The Influence of Altered-Gravity on Bimanual Coordination: Retention and Transfer

Abstract

Many of the activities associated with spaceflight require individuals to coordinate actions between the limbs (e.g., controlling a rover, landing a spacecraft). However, research investigating the influence of gravity on bimanual coordination has been limited. The current experiment was designed to determine an individual’s ability to adapt to altered-gravity when performing a complex bimanual force coordination task, and to identify constraints that influence coordination dynamics in altered-gravity. A tilt table was used to simulate gravity on Earth [90° head-up tilt (HUT)] and microgravity [6° head-down tilt (HDT)]. Right limb dominant participants (N = 12) were required to produce 1:1 in-phase and 1:2 multi-frequency force patterns. Lissajous information was provided to guide performance. Participants performed 14, 20 s trials at 90° HUT (Earth). Following a 30-min rest period, participants performed, for each coordination pattern, two retention trials (Earth) followed by two transfer trials in simulated microgravity (6° HDT). Results indicated that participants were able to transfer their training performance during the Earth condition to the microgravity condition with no additional training. No differences between gravity conditions for measures associated with timing (interpeak interval ratio, phase angle slope ratio) were observed. However, despite the effective timing of the force pulses, there were differences in measures associated with force production (peak force, STD of peak force mean force). The results of this study suggest that Lissajous displays may help counteract manual control decrements observed during microgravity. Future work should continue to explore constraints that can facilitate or interfere with bimanual control performance in altered-gravity environments.

The influence of distal and proximal muscle activation on neural crosstalk

“…This would result in periods of shared neural drive with the initiation or release of the force command. This observation is consistent with the kinematic results of the current study ( Fig 3 ) as well as previous work demonstrating force distortions in the force and force-velocity time series for the non-dominant effector that was associated with the activation and release of force by the dominant effector [ 4 , 5 , 11 , 25 ]. In addition, research has indicated this influence continues to act on the non-dominant limb until the dominant limb achieves peak force velocity [ 4 ].…”

“…In a series of experiments, researchers demonstrated bimanual interference consistent with neural crosstalk during a 1:2 bimanual force task [4,5,11,[25][26][27][28]. The task required participants to produce two patterns of isometric force pulses with the dominant (right) effector for every pulse produced by the non-dominant (left) effector.…”

“…In addition, it can be used to identify the source of neural crosstalk by examining what is happening in specific frequency bands during periods of interference. Significant coherence in the Alpha band (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) indicate subcortical influences, while coherence in Beta (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) and Gamma bands indicate cortical origins [54,55]. This technique may provide important insights regarding differences between the activation of distal and proximal effectors during the performance of bimanual actions.…”

Generalization in motor learning: learning bimanual coordination with one hand

“…Unlike intrinsic coordination patterns such as in-phase and anti-phase, the generation of the 90° coordination pattern often necessitates extensive practice lasting for several consecutive days (5, 36). The current experiment aligns with previous findings by demonstrating that providing augmented visual feedback significantly reduces the typical practice time required for mastering complex coordination patterns (1, 3, 4, 13, 37, 38, 40, 42).…”

“…The cursor, representing the summed trajectory of two coordinated components, superimposed on the front of the Lissajous plot, is assumed to reduce incidental constraints (e.g., perceptual, cognitive, and environmental constraints) (41). This experimental arrangement facilitates a rapid improvement in performing the goal coordination pattern, providing an advantage for exploring behaviors and neural processes associated with complex bimanual coordination tasks (2, 4, 37, 39, 42).…”