactile feedback that is available to the subject. Therefore, reduction of tactile sensibility has important effects on subjects' ability to transfer learned manipulation across different DoF contexts.
ContributorsGaw, Nathan (Author) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Thesis advisor) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Dexterous manipulation is a representative task that involves sensorimotor integration underlying a fine control of movements. Over the past 30 years, research has provided significant insight, including the control mechanisms of force coordination during manipulation tasks. Successful dexterous manipulation is thought to rely on the ability to integrate the sense of digit position with motor commands responsible for generating digit forces and placement. However, the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of digit position-force coordination are not well understood. This dissertation addresses this question through three experiments that are based on psychophysics and object lifting tasks. It was found in psychophysics tasks that sensed relative digit position was accurately reproduced when sensorimotor transformations occurred with larger vertical fingertip separations, within the same hand, and at the same hand posture. The results from a follow-up experiment conducted in the same digit position-matching task while generating forces in different directions reveal a biased relative digit position toward the direction of force production. Specifically, subjects reproduced the thumb CoP higher than the index finger CoP when vertical digit forces were directed upward and downward, respectively, and vice versa. It was also found in lifting tasks that the ability to discriminate the relative digit position prior to lifting an object and modulate digit forces to minimize object roll as a function of digit position are robust regardless of whether motor commands for positioning the digits on the object are involved. These results indicate that the erroneous sensorimotor transformations of relative digit position reported here must be compensated during dexterous manipulation by other mechanisms, e.g., visual feedback of fingertip position. Furthermore, predicted sensory consequences derived from the efference copy of voluntary motor commands to generate vertical digit forces may override haptic sensory feedback for the estimation of relative digit position. Lastly, the sensorimotor transformations from haptic feedback to digit force modulation to position appear to be facilitated by motor commands for active digit placement in manipulation.
ContributorsShibata, Daisuke (Author) / Santello, Marco (Thesis advisor) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Committee member) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / McBeath, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) is a debilitating chronic disease of the lower extremities particularly affecting older adults and diabetics. It results in reduction of the blood flow to peripheral tissue and sometimes causing tissue damage such that PVD patients suffer from pain in the lower legs, thigh and buttocks after activities. Electrical neurostimulation based on the "Gate Theory of Pain" is a known to way to reduce pain but current devices to do this are bulky and not well suited to implantation in peripheral tissues. There is also an increased risk associated with surgery which limits the use of these devices. This research has designed and constructed wireless ultrasound powered microstimulators that are much smaller and injectable and so involve less implantation trauma. These devices are small enough to fit through an 18 gauge syringe needle increasing their potential for clinical use. These piezoelectric microdevices convert mechanical energy into electrical energy that then is used to block pain. The design and performance of these miniaturized devices was modeled by computer while constructed devices were evaluated in animal experiments. The devices are capable of producing 500ms pulses with an intensity of 2 mA into a 2 kilo-ohms load. Using the rat as an animal model, a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the in-vivo performance of the devices.
ContributorsZong, Xi (Author) / Towe, Bruce (Thesis advisor) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Approximately 1.7 million people in the United States are living with limb loss and are in need of more sophisticated devices that better mimic human function. In the Human Machine Integration Laboratory, a powered, transtibial prosthetic ankle was designed and build that allows a person to regain ankle function with improved ankle kinematics and kinetics. The ankle allows a person to walk normally and up and down stairs, but volitional control is still an issue. This research tackled the problem of giving the user more control over the prosthetic ankle using a force/torque circuit. When the user presses against a force/torque sensor located inside the socket the prosthetic foot plantar flexes or moves downward. This will help the user add additional push-off force when walking up slopes or stairs. It also gives the user a sense of control over the device.
ContributorsFronczyk, Adam (Author) / Sugar, Thomas G. (Thesis advisor) / Helms-Tillery, Stephen (Thesis advisor) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
ContributorsPoulenc, Francis, 1899-1963 (Composer)
ContributorsPoulenc, Francis, 1899-1963 (Composer)
ContributorsPoulenc, Francis, 1899-1963 (Composer)
ContributorsPoulenc, Francis, 1899-1963 (Composer)
Description
Noninvasive neuromodulation could help treat many neurological disorders, but existing techniques have low resolution and weak penetration. Ultrasound (US) shows promise for stimulation of smaller areas and subcortical structures. However, the mechanism and parameter design are not understood. US can stimulate tail and hindlimb movements in rats, but not forelimb, for unknown reasons. Potentially, US could also stimulate peripheral or enteric neurons for control of blood glucose.
To better understand the inconsistent effects across rat motor cortex, US modulation of electrically-evoked movements was tested. A stimulation array was implanted on the cortical surface and US (200 kHz, 30-60 W/cm2 peak) was applied while measuring changes in the evoked forelimb and hindlimb movements. Direct US stimulation of the hindlimb was also studied. To test peripheral effects, rat blood glucose levels were measured while applying US near the liver.
No short-term motor modulation was visible (95% confidence interval: -3.5% to +5.1% forelimb, -3.8% to +5.5% hindlimb). There was significant long-term (minutes-order) suppression (95% confidence interval: -3.7% to -10.8% forelimb, -3.8% to -11.9% hindlimb). This suppression may be due to the considerable heating (+1.8°C between US
on-US conditions); effects of heat and US were not separable in this experiment. US directly evoked hindlimb and scrotum movements in some sessions. This required a long interval, at least 3 seconds between US bursts. Movement could be evoked with much shorter pulses than used in literature (3 ms). The EMG latency (10 ms) was compatible with activation of corticospinal neurons. The glucose modulation test showed a strong increase in a few trials, but across all trials found no significant effect.
The single motor response and the long refractory period together suggest that only the beginning of the US burst had a stimulatory effect. This would explain the lack of short-term modulation, and suggests future work with shorter pulses could better explore the missing forelimb response. During the refractory period there was no change in the electrically-evoked response, which suggests the US stimulation mechanism is independent of normal brain activity. These results challenge the literature-standard protocols and provide new insights on the unknown mechanism.
To better understand the inconsistent effects across rat motor cortex, US modulation of electrically-evoked movements was tested. A stimulation array was implanted on the cortical surface and US (200 kHz, 30-60 W/cm2 peak) was applied while measuring changes in the evoked forelimb and hindlimb movements. Direct US stimulation of the hindlimb was also studied. To test peripheral effects, rat blood glucose levels were measured while applying US near the liver.
No short-term motor modulation was visible (95% confidence interval: -3.5% to +5.1% forelimb, -3.8% to +5.5% hindlimb). There was significant long-term (minutes-order) suppression (95% confidence interval: -3.7% to -10.8% forelimb, -3.8% to -11.9% hindlimb). This suppression may be due to the considerable heating (+1.8°C between US
on-US conditions); effects of heat and US were not separable in this experiment. US directly evoked hindlimb and scrotum movements in some sessions. This required a long interval, at least 3 seconds between US bursts. Movement could be evoked with much shorter pulses than used in literature (3 ms). The EMG latency (10 ms) was compatible with activation of corticospinal neurons. The glucose modulation test showed a strong increase in a few trials, but across all trials found no significant effect.
The single motor response and the long refractory period together suggest that only the beginning of the US burst had a stimulatory effect. This would explain the lack of short-term modulation, and suggests future work with shorter pulses could better explore the missing forelimb response. During the refractory period there was no change in the electrically-evoked response, which suggests the US stimulation mechanism is independent of normal brain activity. These results challenge the literature-standard protocols and provide new insights on the unknown mechanism.
ContributorsGulick, Daniel Withers (Author) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Thesis advisor) / Towe, Bruce (Thesis advisor) / Muthuswamy, Jitendran (Committee member) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Understanding where our bodies are in space is imperative for motor control, particularly for actions such as goal-directed reaching. Multisensory integration is crucial for reducing uncertainty in arm position estimates. This dissertation examines time and frequency-domain correlates of visual-proprioceptive integration during an arm-position maintenance task. Neural recordings were obtained from two different cortical areas as non-human primates performed a center-out reaching task in a virtual reality environment. Following a reach, animals maintained the end-point position of their arm under unimodal (proprioception only) and bimodal (proprioception and vision) conditions. In both areas, time domain and multi-taper spectral analysis methods were used to quantify changes in the spiking, local field potential (LFP), and spike-field coherence during arm-position maintenance.
In both areas, individual neurons were classified based on the spectrum of their spiking patterns. A large proportion of cells in the SPL that exhibited sensory condition-specific oscillatory spiking in the beta (13-30Hz) frequency band. Cells in the IPL typically had a more diverse mix of oscillatory and refractory spiking patterns during the task in response to changing sensory condition. Contrary to the assumptions made in many modelling studies, none of the cells exhibited Poisson-spiking statistics in SPL or IPL.
Evoked LFPs in both areas exhibited greater effects of target location than visual condition, though the evoked responses in the preferred reach direction were generally suppressed in the bimodal condition relative to the unimodal condition. Significant effects of target location on evoked responses were observed during the movement period of the task well.
In the frequency domain, LFP power in both cortical areas was enhanced in the beta band during the position estimation epoch of the task, indicating that LFP beta oscillations may be important for maintaining the ongoing state. This was particularly evident at the population level, with clear increase in alpha and beta power. Differences in spectral power between conditions also became apparent at the population level, with power during bimodal trials being suppressed relative to unimodal. The spike-field coherence showed confounding results in both the SPL and IPL, with no clear correlation between incidence of beta oscillations and significant beta coherence.
In both areas, individual neurons were classified based on the spectrum of their spiking patterns. A large proportion of cells in the SPL that exhibited sensory condition-specific oscillatory spiking in the beta (13-30Hz) frequency band. Cells in the IPL typically had a more diverse mix of oscillatory and refractory spiking patterns during the task in response to changing sensory condition. Contrary to the assumptions made in many modelling studies, none of the cells exhibited Poisson-spiking statistics in SPL or IPL.
Evoked LFPs in both areas exhibited greater effects of target location than visual condition, though the evoked responses in the preferred reach direction were generally suppressed in the bimodal condition relative to the unimodal condition. Significant effects of target location on evoked responses were observed during the movement period of the task well.
In the frequency domain, LFP power in both cortical areas was enhanced in the beta band during the position estimation epoch of the task, indicating that LFP beta oscillations may be important for maintaining the ongoing state. This was particularly evident at the population level, with clear increase in alpha and beta power. Differences in spectral power between conditions also became apparent at the population level, with power during bimodal trials being suppressed relative to unimodal. The spike-field coherence showed confounding results in both the SPL and IPL, with no clear correlation between incidence of beta oscillations and significant beta coherence.
ContributorsVanGilder, Paul (Author) / Buneo, Christopher A (Thesis advisor) / Helms-Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Muthuswamy, Jit (Committee member) / Foldes, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017