TY - JOUR A1 - Schaefer, Laura A1 - Dech, Silas A1 - Bittmann, Frank T1 - Adaptive force and emotionally related imaginations BT - Preliminary results suggest a reduction of the maximal holding capacity as reaction to disgusting food imagination JF - Heliyon N2 - The link between emotions and motor control has been discussed for years. The measurement of the Adaptive Force (AF) provides the possibility to get insights into the adaptive control of the neuromuscular system in reaction to external forces. It was hypothesized that the holding isometric AF is especially vulnerable to disturbing inputs. Here, the behavior of the AF under the influence of positive (tasty) vs. negative (disgusting) food imaginations was investigated. The AF was examined in n = 12 cases using an objectified manual muscle test of the hip flexors, elbow flexors or pectoralis major muscle, performed by one of two experienced testers while the participants imagined their most tasty or most disgusting food. The reaction force and the limb position were measured by a handheld device. While the slope of force rises and the maximal AF did not differ significantly between tasty and disgusting imaginations (p > 0.05), the maximal isometric AF was significantly lower and the AF at the onset of oscillations was significantly higher under disgusting vs. tasty imaginations (both p = 0.001). A proper length tension control of muscles seems to be a crucial functional parameter of the neuromuscular system which can be impaired instantaneously by emotionally related negative imaginations. This might be a potential approach to evaluate somatic reactions to emotions. KW - Adaptive Force KW - Isometric Adaptive Force KW - Holding capacity KW - Holding KW - isometric muscle action KW - Imaginations KW - Emotions KW - Motor control KW - Functional weakness KW - Manual muscle test Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07827 SN - 2405-8440 VL - 7 IS - 8 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krügel, Andre A1 - Vitu, Francoise A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Fixation positions after skipping saccades - a single space makes a large difference JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - During reading, saccadic eye movements are generated to shift words into the center of the visual field for lexical processing. Recently, Krugel and Engbert (Vision Research 50:1532-1539, 2010) demonstrated that within-word fixation positions are largely shifted to the left after skipped words. However, explanations of the origin of this effect cannot be drawn from normal reading data alone. Here we show that the large effect of skipped words on the distribution of within-word fixation positions is primarily based on rather subtle differences in the low-level visual information acquired before saccades. Using arrangements of "x" letter strings, we reproduced the effect of skipped character strings in a highly controlled single-saccade task. Our results demonstrate that the effect of skipped words in reading is the signature of a general visuomotor phenomenon. Moreover, our findings extend beyond the scope of the widely accepted range-error model, which posits that within-word fixation positions in reading depend solely on the distances of target words. We expect that our results will provide critical boundary conditions for the development of visuomotor models of saccade planning during reading. KW - Eye movements KW - Reading KW - Motor control KW - Skipping Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-012-0365-1 SN - 1943-3921 VL - 74 IS - 8 SP - 1556 EP - 1561 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niederer, Daniel A1 - Vogt, Lutz A1 - Wippert, Pia-Maria A1 - Puschmann, Anne-Katrin A1 - Pfeifer, Ann-Christin A1 - Schiltenwolf, Marcus A1 - Banzer, Winfried A1 - Mayer, Frank T1 - Medicine in spine exercise (MiSpEx) for nonspecific low back pain patients: study protocol for a multicentre, single-blind randomized controlled trial JF - Trials N2 - Background: Arising from the relevance of sensorimotor training in the therapy of nonspecific low back pain patients and from the value of individualized therapy, the present trial aims to test the feasibility and efficacy of individualized sensorimotor training interventions in patients suffering from nonspecific low back pain. Methods and study design: A multicentre, single-blind two-armed randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of a 12-week (3 weeks supervised centre-based and 9 weeks home-based) individualized sensorimotor exercise program is performed. The control group stays inactive during this period. Outcomes are pain, and pain-associated function as well as motor function in adults with nonspecific low back pain. Each participant is scheduled to five measurement dates: baseline (M1), following centre-based training (M2), following home-based training (M3) and at two follow-up time points 6 months (M4) and 12 months (M5) after M1. All investigations and the assessment of the primary and secondary outcomes are performed in a standardized order: questionnaires - clinical examination biomechanics (motor function). Subsequent statistical procedures are executed after the examination of underlying assumptions for parametric or rather non-parametric testing. Discussion: The results and practical relevance of the study will be of clinical and practical relevance not only for researchers and policy makers but also for the general population suffering from nonspecific low back pain. KW - Sensorimotor training KW - Motor control KW - Low back pain KW - Exercise KW - Functional capacity KW - Individualized intervention Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-016-1645-1 SN - 1745-6215 VL - 17 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mendez-Rebolledo, Guillermo A1 - Gatica-Rojas, Valeska A1 - Martinez-Valdes, Eduardo Andrés A1 - Xie, H. B. T1 - The recruitment order of scapular muscles depends on the characteristics of the postural task JF - Journal of electromyography and kinesiology N2 - Previous studies show that the scapular muscle recruitment order could possibly change according to the characteristics of the postural task. We aimed to compare the activation latencies of serratus anterior (SA), upper, middle, and lower trapezius (UT, MT and LT, respectively) between an unpredictable perturbation (sudden arm destabilization) and a predictable task (voluntary arm raise) and, to determine the differences in the muscle recruitment order in each task. The electromyographic signals of 23 participants were recorded while the tasks were performed. All scapular muscles showed earlier onset latency in the voluntary arm raise than in the sudden arm destabilization. No significant differences were observed in the muscle recruitment order for the sudden arm destabilization (p > 0.05). Conversely, for voluntary arm raise the MT, LT SA and anterior deltoid (AD) were activated significantly earlier than the UT (p < 0.001). Scapular muscles present a specific recruitment order during a predictable task: SA was activated prior to the AD and the UT after the AD, in a recruitment order of SA, AD, UT, MT, and LT. While in an unpredictable motor task, all muscles were activated after the destabilization without a specific recruitment order, but rather a simultaneous activation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Reaction time KW - Muscle latency KW - Electromyography KW - Motor control KW - Anticipatory KW - Compensatory Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2016.09.001 SN - 1050-6411 SN - 1873-5711 VL - 31 SP - 40 EP - 47 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -