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Related Experiment Videos

The uncontrolled manifold concept: identifying control variables for a functional task.

J P Scholz1, G Schöner

  • 1Physical Therapy Department, McKinly Laboratory, University of Delaware, Newark 19716, USA. jpscholz@udel.edu

Experimental Brain Research
|June 26, 1999
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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The nervous system stabilizes the body

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • The degrees of freedom problem investigates how the nervous system controls movement.
  • Existing research lacks operational definitions for
  • controlled
  • and
  • uncontrolled
  • degrees of freedom.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an operational definition of
  • controlled
  • and
  • uncontrolled
  • degrees of freedom.
  • To develop and apply a method for testing hypotheses about controlled degrees of freedom.
  • To analyze the control structure during the sit-to-stand transition.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Defined
  • control
  • as stabilization, where lack of control implies reduced stability.
  • Developed an analysis method to test hypotheses about controlled and uncontrolled degrees of freedom.
  • Applied the method to experimental data from the sit-to-stand task.

Main Results:

  • The position of the center of mass in the sagittal plane was identified as a controlled variable during sit-to-stand.
  • Horizontal head position and hand position showed less stable control.
  • Vertical head position control was not significantly different from joint motion control.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides a framework for operationalizing and testing hypotheses in motor control research.
  • For the sit-to-stand task, the nervous system controls the center of mass position.
  • Different body segments exhibit varying degrees of stability and control during functional tasks.