Motor programmes for the termination of gait in humans: organisation and velocity-dependent adaptation

1. The organisation of the muscular activities responsible for the termination of gait, their modulation as a function of the rate of progression and the associated mechanical effects were investigated in normal adults, using EMG, force plate and kinematic recordings. In particular, the braking actions in reaction to a visual cue presented at the instant of heel-strike were analysed quantitatively, with a focus on representative leg and thigh muscles of the weight-supporting (stance) and oscillating (swing) limb, during walk-and-stop trials performed at three different velocities. 2. In the stance limb, the EMG associated with braking started approximately 150 ms after the stop signal and, on average, displayed a distal-to-proximal activation sequence that primarily involved the posterior muscle groups (soleus, SOL, and hamstring, HAM). With the exception of SOL, which showed a single EMG burst, EMG patterns consisted of two or three progressively larger components occurring reciprocally in antagonistic muscles. Increasing walking speed yielded a significant reduction of the activity in distal muscles, and a simultaneous increment in proximal muscles. The mechanical effect of the earlier braking actions, estimated from the backward-directed wave of the horizontal ground reaction force, decreased in a velocity-dependent manner. 3. In the swing limb the braking activities began approximately 330 ms after the stop signal and, on average, revealed a proximal-to-distal activation sequence with the extensor groups (quadriceps, QUAD, and SOL) playing a prominent role. They always consisted of single EMG bursts, largely co-activated in the antagonist muscles. The onset latencies of the individual components showed a close correlation, and the spatio-temporal parameters were always scaled in parallel. Unlike the stance limb, the mechanical braking action associated with the final contact of the swing limb increased with walking speed. 4. The results indicate that the muscle synergies responsible for the rapid termination of gait in response to a ground-contact visual cue are produced by a relatively flexible set of motor commands modulated according to different velocity-dependent strategies in the weight-bearing limb, and by a single, fairly robust motor programme in the swing limb. Mechanical constraints related to the relative position of the centre of foot pressure and centre of body mass at the time the braking commands begin to affect external forces, may condition the difference between the two sides of the body.