0000000000164520
AUTHOR
Olivier White
showing 18 related works from this author
The role of left supplementary motor area in grip force scaling
2013
Skilled tool use and object manipulation critically relies on the ability to scale anticipatorily the grip force (GF) in relation to object dynamics. This predictive behaviour entails that the nervous system is able to store, and then select, the appropriate internal representation of common object dynamics, allowing GF to be applied in parallel with the arm motor commands. Although psychophysical studies have provided strong evidence supporting the existence of internal representations of object dynamics, known as "internal models", their neural correlates are still debated. Because functional neuroimaging studies have repeatedly designated the supplementary motor area (SMA) as a possible …
Fractal analyses reveal independent complexity and predictability of gait
2017
Locomotion is a natural task that has been assessed since decades and used as a proxy to highlight impairments of various origins. Most studies adopted classical linear analyses of spatio-temporal gait parameters. Here, we use more advanced, yet not less practical, non-linear techniques to analyse gait time series of healthy subjects. We aimed at finding more sensitive indexes related to spatio-temporal gait parameters than those previously used, with the hope to better identify abnormal locomotion. We analysed large-scale stride interval time series and mean step width in 34 participants while altering walking direction (forward vs. backward walking) and with or without galvanic vestibular…
Smart switching in feedforward control of grip force during manipulation of elastic objects
2017
AbstractSwitching systems are common in artificial control systems. Here, we suggest that the brain adopts a switched feedforward control of grip forces during manipulation of objects. We measured how participants modulated grip force when interacting with soft and rigid virtual springs when stiffness varied nearly continuously between trials. We identified a sudden phase transition between two forms of feedforward control that differed in the timing of the synchronization between the anticipated load force and the applied grip force. The switch occurred several trials after a threshold stiffness level. These results suggest that in the control of grip force, the brain acts as a switching c…
Does force-field adaptation induce after-effects on space representation?
2017
AbstractPrism adaptation is a well-known model to study sensorimotor adaptive processes. It has been shown that following prism exposure, after-effects are not only restricted to the sensorimotor level but extend as well into spatial cognition. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate in healthy individuals whether expansion to spatial cognition is restricted to adaptive processes peculiar to prism adaptation or whether it occurs as well following other forms of adaptive process such as adaptation to a novel dynamic environment during pointing movements. Representational after-effects were assessed by the perceptual line bisection task before and after adaptation to a leftwa…
Pupil Diameter May Reflect Motor Control and Learning
2017
International audience; Non–luminance-mediated changes in pupil diameter have been used since the first studies by Darwin in 1872 as indicators of clinical, cognitive, and arousal states. However, the relation between processes involved in motor control and changes in pupil diameter remains largely unknown. Twenty participants attempted to compensate random walks of a cursor with a computer mouse to restrain its trajectory within a target circle while the authors recorded their pupil diameters. Two conditions allowed the authors to experimentally manipulate the motor and cognitive components of the task. First, the step size of the cursor's random walk was either large or small leading to 2…
Grip Force Adjustments Reflect Prediction of Dynamic Consequences in Varying Gravitoinertial Fields
2018
International audience; Humans have a remarkable ability to adjust the way they manipulate tools through a genuine regulation of grip force according to the task. However, rapid changes in the dynamical context may challenge this skill, as shown in many experimental approaches. Most experiments adopt perturbation paradigms that affect only one sensory modality. We hypothesize that very fast adaptation can occur if coherent information from multiple sensory modalities is provided to the central nervous system. Here, we test whether participants can switch between different and never experienced dynamical environments induced by centrifugation of the body. Seven participants lifted an object …
Direction-dependent activation of the insular cortex during vertical and horizontal hand movements
2016
International audience; The planning of any motor action requires a complex multisensory processing by the brain. Gravity - immutable on Earth - has been shown to be a key input to these mechanisms. Seminal fMRI studies performed during visual perception of falling objects and self-motion demonstrated that humans represent the action of gravity in parts of the cortical vestibular system; in particular, the insular cortex and the cerebellum. However, little is known as to whether a specific neural network is engaged when processing non-visual signals relevant to gravity. We asked participants to perform vertical and horizontal hand movements without visual control, while lying in a 3T-MRI sc…
Added Value and Clinical Significance of Nonlinear Variability Indices of Walking Stride Interval in Neurodegenerative Diseases
2020
AbstractThough self-paced walking is highly stereotyped, the stride interval fluctuates from one stride to the next around an average value with a measurable statistical variability. In clinical gait analysis, this variability is usually assessed with indices such the standard deviation or the coefficient of variation (CV). The aim of this study is to understand the added value that nonlinear indices of walking stride interval variability, such as Hurst exponent (H) and Minkowski fractal dimension (D), can provide in a clinical context and to suggest a clinical significance of these indices in the most common neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson, Huntington, and amyotrophic lateral scleros…
Grip force regulates hand impedance to optimize object stability in high impact loads
2011
Anticipatory grip force adjustments are a prime example of the predictive nature of motor control. An object held in precision grip is stabilized by fine adjustments of the grip force against changes in tangential load force arising from inertia during acceleration and deceleration. When an object is subject to sudden impact loads, prediction becomes critical as the time available for sensory feedback is very short. Here, we investigated the control of grip force when participants performed a targeted tapping task with a hand-held object. During the initial transport phase of the movement, load force varied smoothly with acceleration. In contrast, in the collision, load forces sharply incre…
Adiabatic invariants drive rhythmic human motion in variable gravity.
2019
Voluntary human movements are stereotyped. When modeled in the framework of classical mechanics they are expected to minimize cost functions that may include energy, a natural candidate from a physiological point of view also. In time-changing environments, however, energy is no longer conserved---regardless of frictional energy dissipation---and it is therefore not the preferred candidate for any cost function able to describe the subsequent changes in motor strategies. Adiabatic invariants are known to be relevant observables in such systems, although they still need to be investigated in human motor control. We fill this gap and show that the theory of adiabatic invariants provides an ac…
Benefits of nonlinear analysis indices of walking stride interval in the evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases.
2021
Indices characterising the long-range temporal structure of walking stride interval (SI) variability such as Hurst exponent (H) and fractal dimension (D) may be used in addition to indices measuring the amount of variability like the coefficient of variation (CV). We assess the added value of the former indices in a clinical neurological context. Our aim is to demonstrate that they provide a clinical significance in aging and in frequent neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Indices assessing the temporal structure of variability are mainly dependent on SI time series length and algorithms used, making quantitative comparisons…
Fine adaptive control of precision grip without maximum pinch strength changes after median nerve mobilization
2020
ABSTRACTFine dexterity critically depends on information conveyed by the median nerve. While the effects of its compression and vibration are well characterized, little is known about longitudinal tension and excursion. Using a force-sensitive manipulandum, a numeric dynamometer and Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, we examined the adaptations of precision grip control, maximum pinch strength and fingertips pressure sensation threshold before and immediately after the application of longitudinal tension and excursion mobilizations applied on the median nerve. Grip (GF) and load (LF) forces applied by the thumb, index and major fingers were collected in 40 healthy young participants during thr…
Initial information prior to movement onset influences kinematics of upward arm pointing movements
2016
International audience; To elaborate a motor plan and perform online control in the gravity field, the brain relies on priors and multisensory integration of information. In particular, afferent and efferent inputs related to the initial state are thought to convey sensorimotor information to plan the upcoming action. Yet it is still unclear to what extent these cues impact motor planning. Here we examined the role of initial information on the planning and execution of arm movements. Participants performed upward arm movements around the shoulder at three speeds and in two arm conditions. In the first condition, the arm was outstretched horizontally and required a significant muscular comm…
Flexible switching of feedback control mechanisms allows for learning of different task dynamics.
2013
To produce skilled movements, the brain flexibly adapts to different task requirements and movement contexts. Two core abilities underlie this flexibility. First, depending on the task, the motor system must rapidly switch the way it produces motor commands and how it corrects movements online, i.e. it switches between different (feedback) control policies. Second, it must also adapt to environmental changes for different tasks separately. Here we show these two abilities are related. In a bimanual movement task, we show that participants can switch on a movement-by-movement basis between two feedback control policies, depending only on a static visual cue. When this cue indicates that the …
Motor strategies and adiabatic invariants: The case of rhythmic motion in parabolic flights
2021
The role of gravity in human motor control is at the same time obvious and difficult to isolate. It can be assessed by performing experiments in variable gravity. We propose that adiabatic invariant theory may be used to reveal nearly-conserved quantities in human voluntary rhythmic motion, an individual being seen as a complex time-dependent dynamical system with bounded motion in phase-space. We study an explicit realization of our proposal: An experiment in which we asked participants to perform $\infty-$ shaped motion of their right arm during a parabolic flight, either at self-selected pace or at a metronome's given pace. Gravity varied between $0$ and $1.8$ $g$ during a parabola. We c…
''Active Collisions in Altered Gravity Reveal Eye-Hand Coordination Strategies''
2012
White, Olivier | Lefevre, Philippe | Wing, Alan M. | Bracewell, R. Martyn | Thonnard, Jean-Louis; International audience; ''Most object manipulation tasks involve a series of actions demarcated by mechanical contact events, and gaze is usually directed to the locations of these events as the task unfolds. Typically, gaze foveates the target 200 ms in advance of the contact. This strategy improves manual accuracy through visual feedback and the use of gaze-related signals to guide the hand/ object. Many studies have investigated eye-hand coordination in experimental and natural tasks; most of them highlighted a strong link between eye movements and hand or object kinematics. In this experime…
The Relation between Geometry and Time in Mental Actions
2012
Mental imagery is a cognitive tool that helps humans take decisions by simulating past and future events. The hypothesis has been advanced that there is a functional equivalence between actual and mental movements. Yet, we do not know whether there are any limitations to its validity even in terms of some fundamental features of actual movements, such as the relationship between space and time. Although it is impossible to directly measure the spatiotemporal features of mental actions, an indirect investigation can be conducted by taking advantage of the constraints existing in planar drawing movements and described by the two-thirds power law (2/3PL). This kinematic law describes one of th…
Towards human exploration of space: the THESEUS review series on cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal research priorities
2016
International audience; The THESEUS project (Towards Human Exploration of Space: aEUropean Strategy) was initiated within the seventh FrameworkProgramme by the European Commission. This project aimed toprovide a cross-cutting, life science-based roadmap for Europe’sstrategy towards human exploration of space, especially for deepspace missions and its relevance to applications on Earth. Toaddress these challenges, relevance of space research on thecardiovascular system, the lungs and kidneys, was discussed in anexpert group and its principal conclusions will be presented in thisarticle.