Spruijt, S. (2010) Muscle synergies in reaching movements after stroke. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.
![[img]](https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
Spruijt.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (15MB) |
Abstract
An important question concerning motor control is how the central nervous system controls the many degrees of freedom to produce a large variety of movements. A previously stated idea is that muscles are not controlled individually, but in groups called muscle synergies. Muscle synergies are defined as activation patterns of groups of muscles, which can be independently scaled in amplitude and shifted in time. Combining synergies with different parameters makes it possible to produce a wide range of movements. Although several studies have provided evidence for the existence of synergies, the role of the brain in synergistic motor control is not clear yet. In the current study, synergies and the accompanying recruitment coefficients of stroke patients were compared to the results of a healthy control group to get more insight in the role of the brain. Time-varying synergies were extracted from muscle activation patterns of a variety of reaching movements in stroke patients and healthy controls. It was found that the extracted synergies were not very similar in both groups. These results contradict earlier findings that synergies remain unchanged after stroke. Note however, that methodological differences between earlier and the current study, such as the extraction of synchronous vs. time-varying synergies, might explain the differences in results. Recommendations for further studies regarding synergies after brain damage were made, in order to study the role of muscle synergies in human motor control in more depth. The obtained insights can help improve rehabilitation after stroke.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Bongers, R.M. |
| Supervisor name: | Prange, G.B. and Roessingh Research and Development, Enschede. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2020 11:07 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 11:07 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2677 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |