Hierarchical Organization and Adjustment of Force Coordination in Response to Self-Triggered and External-Triggered Cues in Simulated Archery Performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hierarchical organization of digit force production and its effect on stability and performance during the simulated archery task. The simulated archery shooting task required the production of a prescribed level of force in virtual space with the left hand and an equivalent force with all 4 fingers of right hand. A single trial had 2 phases, including static force production as aiming in archery and quick force release to shoot the virtual arrow. The timing of the force release was determined by the participant's choice or response to the external cue. The coordination indices, that is, the synergy index, of force stabilization were quantified in 2 hierarchies by decomposing the variance components. The accuracy and precision of the hit position of the virtual arrow were calculated as performance-related indices. The results confirmed that the precision, that is, reproducibility, of the performance was greater when the force release time was determined by the self-selected time, suggesting the beneficial effect of the anticipatory mechanism. There was a distinct synergistic organization of digit forces for the stabilization of net forces in both bimanual and multifinger levels, which was especially correlated with the precision of performance.

Effects of Diabetes and Voluntary Exercise on IgA Concentration and Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor Expression in the Submandibular Gland of Rats.

Background and Objectives: Patients with diabetes are more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) because they are easily infected. Salivary IgA (sali-IgA) levels play a major role in transmitting URTIs. Sali-IgA levels are determined by salivary gland IgA production and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (poly-IgR) expression. However, it is unknown whether salivary gland IgA production and poly-IgR expression are decreased in patients with diabetes. While exercise is reported to increase or decrease the sali-IgA levels, it is unclear how exercise affects the salivary glands of patients with diabetes. This study aimed to determine the effects of diabetes and voluntary exercise on IgA production and poly-IgR expression in the salivary glands of diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Ten spontaneously diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats (eight-week-old) were divided into two groups of five rats each: a non-exercise group (OLETF-C) and a voluntary wheel-running group (OLETF-E). Five Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats without diabetes were bred under the same conditions as the OLETF-C. Sixteen weeks after the study began, the submandibular glands (SGs) were collected and analyzed for IgA and poly-IgR expression levels. Results: IgA concentrations and poly-IgR expression levels in SGs were lower in OLETF-C and OLETF-E than in LETO (p < 0.05). These values did not differ between the OLETF-C and OLETF-E. Conclusions: Diabetes decreases IgA production and poly-IgR expression in the salivary glands of rats. Moreover, voluntary exercise increases sali-IgA levels but does not increase IgA production and poly-IgR expression in the salivary glands of diabetic rats. Increasing IgA production and poly-IgR expression in the salivary glands, which is reduced in diabetes, might require slightly higher-intensity exercise than voluntary exercise under the supervision of a doctor.

Comparison of Characteristics of a ZnO Gas Sensor Using a Low-Dimensional Carbon Allotrope.

Owing to the increasing construction of new buildings, the increase in the emission of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds, which are emitted as indoor air pollutants, is causing adverse effects on the human body, including life-threatening diseases such as cancer. A gas sensor was fabricated and used to measure and monitor this phenomenon. An alumina substrate with Au, Pt, and Zn layers formed on the electrode was used for the gas sensor fabrication, which was then classified into two types, A and B, representing the graphene spin coating before and after the heat treatment, respectively. Ultrasonication was performed in a 0.01 M aqueous solution, and the variation in the sensing accuracy of the target gas with the operating temperature and conditions was investigated. As a result, compared to the ZnO sensor showing excellent sensing characteristics at 350 °C, it exhibited excellent sensing characteristics even at a low temperature of 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C.

Linkage and QTL mapping for tuber shape and specific gravity in a tetraploid mapping population of potato representing the russet market class.

BACKGROUND: Tuber shape and specific gravity (dry matter) are important agronomic traits in potato processing and impact production costs, quality, and consistency of the final processed food products such as French fries and potato chips. In this study, linkage and QTL mapping were performed for these two traits to allow for the implementation of marker-assisted selection to facilitate breeding efforts in the russet market class. Two parents, Rio Grande Russet (female) and Premier Russet (male) and their 205 F1 progenies were initially phenotyped for tuber shape and specific gravity in field trials conducted in Idaho and North Carolina in 2010 and 2011, with specific gravity also being measured in Minnesota in 2011. Progenies and parents were previously genotyped using the Illumina SolCAP Infinium 8303 Potato SNP array, with ClusterCall and MAPpoly (R-packages) subsequently used for autotetraploid SNP calling and linkage mapping in this study. The 12 complete linkage groups and phenotypic data were then imported into QTLpoly, an R-package designed for polyploid QTL analyses. RESULTS: Significant QTL for tuber shape were detected on chromosomes 4, 7, and 10, with heritability estimates ranging from 0.09 to 0.36. Significant tuber shape QTL on chromosomes 4 and 7 were specific to Idaho and North Carolina environments, respectively, whereas the QTL on chromosome 10 was significant regardless of growing environment. Single marker analyses identified alleles in the parents associated with QTL on chromosomes 4, 7, and 10 that contributed to significant differences in tuber shape among progenies. Significant QTL were also identified for specific gravity on chromosomes 1 and 5 with heritability ranging from 0.12 to 0.21 and were reflected across environments. CONCLUSION: Fully automated linkage mapping and QTL analysis were conducted to identify significant QTL for tuber shape and dry matter in a tetraploid mapping population representing the russet market class. The findings are important for the development of molecular markers useful to potato breeders for marker-assisted selection for the long tuber shape and acceptable dry matter required by the potato industry within this important market class.

Plasma mirror focal spot quality for glass and aluminum mirrors for laser pulses up to 20 ps.

High-intensity short-pulse lasers are being pushed further as applications continue to demand higher laser intensities. Uses such as radiography and laser-driven particle acceleration require these higher intensities to produce the necessary x-ray and particle fluxes. Achieving these intensities, however, is limited by the damage threshold of costly optics and the complexity of target chambers. This is evidenced by the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) short-pulse laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, producing four high-energy $ \approx 1\;{\rm kJ} $≈1kJ laser pulses at 30 ps pulse duration, being limited to an intensity of $ {10^{18}}\;{\rm W}/{{\rm cm}^2} $1018W/cm2 by the large focal spot size of $ \approx 100\;{\unicode{x00B5}{\rm m}} $≈100µm. Due to the setup complexity of NIF, changing the location of the final focusing parabola in order to improve the focal spot size is not an option. This leads to the possible use of disposable ellipsoidal plasma mirrors (PMs) placed within the chamber, close to the target in an attempt to refocus the four ARC beams. However, the behavior of PMs at these relatively long pulse durations (tens of picoseconds) is not well characterized. The results from the COMET laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility carried out at 0.5 to 20 ps pulse durations on flat mirrors are presented as a necessary first step towards focusing curved mirrors. The findings show defocusing at longer pulse durations and higher intensities, with less degradation when using aluminum coated mirrors.

Effects of spastic cerebral palsy on multi-finger coordination during isometric force production tasks.

In this study, we quantified changes in finger interdependence (enslaving), multi-finger synergies, and feedforward modulation of synergy properties (i.e., anticipatory synergy adjustment) during single- and multi-finger force production tasks in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Spastic diplegic CP and healthy control subjects performed sets of finger force production tasks by each of the hands, including maximal force production and submaximal quick pulse force production in an isometric condition. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis was used to quantify the indices of multi-finger synergies and the anticipatory synergy adjustment (ASA). The CP group showed lower maximal forces and higher indices of finger interdependence (enslaving), while the indices of multi-finger synergies stabilizing total finger forces during stable force production were not different significantly compared to the controls. Further, the time of ASA for the CP group was not delayed. The CP group showed a significantly less drop in the synergy indices during the anticipatory and quick pulse phase compared to the control group, which was accompanied by larger co-contraction indices of the forearm muscles. These findings suggest that the function of assembling motor synergies for stable force production is not affected by CP, while the ability to modulate synergy properties may be impaired with CP partially due to spasticity. The spasticity presumably hampers the purposeful feedforward destabilization of the performance. The results suggest that quantification of multi-digit synergies may provide an alternative tool for quantitative assessment of impaired coordination in the CP individuals.

Ethanol production from xylose is highly increased by the Kluyveromyces marxianus mutant 17694-DH1.

Directed evolutionary approach and random mutagenesis were performed on thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus KCTC17694 for isolating a yeast strain producing ethanol from xylose efficiently. The isolated mutant strain, K. marxianus 17694-DH1, showed 290% and 131% improvement in ethanol concentration and ethanol production yield from xylose, respectively, as compared with the parental strain. Sequencing of the KmXYL1 gene of K. marxianus 17694-DH1 revealed substitutions of arginine and tryptophan with lysine and leucine at positions 25 and 202, respectively, as compared to the parental strain. In addition, sequencing of the KmXYL2 gene uncovered a substitution of glutamate with leucine at position 232. When enzymatic assays of xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) from the parental strain and K. marxianus 17694-DH1 were performed, XR activities were not significantly different whereas XDH activities were significantly improved in the mutant strain up to 50 °C of reaction temperatures. RNA-Seq based transcriptome analysis showed that alcohol dehydrogenases and glucose transporters were up-regulated while TCA cycle involved enzymes were down-regulated in K. marxianus 17694-DH1.

Prehension synergies and hand function in early-stage Parkinson's disease.

We explored the multi-digit synergies and hand performance in object manipulations and pressing tasks in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy controls. Synergies were defined as inter-trials co-variation patterns among forces/moments produced by individual digits that stabilized a resultant mechanical variable. The subjects performed three main tasks: pressing (steady-state force production followed by a force pulse into the target), prehension (manipulation of a handheld instrumented handle imitating the action of taking a sip from a glass), and functional object manipulation (moving a glass with water as quickly and accurately as possible along a chain of targets). The PD patients were slower compared to controls in all three tasks. Patients showed smaller synergy indices in the pressing and prehension tasks. In the prehension tasks, patients showed elevated grip force at steady states with smaller grip force modulation during the handle motion. PD patients showed smaller feed-forward synergy adjustments in preparation to the quick action in the pressing and (to a smaller degree) prehension tasks. Synergy indices correlated with the time index of performance in the functional glass-with-water task, whereas none of the indices correlated with the Unified PD Rating Scale part III-motor scores. We interpret the results as pointing at an important role of subcortical structures in motor synergies and their feed-forward adjustments to action.

EFFECT OF RESISTANCE TRAINING OF THE WRIST JOINT MUSCLES ON MULTI-DIGIT COORDINATION.

This study investigated the effects of a specific regimen of resistance training on coordinated actions of human hand digits during grasping. Participants were instructed to hold a rectangular object with all five digits and to maintain the orientation of the object against transient perturbation. Indices of co-varied actions (i.e., synergies) among multi-digit grasping and rotational actions were quantified. The index of anticipatory changes of co-varied actions among digit forces (i.e., anticipatory synergy adjustment) was also quantified, which represents the controller's ability to predict an upcoming perturbation. The synergies of both grasping force and moment stabilization increased with the training. No change in the index of anticipatory synergy adjustment with training was observed. The current results suggest that the resistance training on the wrist could be an effective way to enhance both voluntary muscle force/torque production capability and ability to stabilize task performances during multi-digit prehensile tasks.

Effect of Warm-Up Exercise on Functional Regulation of Motor Unit Activation during Isometric Torque Production.

In this study, we tested several hypotheses related to changes in motor unit activation patterns after warm-up exercise. Fifteen healthy young men participated in the experiment and the main task was to produce voluntary torque through the elbow joint under the isometric condition. The experimental conditions consisted of two directions of torque, including flexion and extension, at two joint angles, 10° and 90°. Participants were asked to increase the joint torque to the maximal level at a rate of 10% of the maximum voluntary torque. The warm-up protocol followed the ACSM guidelines, which increased body temperature by approximately 1.5°C. Decomposition electromyography electrodes, capable of extracting multiple motor unit action potentials from surface signals, were placed on the biceps and triceps brachii muscles, and joint torque was measured on the dynamometer. The mean firing rate and the recruitment threshold of the decomposed motor units were quantified. In addition, a single motor unit activity from the spike train was quantified for each of five selected motor units. The magnitude of joint torque increased with the warm-up exercise for all the experimental conditions. The results of the motor unit analyses showed a positive and beneficial effect of the warm-up exercise, with an increase in both the mean firing rate and the recruitment threshold by about 56% and 33%, respectively, particularly in the agonist muscle. Power spectral density in the gamma band, which is thought to be the dominant voluntary activity, was also increased by the warm-up exercise only in the high threshold motor units.

QTL identified that influence tuber length-width ratio, degree of flatness, tuber size, and specific gravity in a russet-skinned, tetraploid mapping population.

Potato tuber shape, size, and specific gravity are important agronomic traits in the russet market class of potatoes with an impact on quality, consistency, and product recovery of processed foods such as French fries. Therefore, identifying genetic regions associated with the three traits through quantitative trait locus/loci (QTL) analysis is a crucial process in the subsequent development of marker-assisted selection for use in potato breeding programs. QTL analysis was conducted on a tetraploid mapping population consisting of 190 individuals derived from the cross between two russet-skinned parents, Palisade Russet and the breeding clone ND028673B-2Russ. Field data collected over a 2-year period and used in the QTL analyses included tuber length-width and width-depth ratios that were obtained using a digital caliper. The width-depth ratio provided an assessment of the "flatness" of a tuber, which is of importance in potato processing. To cross-validate the accuracy and differences among tuber shape measurement methods, a trained evaluator also assessed the identical tubers based on 1-5 scale (compressed to long) visual assessment method. Furthermore, the weights of analyzed tubers and specific gravities were also collected during the phenotyping process for each mapping clone. A major tuber shape QTL was consistently observed on chromosome 10 with both the length-width ratio and visual assessments. On chromosome 4, a significant QTL for tuber shape from the visual assessment phenotypic data was also detected. Additionally, a tuber shape-related QTL on chromosome 6 was also detected from the length-width ratio data from 2020. Chromosome 2 was also identified as having a significant QTL for the width-depth ratio, which is of importance in influencing the flatness of a tuber. One significant QTL for tuber weight (i.e., tuber size) was observed on chromosome 5, and a significant QTL for specific gravity was found on chromosome 3. These significant and major QTL should be useful for developing marker-assisted selection for more efficient potato breeding.

Bilateral Back Extensor Exosuit for multidimensional assistance and prevention of spinal injuries.

Lumbar spine injuries resulting from heavy or repetitive lifting remain a prevalent concern in workplaces. Back-support devices have been developed to mitigate these injuries by aiding workers during lifting tasks. However, existing devices often fall short in providing multidimensional force assistance for asymmetric lifting, an essential feature for practical workplace use. In addition, validation of device safety across the entire human spine has been lacking. This paper introduces the Bilateral Back Extensor Exosuit (BBEX), a robotic back-support device designed to address both functionality and safety concerns. The design of the BBEX draws inspiration from the anatomical characteristics of the human spine and back extensor muscles. Using a multi-degree-of-freedom architecture and serially connected linear actuators, the device's components are strategically arranged to closely mimic the biomechanics of the human spine and back extensor muscles. To establish the efficacy and safety of the BBEX, a series of experiments with human participants was conducted. Eleven healthy male participants engaged in symmetric and asymmetric lifting tasks while wearing the BBEX. The results confirm the ability of the BBEX to provide effective multidimensional force assistance. Moreover, comprehensive safety validation was achieved through analyses of muscle fatigue in the upper and the lower erector spinae muscles, as well as mechanical loading on spinal joints during both lifting scenarios. By seamlessly integrating functionality inspired by human biomechanics with a focus on safety, this study offers a promising solution to address the persistent challenge of preventing lumbar spine injuries in demanding work environments.

Effects of muscle vibration on multi-finger interaction and coordination.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of changes in the proprioceptive signals induced by muscle vibration on multi-finger interaction and coordination. We hypothesized that unintended force production by non-instructed fingers (enslaving) would increase with muscle vibration while synergy indices during steady-state force production would drop. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis was used to quantify indices of multi-finger synergies stabilizing total force during steady-state force production and anticipatory changes in these indices (anticipatory synergy adjustments, ASAs) in preparation to a quick force pulse production with and without hand-muscle vibration at 80 Hz. The dominant hands of twelve healthy right-handed subjects were tested under three conditions: no vibration, vibration of the palmar surface of the hand, and vibration of the forearm applied over the flexor muscles. There were no significant effects of vibration on maximal voluntary force. The magnitude of enslaving was larger during vibration of the hand compared to the other two conditions. During steady-state force production, strong synergies stabilizing total force were seen in all three conditions; however, indices of force-stabilizing synergies were lower during vibration of the hand. Prior to the force pulse initiation, the synergy index started to drop earlier and over a larger magnitude without vibration compared to either vibration condition. Effects of vibration on enslaving and synergy index may be due to diffuse reflex effects of the induced afferent activity on alpha-motoneuronal pools innervating the extrinsic flexor compartments. We conclude that multi-finger synergies are not based on signals from muscle receptors. The smaller synergy indices and ASAs may reflect supraspinal effects of the vibration-induced afferent activity, in particular its interactions with trans-thalamic loops.

Effects of Parkinson's disease on optimization and structure of variance in multi-finger tasks.

We explored the role of the basal ganglia in two components of multi-finger synergies by testing a group of patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease and a group of healthy controls. Synergies were defined as co-varied adjustments of commands to individual fingers that reduced variance of the total force and moment of force. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis was used to quantify such co-variation patterns, while average performance across repetitive trials (sharing patterns) was analyzed using the analytical inverse optimization (ANIO) approach. The subjects performed four-finger pressing tasks that involved the accurate production of combinations of the total force and total moment of force and also repetitive trials at two selected combinations of the total force and moment. The ANIO approach revealed significantly larger deviations of the experimental data planes from an optimal plane for the patients compared to the control subjects. The synergy indices computed for total force stabilization were significantly higher in the control subjects compared to the patients; this was not true for synergy indices computed for moment of force stabilization. The differences in the synergy indices were due to the larger amount of variance that affected total force in the patients, while the amount of variance that did not affect total force was comparable between the groups. We conclude that the basal ganglia play an important role in both components of synergies reflecting optimization of the sharing patterns and stability of performance with respect to functionally important variables.

Multi-muscle Synergies of Postural Control in Self- and External-Triggered Force Release During Simulated Archery Shooting.

We investigated postural stability during simulated archery shooting. The experiment consisted of two force release conditions: self-triggered (time-set in a feedforward fashion) and external cue-triggered (time-set by reacting to external cue) conditions while standing on the force platform. The electromyography of leg muscles and the center of pressure (COP) were recorded. The notions of muscle-modes (M-modes) and multi-muscle synergies were employed to quantify the postural stability, which described covariation patterns of the M-modes to stabilize the COP. The result showed relatively strong postural stability in a self-triggered condition associated with consistent shooting performance. The current findings suggested that initiating force release in a feedforward fashion would be a beneficial strategy to ensure the consistency in shooting performance.

Identification of QTL associated with plant vine characteristics and infection response to late blight, early blight, and Verticillium wilt in a tetraploid potato population derived from late blight-resistant Palisade Russet.

Potato late blight (causal agent Phytophthora infestans) is a disease of potatoes with economic importance worldwide. Control is primarily through field monitoring and the application of fungicides. Control of late blight with fungicides and host plant resistance is difficult, with documented cases of such control measures failing with the advent of new pathotypes of P. infestans. To better understand host plant resistance and to develop more durable late blight resistance, Quantitative Trait Locus/Loci (QTL) analysis was conducted on a tetraploid mapping population derived from late blight-resistant potato cultivar Palisade Russet. Additionally, QTL analyses for other traits such as Verticillium wilt and early blight resistance, vine size and maturity were performed to identify a potential relationship between multiple traits and prepare genetic resources for molecular markers useful in breeding programs. For this, one hundred ninety progenies from intercrossing Palisade Russet with a late blight susceptible breeding clone (ND028673B-2Russ) were assessed. Two parents and progenies were evaluated over a two-year period for response to infection by the US-8 genotype of P. infestans in inoculated field screenings in Corvallis, Oregon. In Aberdeen, Idaho, the same mapping population was also evaluated for phenotypic response to early blight and Verticillium wilt, and vine size and maturity in a field over a two-year period. After conducting QTL analyses with those collected phenotype data, it was observed that chromosome 5 has a significant QTL for all five traits. Verticillium wilt and vine maturity QTL were also observed on chromosome 1, and vine size QTL was also found on chromosomes 3 and 10. An early blight QTL was also detected on chromosome 2. The QTL identified in this study have the potential for converting into breeder-friendly molecular markers for marker-assisted selection.

Decoupled Control of Grasp and Rotation Constraints During Prehension of Weightless Objects.

Gravity provides critical information for the adjustment of body movement or manipulation of the handheld object. Indeed, the changes in gravity modify the mechanical constraints of prehensile actions, which may be accompanied by the changes in control strategies. The current study examined the effect of the gravitational force of a handheld object on the control strategies for subactions of multidigit prehension. A total of eight subjects performed prehensile tasks while grasping and lifting the handle by about 250 mm along the vertical direction. The experiment consisted of two conditions: lifting gravity-induced (1g) and weightless (0g) handheld objects. The weightless object condition was implemented utilizing a robot arm that produced a constant antigravitational force of the handle. The current analysis was limited to the two-dimensional grasping plane, and the notion of the virtual finger was employed to formulate the cause-effect chain of elemental variables during the prehensile action. The results of correlation analyses confirmed that decoupled organization of two subsets of mechanical variables was observed in both 1g and 0g conditions. While lifting the handle, the two subsets of variables were assumed to contribute to the grasping and rotational equilibrium, respectively. Notably, the normal forces of the thumb and virtual finger had strong positive correlations. In contrast, the normal forces had no significant relationship with the variables as to the moment of force. We conclude that the gravitational force had no detrimental effect on adjustments of the mechanical variables for the rotational action and its decoupling from the grasping equilibrium.

Anthropometric, physical activity, and psychological characteristics of Korean adults with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD).

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), also known as Dyspraxia, is characterized by movement difficulties in individuals without discernible neurological disorders or identifiable medical conditions. Previous studies from various countries have highlighted disparities in anthropometric, physical activity, and psychological characteristics between children diagnosed with DCD and their typically developing (TD) peers. These differences are influenced by sociocultural norms and geographical locations. However, little attention has been given to scrutinizing analogous differences in adult populations, particularly within Republic of Korea. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by employing a battery of questionnaires to assess anthropometric, physical activity, and psychological traits in a cohort of 377 Korean adults, encompassing those with DCD (n = 54) alongside TD counterparts (n = 323). It was hypothesized that Korean adults with DCD would exhibit higher body mass index and lower ratings in physical activity and psychological characteristics than TD, consistent with the previous studies performed in other countries on children. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the DCD and TD groups in anthropometric characteristics such as weight (kg), height (cm), and body mass index. The prevalence of walking and biking for daily commuting in daily routines within Korean society might have contributed to the mitigation of anthropometric among individuals with/without DCD. Statistically significant differences were found in physical activity levels at work and recreational settings, as shown in physical activity scores and duration. The DCD group also displayed lower scores across several psychological characteristics, including exercise adherence, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, physical self-concept, exercise expectations, and intrinsic regulation. These findings underscore the necessity of incorporating sociocultural dynamics when investigating anthropometric, physical activity, and psychological characteristics in adults with DCD. Their perceived difficulties in fine motor skills were also significantly poor than TD. Future research studies are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving the observed patterns in this study, thus contributing to a more nuanced comprehension of how DCD manifests within specific sociocultural contexts.

Changes in multifinger interaction and coordination in Parkinson's disease.

In this study, we tested several hypotheses related to changes in finger interaction and multifinger synergies during multifinger force production tasks in Parkinson's disease. Ten patients with Parkinson's disease, mostly early stage, and 11 healthy control subjects participated in the study. Synergies were defined as covaried adjustment of commands to fingers that stabilized the total force produced by the hand. Both Parkinson's disease patients and control subjects performed accurate isometric force production tasks with the fingers of both the dominant and nondominant hands. The Parkinson's disease patients showed significantly lower maximal finger forces and higher unintended force production (enslaving). These observations suggest that changes in supraspinal control have a major effect on finger individuation. The synergy indexes in the patients were weaker in both steady-state and cyclic force production tasks compared with the controls. These indexes also were stronger in the left (nondominant) hand in support of the dynamic-dominance hypothesis. Half of the patients could not perform the cyclic task at the highest frequency (2 Hz). Anticipatory adjustments of synergies prior to a quick force pulse production were delayed and reduced in the patients compared with the controls. Similar differences were observed between the asymptomatic hands of the patients with symptoms limited to one side of the body and matched hands of control subjects. Our study demonstrates that the elusive changes in motor coordination in Parkinson's disease can be quantified objectively, even in patients at a relatively early stage of the disease. The results suggest an important role of the basal ganglia in synergy formation and demonstrate a previously unknown component of impaired feedforward control in Parkinson's disease reflected in the reduced and delayed anticipatory synergy adjustments.

Optimality versus variability: effect of fatigue in multi-finger redundant tasks.

We used two methods to address two aspects of multi-finger synergies and their changes after fatigue of the index finger. Analytical inverse optimization (ANIO) was used to identify cost functions and corresponding spaces of optimal solutions over a broad range of task parameters. Analysis within the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis was used to quantify co-variation of finger forces across repetitive trials that helped reduce variability of (stabilized) performance variables produced by all the fingers together. Subjects produced steady-state levels of total force and moment of force simultaneously as accurately as possible by pressing with the four fingers of the right hand. Both before and during fatigue, the subjects performed single trials for many force-moment combinations covering a broad range; the data were used for the ANIO analysis. Multiple trials were performed at two force-moment combinations; these data were used for analysis within the UCM hypothesis. Fatigue was induced by 1-min maximal voluntary contraction exercise by the index finger. Principal component (PC) analysis showed that the first two PCs explained over 90% of the total variance both before and during fatigue. Hence, experimental observations formed a plane in the four-dimensional finger force space both before and during fatigue conditions. Based on this finding, quadratic cost functions with linear terms were estimated from the experimental data. The dihedral angle between the plane of optimal solutions and the plane of experimental observations (D (ANGLE)) was very small (a few degrees); it increased during fatigue. There was an increase in fatigue of the coefficient at the quadratic term for the index finger force balanced by a drop in the coefficients for the ring and middle fingers. Within each finger pair (index-middle and ring-little), the contribution of the "central" fingers to moment production increased during fatigue. An index of antagonist moment production dropped with fatigue. Fatigue led to higher co-variation indices during pronation tasks (index finger is an agonist) but opposite effects during supination tasks. The results suggest that adaptive changes in co-variation indices that help stabilize performance may depend on the role of the fatigued element, agonist or antagonist.