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Motor Control Programs and Walking

Department of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; y.ivanenko{at}hsantalucia.it

Richard E. Poppele

Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Francesco Lacquaniti

Department of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience and Centre of Space Bio-medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

The question of how the central nervous system coordinates muscle activity is central to an understanding of motor control. The authors argue that motor programs may be considered as a characteristic timing of muscle activations linked to specific kinematic events. In particular, muscle activity occurring during human locomotion can be accounted for by five basic temporal components in a variety of locomotion conditions. Spatiotemporal maps of spinal cord motoneuron activation also show discrete periods of activity. Furthermore, the coordination of locomotion with voluntary tasks is accomplished through a superposition of motor programs or activation timings that are separately associated with each task. As a consequence, the selection of muscle synergies appears to be downstream from the processes that generate activation timings.

Key Words: EMG activity • Muscle synergies • Central pattern generator • Time • Human locomotion

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