Using Neck Muscle Afferentation to Control an Ongoing Limb Movement? Individual Differences in the Influence of Brief Neck Vibration.

When preparing and executing goal-directed actions, neck proprioceptive information is critical to determining the relative positions of the body and target in space. While the contribution of neck proprioception for upper-limb movements has been previously investigated, we could not find evidence discerning its impact on the planning vs. online control of upper-limb trajectories.

[Investigations into the distribution of neohistamine methylsulfate in the organism of the warm blooded animals following its intragastric administration].

The objective - of the present study was to elucidate the specific features of the distribution of neohistamine methylsulfate (proserin) in the organism of the omnivorous warm blooded animals following its intragastric administration. The analytical methods included TLC, HPLC, and UV-spectrophotometry. Neohistamine methylsulfate was administered intrgastrically to the male Wistar rats at a dose equivalent to the triple LD dose.

High-Strength Composite Fibers from Cellulose-Lignin Blends Regenerated from Ionic Liquid Solution.

Composite fibres that contain cellulose and lignin were produced from ionic liquid solutions by dry-jet wet spinning. Eucalyptus dissolving pulp and organosolv/kraft lignin blends in different ratios were dissolved in the ionic liquid 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.

Effects of robotic guidance on sensorimotor control: planning vs. online control?

Background: Robotic guidance has been shown to facilitate motor skill acquisition, through altered sensorimotor control, in neurologically impaired and healthy populations.

Objective: To determine if robot-guided practice and online visual feedback availability primarily influences movement planning or online control mechanisms.

Methods: In this two-experiment study, participants first performed a pre-test involving reaches with or without vision, to obtain baseline measures.

Carboxymethylation of alkali extracted xylan for preparation of bio-based packaging films.

This study describes the synthesis of carboxymethylxylan (CMX) and investigates its suitability as a film for packaging applications. High-purity polymeric xylan was extracted from commercial bleached birch kraft pulp and converted to CMX with three different degrees of substitution (DSs). The water vapor sorption, mechanical, and barrier properties of the films prepared from CMX were tested.

Effects of balance training with visual feedback during mechanically unperturbed standing on postural corrective responses.

Evidence of a non-specific effect of balance training on postural control mechanisms suggests that balance training during mechanically unperturbed standing may improve postural corrective responses following external perturbations. The purpose of the present study was to examine kinematics of the trunk as well as muscular activity of the lower leg and paraspinal muscles during postural responses to support-surface rotations after short-term balance training. Experiments were performed in control (n=10) and experimental (n=11) groups.

Positive effect of balance training with visual feedback on standing balance abilities in people with incomplete spinal cord injury.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the learning potential and performance improvements during standing balance training with visual feedback (VBT) in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) and (2) to determine whether standing static and dynamic stability during training-irrelevant tasks can be improved after the VBT.

Setting: National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan.

Methods: Six participants with chronic motor and sensory incomplete SCI who were able to stand for at least 5 min without any form of assistive device performed the VBT, 3 days per week, for a total of 12 sessions.

Differential effects of plantar cutaneous afferent excitation on soleus stretch and H-reflex.

Previous studies have demonstrated that plantar cutaneous afferents can adjust motoneuron excitability, which may contribute significantly to the control of human posture and locomotion. However, the role of plantar cutaneous afferents in modulating the excitability of stretch and H-reflex with respect to the location of their excitation remains unclear. In the present study, it was hypothesized that electrical stimulation delivered to the sole of the foot might be followed by modulation of spinal excitability that depends on: (1) the stimulation location and (2) the reflex studied.

[Effect of long-term microgravity on the vestibular function].

Comprehensive computerized oculomotor testing was used to investigate the vestibular function in 9 Russian members of ISS crews 3-9 on days 1 (2), 4 (5) and 8 (9) of return from long-term stay in microgravity (126 to 195 days). The vestibular function was assessed by the static otolith-cervical-ocular reflex, dynamic otolith-cervical-ocular reactions, vestibular reactivity, and spontaneous oculomotor activity. The postflight investigations revealed functional disorders in the peripheral (an increased vestibular reactivity, absent or damped otolith-cervical-ocular reflex), and central (spontaneous typical and atypical nystagmus, gaze nystagmus) vestibular analyzer.

[Studies of the eye tracking function in changed sensory conditions with new soft- and hardware and computer tests].

The new soft- and hardware is intended to specifically test the eye-tracking profession in order to diagnose and monitor the ocular and related sensory systems. Oculography is used to investigate different forms, including spontaneous and evoked, of visual tracking by computer stimulation of the sensory inputs. The system validation was a part of the pre- and post-flight examination of Russian spacecrew members, and protocol of the 7-d dry immersion.

Effects of vestibular and support afferentation upon visual pursuit in microgravity.

Evaluation of the accuracy of eye turns (saccades) to fix a jerky pointed stimulus, and smooth pursuit of slow linear and sinusoidal movements of both pointed and optokinetic stimuli was performed in 31 cosmonauts on flight days 2-3, 5-8, 30, and once in one or two months of mission. An additional investigation of the eye pursuit function involved 10 cosmonauts, who, after testing during free floating, fulfilled stimulus tracking following a cycle of active head rotation, and 14 cosmonauts who received support afferentation. It was found that at the beginning of adaptation and periodically in the course of long mission, the systems of slow pursuit tracking adopted the strategy of saccadic approximation whereby gaze fixation was achieved through a sequence of macro- or microsaccadic movements.

[Pursuit function of the eye during 7-day dry immersion without and with a support stimulator].

A computerized comprehensive investigation of the oculomotor system was performed following dry immersion of 12 human subjects deprived of or provided with support afferentation stimulation. The purpose was to determine effects of weak proprioceptive, tactile and support afferentation on the eye pursuit parameters and significance of the support input for the ocular function. Individual and general characteristics of spontaneous and induced oculomotor reactions were described and effectiveness of the eye tracking correction by stimulation of foot support afferentation during immersion was evaluated.

[The algorithm of quantitative evaluation of the human state with the help of the Lusher test].

A Lusher test-based algorithm of the quantitative evaluation of the ability to perform under the conditions of determinant and stochastic stimuli was developed and validated in experiments with volunteered subjects.