Multi-joint coordination in upright stance: The uncontrolled manifold helps decouple control of body-in-space from control of other degrees of freedom

• Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Gregor Schöner
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Kognitive, systemische und Verhaltensneurobiologie
• Förderung: Förderung von 2010 bis 2014
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 180347854

analyzed only in terms of the position of the center of mass in space. This is justified by the inverted pendulum hypothesis according to which upright stance is achieved through control of the ankle joint.Recent empirical work has revealed, however, that the inverted pendulum hypothesis is not a good approximation. Other joints are more variable than the ankle joint and joint variance is structured is a way that reflects the postural task: more variance occurs in the subspace that leaves the enter of mass invariant than in the subspace that affects the center of mass.This proposal is aimed to establish a new theoretical account for the control of upright posture based on the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis, according to which the neuronal control signals to all joints are coupled in a task-specific manner. We will extend a neuronal dynamics model of the uncontrolled manifold by including gravitational forces and an account for how the estimation of the kinematic state of the body in space is fed back to all muscle-joint systems along the kinematic chain.We will validate the model by detailed comparison with published experimental data as well as new data obtained in the laboratory of Prof. John Scholz, with whom we will closely collaborate.If successful, the theoretical work, combining modeling with analysis of experimental data, will establish a new conception of how the estimation problem in upright stance is linked to the control problem.

• DFG-Verfahren: Sachbeihilfen