Main description:

Neuromechanics is a new, quickly growing field of neuroscience research that merges neurophysiology, biomechanics and motor control and aims at understanding living systems and their elements through interactions between their neural and mechanical dynamic properties. Although research in Neuromechanics is not limited by computational approaches, neuromechanical modeling is a powerful tool that allows for integration of massive knowledge gained in the past several decades in organization of motion related brain and spinal cord activity, various body sensors and reflex pathways, muscle mechanical and physiological properties and detailed quantitative morphology of musculoskeletal systems. Recent work in neuromechanical modeling has demonstrated advantages of such an integrative approach and led to discoveries of new emergent properties of neuromechanical systems. Neuromechanical Modeling of Posture and Locomotion will cover a wide range of topics from theoretical studies linking the organization of reflex pathways and central pattern generating circuits with morphology and mechanics of the musculoskeletal system (Burkholder; Nichols; Shevtsova et al.) to detailed neuromechanical models of postural and locomotor control (Bunderson; Edwards, Marking et al., Ting). Furthermore, uniquely diverse modeling approaches will be presented in the book including a theoretical dynamic analysis of locomotor phase transitions (Spardy and Rubin), a hybrid computational modeling that allows for in vivo interactions between parts of a living organism and a computer model (Edwards et al.), a physical neuromechanical model of the human locomotor system (Lewis), and others.

Contents:

Part I. Innovative modeling approaches in neuromechanical research

Chapter 1. Better science through predictive modeling: Numerical tools for understanding neuromechanical interactions - Nathan E. Bunderson and Jeffrey Bingham

Chapter 2. A neuromechanical model of spinal control of locomotion - Sergey N. Markin, Alexander N. Klishko, Natalia A. Shevtsova, Michel A. Lemay, Boris I. Prilutsky and Ilya A. Rybak

Part II. Organization of afferent signals, central neural circuits and the musculoskeletal system: Insights from neuromechanical modeling

Chapter 3. Neural regulation of limb mechanics: Insights from the organization of proprioceptive circuits - T. Richard Nichols, Nathan E. Bunderson and Mark A. Lyle

Chapter 4. Model-based approaches to understanding musculoskeletal filtering of neural signals - Thomas J. Burkholder

Chapter 5. Modeling the organization of spinal cord neural circuits controlling two-joint muscles - Natalia A. Shevtsova, Khaldoun Hamade, Samit Chakrabarty, Sergey N. Markin, Boris I. Prilutsky and Ilya A. Rybak

Chapter 6. Muscles: non-linear transformers of motor neuron activity - Scott L. Hooper, Christoph Guschlbauer, Marcus Blumel, Arndt von Twickel, Kevin H. Hobbs, Jeffrey B. Thuma and Ansgar Buschges

Part III. Neuromechanical modeling of posture and postural control

Chapter 7. Why i

s ne

uromechanical modeling of balance and locomotion so hard? - Jessica L. Allen and Lena H. Ting

Chapter 8. Neuromusculoskeletal modeling for the adaptive control of posture during locomotion - Shinya Aoi

Chapter 9. Model-based interpretations of experimental data related to the control of balance during stance and gait in humans - Robert J. Peterka

Part IV. Neuromechanical modeling of locomotion

Chapter 10. Computing motion dependent afferent activity during cat locomotion using a forward dynamics musculoskeletal model - Boris I. Prilutsky, Alexander N. Klishko, Douglas J. Weber and Michel A. Lemay

Chapter 11. Modeling and optimality analysis of pectoral fin locomotion - Xinmin Liu, Frank Fish, R. Scott Russo, Silvia S. Blemker and Tetsuya Iwasaki

Chapter 12. Control of cat walking and paw-shake by a multifunctional central pattern generator - Brian Bondy, Alexander N. Klishko, Donald H. Edwards, Boris I. Prilutsky and Gennady Cymbalyuk