Full Description
Neuromechanics is a new, quickly growing field of neuroscience research that merges neurophysiology, biomechanics and motor control and aims at understanding living systems and their elements through interactions between their neural and mechanical dynamic properties. Although research in Neuromechanics is not limited by computational approaches, neuromechanical modeling is a powerful tool that allows for integration of massive knowledge gained in the past several decades in organization of motion related brain and spinal cord activity, various body sensors and reflex pathways, muscle mechanical and physiological properties and detailed quantitative morphology of musculoskeletal systems. Recent work in neuromechanical modeling has demonstrated advantages of such an integrative approach and led to discoveries of new emergent properties of neuromechanical systems. Neuromechanical Modeling of Posture and Locomotion will cover a wide range of topics from theoretical studies linking the organization of reflex pathways and central pattern generating circuits with morphology and mechanics of the musculoskeletal system (Burkholder; Nichols; Shevtsova et al.) to detailed neuromechanical models of postural and locomotor control (Bunderson; Edwards, Marking et al., Ting). Furthermore, uniquely diverse modeling approaches will be presented in the book including a theoretical dynamic analysis of locomotor phase transitions (Spardy and Rubin), a hybrid computational modeling that allows for in vivo interactions between parts of a living organism and a computer model (Edwards et al.), a physical neuromechanical model of the human locomotor system (Lewis), and others.
Contents
Preface.- Better science through predictive modeling: Numerical tools for understanding neuromechanical interactions.- A neuromechanical model of spinal control of locomotion.- Neural regulation of limb mechanics: Insights from the organization of proprioceptive circuits.- Model-based approaches to understanding musculoskeletal filtering of neural signals.- Modeling the organization of spinal cord neural circuits controlling two-joint muscles.- Muscles: non-linear transformers of motor neuron activity.- Why is neuromechanical modeling of balance and locomotion so hard?.- Neuromusculoskeletal modeling for the adaptive control of posture during locomotion.- Model-based interpretations of experimental data related to the control of balance during stance and gait in humans.- Computing motion dependent afferent activity during cat locomotion using a forward dynamics musculoskeletal model.- Modeling and optimality analysis of pectoral fin locomotion.- Control of cat walking and paw-shakeby a multifunctional central pattern generator.
