Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Stepping from a narrow support.

Yun Wang1, Elena Yu Shapkova, Siripan Siwasakunrat

  • 1Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.

Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology : Official Journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology
|August 8, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Whole-body pointing as superposition of two multi-joint components.

Experimental brain research·2026
Same author

Functional changes in spinal circuitry in essential tremor revealed with analysis of intramuscle synergies.

Journal of neurophysiology·2026
Same author

Stability of performance in a hierarchical system during isometric force production and effects of visual feedback.

Experimental brain research·2025
Same author

The neural control of accurate hand force production.

Neuroscience·2025
Same author

Applied Aspects of Contemporary Motor Control Theories: A Natural Science Perspective.

Motor control·2025
Same author

On the origin of variance along the uncontrolled manifold: Its effects on anticipatory and spontaneous changes in performance-stabilizing synergies in force production tasks.

Neuroscience·2025

Postural preparation for stepping involves adjusting muscle activity based on support constraints. Ankle plantarflexor activity modulation is not directly linked to center of pressure shifts during postural adjustments.

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Motor Control
  • Human Movement Science

Background:

  • Postural preparation is crucial for initiating voluntary movements like stepping.
  • Previous hypotheses suggested ankle plantarflexor activity directly drives center of pressure (COP) shifts for stepping.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate postural preparation adjustments during stepping from unstable support conditions.
  • To test the hypothesis that ankle plantarflexor activity modulates to produce COP shifts.

Main Methods:

  • Subjects initiated steps from quiet stance on support boards with reduced anterior-posterior dimensions.
  • Center of pressure (COP) shifts and muscle activation (leg and trunk) were measured.
  • Support conditions ranged from comfortable to near-zero width.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Stepping from unstable boards significantly decreased anterior-posterior COP shifts.
  • Increased horizontal force changes and muscle activation were observed under unstable conditions.
  • Modulation of ankle plantarflexor activity increased, but COP shifts were reduced.

Conclusions:

  • COP shifts and shear force changes are modulated independently and constraint-dependently during stepping.
  • Ankle plantarflexor activity modulation is not directly related to producing COP shifts during postural adjustments.