A robot-aided visuomotor wrist training induces motor and proprioceptive learning that transfers to the untrained ipsilateral elbow

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation

Research

Yizhao Wang¹  Giulio Sandini²  Jürgen Konczak³  Naveen Elangovan³  Huiying Zhu³  Lorenzo Masia⁴  Leonardo Cappello⁵ 

[1] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, Tianjin, China;Department of Health and Exercise Science, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China;Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy;Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, 1900 University Ave. SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA;Institut für Technische Informatik, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy;Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Pisa, Italy;

关键词: Human;    Learning;    Motor;    Proprioception;    Robotic Rehabilitation;    Somatosensory;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12984-023-01258-w

 received in 2022-10-07, accepted in 2023-09-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLearning of a visuomotor task not only leads to changes in motor performance but also improves proprioceptive function of the trained joint/limb system. Such sensorimotor learning may show intra-joint transfer that is observable at a previously untrained degrees of freedom of the trained joint.ObjectiveHere, we examined if and to what extent such learning transfers to neighboring joints of the same limb and whether such transfer is observable in the motor as well as in the proprioceptive domain. Documenting such intra-limb transfer of sensorimotor learning holds promise for the neurorehabilitation of an impaired joint by training the neighboring joints.MethodsUsing a robotic exoskeleton, 15 healthy young adults (18–35 years) underwent a visuomotor training that required them to make continuous, increasingly precise, small amplitude wrist movements. Wrist and elbow position sense just-noticeable‐difference (JND) thresholds and spatial movement accuracy error (MAE) at wrist and elbow in an untrained pointing task were assessed before and immediately after, as well as 24 h after training.ResultsFirst, all participants showed evidence of proprioceptive and motor learning in both trained and untrained joints. The mean JND threshold decreased significantly by 30% in trained wrist (M: 1.26° to 0.88°) and by 35% in untrained elbow (M: 1.96° to 1.28°). Second, mean MAE in untrained pointing task reduced by 20% in trained wrist and the untrained elbow. Third, after 24 h the gains in proprioceptive learning persisted at both joints, while transferred motor learning gains had decayed to such extent that they were no longer significant at the group level.ConclusionOur findings document that a one-time sensorimotor training induces rapid learning gains in proprioceptive acuity and untrained sensorimotor performance at the practiced joint. Importantly, these gains transfer almost fully to the neighboring, proximal joint/limb system.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

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