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Title | The motor system plays the violin: a musical metaphor inferred from the oscillatory activity of the alpha-motoneuron pools during locomotion. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2011 |
Authors | Chiovetto, E |
Journal | J Neurophysiol |
Date Published | Jan |
Keywords | University of Tübingen, WP5-Learning |
Abstract | Despite substantial advances in the field, particularly resulting from physiological studies in animals, the neural mechanisms underlying the generation of many motor behaviors in humans remain unclear. A recent study by Cappellini and colleague sheds more light on this topic. Like the string of a violin, the ?-motoneuron pools in the spinal cord during locomotion show continuous and oscillatory patterns of activation. In this report, the implications and relevance of this finding are discussed in a general framework that includes neurophysiology, optimal control theory and robotics. |
URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.01119.2010 |
DOI | 10.1152/jn.01119.2010 |