Infant stepping: a method to study the sensory control of human walking

Yang, Jaynie F.; Stephens, Marilee J.; Vishram, Rosie

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7793.1998.927bs.x

Cited by 129 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

116

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is also true of human infants, who show stepping (Yang et al 1998), kicking (Thelen 1985), and air-stepping (Yang et al 1998) behaviors within the first year of life. Sensory input modifies and molds many of these rhythmic behaviors to adjust them to physiological and environmental conditions (Pearson 1993;Rossignol et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Loading the Limb During Rhythmic Leg Movements Lengthens the Duration of Both Flexion and Extension in Human Infants

Musselman

Yang²

2007

Journal of Neurophysiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Musselman KE, Yang JF. Loading the limb during rhythmic leg movements lengthens the duration of both flexion and extension in human infants. J Neurophysiol 97: 1247J Neurophysiol 97: -1257J Neurophysiol 97: , 2007. First published December 6, 2006; doi:10.1152/jn.00891.2006. Sensory input is critical for adapting motor outputs to meet environmental conditions. A ubiquitous force on all terrestrial animals is gravity. It is possible that when performing rhythmic movements, animals respond to loadrelated feedback in the same way by prolonging the muscle activity resisting the load. We hypothesized that for rhythmic leg movements, the period (extension or flexion) experiencing the higher load will be longer and vary more strongly with cycle period. Six rhythmic movements were studied in human infants (aged 3-10 mo), each providing different degrees of load-related feedback to the legs during flexion and extension of the limb. Kicking in supine provided similar loads (inertial) during flexion and extension. Stepping on a treadmill, kicking in supine against a foot-plate, and kicking in sitting loaded the legs during extension more than flexion, whereas air-stepping and air-stepping with ankle weights did the opposite. Video, electrogoniometry, surface electromyography, and contact forces were recorded. We showed that load-related feedback could make either the duration of flexion or extension longer. Within the tasks of stepping and kicking against a plate, infants who exerted lower forces showed shorter extensor durations than those who exerted higher forces. Because older babies tend to step with greater force, we wished to rule out the contribution of age. Eight babies (Ͼ8 mo old) were studied during stepping, in which we manipulated the amount of weightbearing. The same effect of load was seen. Hence, the degree of loading directly affects the duration of extension in an incremental way.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Loading the Limb During Rhythmic Leg Movements Lengthens the Duration of Both Flexion and Extension in Human Infants

Musselman

Yang²

2007

Journal of Neurophysiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The disappearance of stepping presumably depends on both neural changes in the CNS (supraspinal inhibitory influences on spinal CPGs) and biomechanical factors (the legs may become too heavy for the muscle strength [29]). However, stepping can still be evoked during that period with daily practice [29,30,32] or supporting the legs' weight by means of water immersion [29]. Practice increases the incidence of alternating steps, but does not appreciably affect the muscle activity profiles [30].…”

Section: Postnatal Development Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, stepping can still be evoked during that period with daily practice [29,30,32] or supporting the legs' weight by means of water immersion [29]. Practice increases the incidence of alternating steps, but does not appreciably affect the muscle activity profiles [30]. Infant stepping shows sensory adaptation to imposed loading and perturbations [33].…”

Section: Postnatal Development Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The gradual development of adult gait from infant stepping is generally believed to stem from a growing integration of supraspinal, intraspinal and sensory control [3,30]. The lack of activation patterns corresponding to foot contact in the neonate could depend on immature sensory and/or descending modulation of stepping.…”

Section: Postnatal Development Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of human locomotion

Lacquaniti¹,

Ivanenko²,

Zago³

2012

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neural control of locomotion in human adults involves the generation of a small set of basic patterned commands directed to the leg muscles. The commands are generated sequentially in time during each step by neural networks located in the spinal cord, called Central Pattern Generators. This review outlines recent advances in understanding how motor commands are expressed at different stages of human development. Similar commands are found in several other vertebrates, indicating that locomotion development follows common principles of organization of the control networks. Movements show a high degree of flexibility at all stages of development, which is instrumental for learning and exploration of variable interactions with the environment

show abstract

“…Infants can be induced to step by placing their feet on a moving treadmill belt (Yang et al 1998). We hypothesized that there would be an immediate increase in the rate of breathing at the onset of stepping.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breathing Frequency Changes at the Onset of Stepping in Human Infants

Noah¹,

Boliek²,

Lam³

et al. 2008

Journal of Neurophysiology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Breathing frequency increases at the onset of movement in a wide rage of mammals including adult humans. Moreover, the magnitude of increase in the rate of breathing appears related to the rate of the rhythmic movement. We determined whether human infants show the same type of response when supported to step on a treadmill. Twenty infants (ages 9.7 Ϯ 1.2 mo) participated in trials consisting of sitting, stepping on the treadmill, followed by sitting again. Breathing frequency was recorded with a thermocouple, positioned under one naris and taped to a soother that the infant held in his/her mouth. A video camera, electrogoniometers, and force platforms under the treadmill belts recorded stepping movements. We found that the rate of breathing changed at the beginning of stepping. Most surprisingly, we found that when infants stepped at a frequency slower than their breathing frequency in sitting, the breathing frequency decreased. Average breathing frequency during stepping was positively correlated with stepping frequency. There was no evidence of entrainment between stepping and breathing. In conclusion, the rapid change in breathing frequency at the beginning of movement is functional in infants. The direction and magnitude of change in breathing is associated with the leg movements.

show abstract

Infant stepping: a method to study the sensory control of human walking

Cited by 129 publications

References 45 publications

Loading the Limb During Rhythmic Leg Movements Lengthens the Duration of Both Flexion and Extension in Human Infants

Loading the Limb During Rhythmic Leg Movements Lengthens the Duration of Both Flexion and Extension in Human Infants

Development of human locomotion

Breathing Frequency Changes at the Onset of Stepping in Human Infants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About