Dataset Information

The Metastability of the Double-Tripod Gait in Locust Locomotion.

ABSTRACT: Insect locomotion represents a fundamental example of neuronal oscillating circuits generating different motor patterns or gaits by controlling their phase coordination. Walking gaits are assumed to represent stable states of the system, often modeled as coupled oscillators. This view is challenged, however, by recent experimental observations, in which in vitro locust preparations consistently converged to synchronous rhythms (all legs oscillating as one), a locomotive pattern never seen in vivo. To reconcile this inconsistency, we developed a modeling framework to capture the trade-off between the two competing mechanisms: the endogenous neuronal circuitry, expressed in vitro, and the feedback mechanisms from sensory and descending inputs, active only in vivo. We show that the ubiquitously observed double-tripod walking gait emerges precisely from this balance. The outcome is a short-lived meta-stable double-tripod gait, which transitions and alternates with stable idling, thus recovering the observed intermittent bouts of locomotion, typical of many insects' locomotion behavior.

SUBMITTER: Reches E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6352547 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Metastability of the Double-Tripod Gait in Locust Locomotion.

Reches Eran E Knebel Daniel D Rillich Jan J Ayali Amir A Barzel Baruch B

iScience 20190108

Insect locomotion represents a fundamental example of neuronal oscillating circuits generating different motor patterns or gaits by controlling their phase coordination. Walking gaits are assumed to represent stable states of the system, often modeled as coupled oscillators. This view is challenged, however, by recent experimental observations, in which in vitro locust preparations consistently converged to synchronous rhythms (all legs oscillating as one), a locomotive pattern never seen in viv ...[more]

PMID: 30677739

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Project description:This study examines the range of gait patterns that are perceived as healthy and human-like with the goal of understanding how much asymmetry is allowable in a gait pattern before other people start to notice a gait impairment. Specifically, this study explores if certain abnormal walking patterns can be dismissed as unimpaired or not uncanny. Altering gait biomechanics is generally done in the fields of prosthetics and rehabilitation, however the perception of gait is often neglected. Although a certain gait can be functional, it may not be considered as normal by observers. On the other hand, an abnormally perceived gait may be more practical or necessary in some situations, such as limping after an injury or stroke and when wearing a prosthesis. This research will help to find the balance between the form and function of gait. Gait patterns are synthetically created using a passive dynamic walker (PDW) model that allows gait patterns to be systematically changed without the confounding influence from human sensorimotor feedback during walking. This standardized method allows the perception of specific changes in gait to be studied. The PDW model was used to produce walking patterns that showed a degree of abnormality in gait cadence, knee height, step length, and swing time created by changing the foot roll-over-shape, knee damping, knee location, and leg masses. The gait patterns were shown to participants who rated them according to separate scales of impairment and uncanniness. The results indicate that some pathological and asymmetric gait patterns are perceived as unimpaired and normal. Step time and step length asymmetries less than 5%, small knee location differences, and gait cadence changes of 25% do not result in a change in perception. The results also show that the parameters of a pathologically or uncanny perceived gait can be beneficially altered by increasing other independent parameters, in some sense masking the initial pathology.

Dataset Information

The Metastability of the Double-Tripod Gait in Locust Locomotion.

Publications

The Metastability of the Double-Tripod Gait in Locust Locomotion.

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