title: Motor control programs and walking.
abstract: The question of how the central nervous system coordinates muscle activity is central to an understanding of motor control. The authors argue that motor programs may be considered as a characteristic timing of muscle activations linked to specific kinematic events. In particular, muscle activity occurring during human locomotion can be accounted for by five basic temporal components in a variety of locomotion conditions. Spatiotemporal maps of spinal cord motoneuron activation also show discrete periods of activity. Furthermore, the coordination of locomotion with voluntary tasks is accomplished through a superposition of motor programs or activation timings that are separately associated with each task. As a consequence, the selection of muscle synergies appears to be downstream from the processes that generate activation timings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. y.ivanenko@hsantalucia.it
authors.forename: Yuri P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Ivanenko
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Poppele
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lacquaniti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*