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Muscle synergies in joystick manipulation
Liming Cai1,2, Shuhao Yan2,3, Chuanyun Ouyang2,3
1Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Frontiers in Physiology
|October 30, 2023
Summary
Expert joystick manipulation relies on refined upper-limb muscle synergies. Advanced maneuvering experience correlates with better performance and more stable muscle activation patterns, but doesn't change the fundamental synergy structure.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics and Motor Control
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Muscle synergies, extracted from surface electromyographic signals (sEMGs), are crucial for understanding motor control strategies during various tasks.
- Joystick manipulation performance is a key indicator in fields ranging from transportation to sports, yet the underlying neuromuscular control is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between upper-limb muscle synergies and the performance of joystick manipulation tasks across different levels of maneuvering experience.
- To analyze how muscle synergy characteristics, such as synergy pattern space and center of activity (CoA) variability, correlate with manipulation performance metrics.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-seven subjects with varying maneuvering experience performed joystick tasks, with performance measured by error, standard deviation, and range.
- Surface electromyographic (sEMG) and acceleration data from upper limbs were collected during the tasks.
- Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) extracted muscle synergies, and the synergy coordination index (SCI) assessed temporal activation variability.
Main Results:
- A positive correlation was found between joystick manipulation performance and maneuvering experience.
- Muscle synergy patterns were similar across experience groups, indicating task-specific stability.
- A stronger correlation between manipulation performance and muscle synergy metrics was observed in subjects with extensive experience.
Conclusions:
- Long-term training enhances manipulation performance, synergy stability, and temporal activation variability without altering the fundamental muscle synergy structure for the task.
- These findings can inform methods for reducing manipulation errors, improving training, and designing assistive technologies for sports and transportation.
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