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 Concept Videos

Muscle Coordination and Action01:24

Muscle Coordination and Action

3.6K
Muscle coordination is a complex and finely tuned process essential for smooth and purposeful movements like flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, and rotation. The human body orchestrates the actions of various muscles working in concert, each with a specific role. Four functional types describe how muscles work together: agonist, antagonist, synergist, and fixator.
Agonists
Agonist muscles, often called prime movers, are the primary muscles responsible for producing a specific movement....
3.6K
Methods of Medium Optimization01:28

Methods of Medium Optimization

49
Optimizing growth media enhances microbial proliferation and maximizes product yield. Statistical experimental design methodologies provide structured and reproducible approaches, offering progressively higher levels of robustness and efficiency.The One-Factor-at-a-Time (OFAT) MethodThe One-Factor-at-a-Time (OFAT) method involves adjusting a single variable while keeping all others constant. However, it cannot detect interactions between variables, often leading to suboptimal outcomes when...
49
Feedback control systems01:26

Feedback control systems

793
Feedback control systems are categorized in various ways based on their design, analysis, and signal types.
Linear feedback systems are theoretical models that simplify analysis and design. These systems operate under the principle that their output is directly proportional to their input within certain ranges. For instance, an amplifier in a control system behaves linearly as long as the input signal remains within a specific range. However, most physical systems exhibit inherent nonlinearity...
793
Open and closed-loop control systems01:17

Open and closed-loop control systems

2.0K
Control systems are foundational elements in automation and engineering. They are broadly categorized into open-loop and closed-loop systems. These classifications hinge on the presence or absence of feedback mechanisms, significantly influencing the system's performance, complexity, and application.
An open-loop control system operates without feedback from the output. It consists of two primary elements: the controller and the controlled process. The controller receives an input signal...
2.0K
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles01:20

Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles

19.9K
Excitation-contraction coupling is a series of events that occur between generating an action potential and initiating a muscle contraction. It occurs at the triad, a structure found in skeletal muscle fibers that comprise a T-tubule and terminal cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum on each side. These triads are visible in longitudinally sectioned muscle fibers. They are typically located at the A-I junction — the junction between the A and I bands of the sarcomere.
When an action...
19.9K
Design Example: Frog Muscle Response01:14

Design Example: Frog Muscle Response

725
A student is tasked to work on an intriguing experiment involving an RL (Resistor-Inductor) circuit to study the muscle response of a frog's leg to electrical stimulation. The RL circuit plays a crucial role in this experiment, providing the means to control and measure the electrical impulses that trigger muscle contraction.
When the switch connecting the RL circuit is closed, a brief muscle contraction is observed. This is because, at a steady state, the inductor acts like a short...
725

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Examining a Stabilization Center for Patients with Alcohol or Opioid Intoxication Transported by Paramedics: A Cohort Study of an Emergency Department Diversion Model.

Prehospital emergency care·2025
Same author

Time-warping analysis for biological signals: methodology and application.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Human-Aware Control for Physically Interacting Robots.

Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

Stuck in Transition: Clinical and Patient Factors Behind Prolonged Paramedic to Emergency Department Transfer of Care.

Prehospital emergency care·2025
Same author

Optimal Implant Positioning Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Using Predictive Dynamic Simulation.

Journal of biomechanical engineering·2024
Same author

Inferring control objectives in a virtual balancing task in humans and monkeys.

eLife·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion
09:32

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion

Published on: April 11, 2018

10.4K

A model-based approach to predict muscle synergies using optimization: application to feedback control.

Reza Sharif Razavian1, Naser Mehrabi1, John McPhee1

  • 1Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo Waterloo, ON, Canada.

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience
|October 27, 2015
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a novel biomechanical model to define muscle synergies, offering a task-specific, low-dimensional control space for musculoskeletal systems. This method bypasses traditional effort minimization for bio-plausible feedback control.

Keywords:
dynamic redundancymodel-based approachmuscle synergyoperational spaceoptimizationreal-time controltask-specificunique solution

More Related Videos

A Structured Rehabilitation Protocol for Improved Multifunctional Prosthetic Control: A Case Study
06:58

A Structured Rehabilitation Protocol for Improved Multifunctional Prosthetic Control: A Case Study

Published on: November 6, 2015

10.4K
Force and Position Control in Humans - The Role of Augmented Feedback
06:31

Force and Position Control in Humans - The Role of Augmented Feedback

Published on: June 19, 2016

8.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion
09:32

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion

Published on: April 11, 2018

10.4K
A Structured Rehabilitation Protocol for Improved Multifunctional Prosthetic Control: A Case Study
06:58

A Structured Rehabilitation Protocol for Improved Multifunctional Prosthetic Control: A Case Study

Published on: November 6, 2015

10.4K
Force and Position Control in Humans - The Role of Augmented Feedback
06:31

Force and Position Control in Humans - The Role of Augmented Feedback

Published on: June 19, 2016

8.3K

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Motor Control
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Muscle synergies are fundamental to motor control, traditionally extracted via factorization of electromyographic (EMG) data.
  • Existing methods often lack direct biological plausibility or task specificity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a novel model-based method for defining muscle synergies.
  • To establish muscle synergies as solutions to an optimal control problem within a biomechanical framework.
  • To demonstrate task-specific synergies that reduce control dimensionality.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a model-based approach utilizing optimal control theory.
  • Defined muscle synergies as solutions derived from biomechanical models.
  • Applied the method to 2D forearm and 3D driver arm models.
  • Validated posture-dependent synergies against factorization methods.

Main Results:

  • The number of synergies directly corresponds to the operational space dimensions.
  • Estimated synergies are posture-dependent and correlate with existing methods.
  • Synergies are task-specific, enabling accurate force generation in operational spaces (e.g., elbow, steering wheel angles).
  • Achieved a low-dimensional control space without needing effort minimization criteria.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed method provides a functional, bio-plausible definition of muscle synergies.
  • This approach facilitates fast feedback control for musculoskeletal systems.
  • Significant implications for engineering, motor control research, and biomechanics.