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Journal of Sport and Health Science Mar 2023Proprioceptive accuracy refers to the individual's ability to perceive proprioceptive information, that is, the information referring to the actual state of the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Proprioceptive accuracy refers to the individual's ability to perceive proprioceptive information, that is, the information referring to the actual state of the locomotor system, which originates from mechanoreceptors located in various parts of the locomotor system and from tactile receptors located in the skin. Proprioceptive accuracy appears to be an important aspect in the evaluation of sensorimotor functioning; however, no widely accepted standard assessment exists. In this systematic review, our goal was to identify and categorize different methods that are used to assess different aspects of proprioceptive accuracy.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted in 5 different databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink).
RESULTS
Overall, 1139 scientific papers reporting 1346 methods were included in this review. The methods assess 8 different aspects of proprioception: (a) the perception of joint position, (b) movement and movement extent, (c) trajectory, (d) velocity, and the sense of (e) force, (f) muscle tension, (g) weight, and (h) size. They apply various paradigms of psychophysics (i.e., the method of adjustment, constant stimuli, and limits).
CONCLUSION
As the outcomes of different tasks with respect to various body parts show no associations (i.e., proprioceptive accuracy is characterized by site-specificity and method-specificity), the appropriate measurement method for the task needs to be chosen based on theoretical considerations and/or ecological validity.
Topics: Proprioception; Movement
PubMed: 35390537
DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2022.04.001 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) May 2022Sensory feedback is critical in proprioception and balance to orchestrate muscles to perform targeted motion(s). Biofeedback plays a significant role in substituting...
Sensory feedback is critical in proprioception and balance to orchestrate muscles to perform targeted motion(s). Biofeedback plays a significant role in substituting such sensory data when sensory functions of an individual are reduced or lost such as neurological disorders including stroke causing loss of sensory and motor functions requires compensation of both motor and sensory functions. Biofeedback substitution can be in the form of several means: mechanical, electrical, chemical and/or combination. This study proposes a soft monolithic haptic biofeedback device prototyped and pilot tests were conducted with healthy participants that balance and proprioception of the wearer were improved with applied mechanical stimuli on the lower limb(s). The soft monolithic haptic biofeedback device has been developed and manufactured using fused deposition modelling (FDM) that employs soft and flexible materials with low elastic moduli. Experimental results of the pilot tests show that the soft haptic device can effectively improve the balance of the wearer as much as can provide substitute proprioceptive feedback which are critical elements in robotic rehabilitation.
Topics: Biofeedback, Psychology; Haptic Technology; Humans; Pilot Projects; Postural Balance; Proprioception
PubMed: 35632192
DOI: 10.3390/s22103779 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Jun 2023The motor system corrects rapidly, but selectively, for perturbations to ongoing reaching movements, depending on the constraints of the task. To account for such...
The motor system corrects rapidly, but selectively, for perturbations to ongoing reaching movements, depending on the constraints of the task. To account for such sophistication, it has been postulated that corrections are based on an estimated limb state that integrates all sensory changes caused by the perturbation, taking into account their processing delays. Here, we asked if information from different sensory modalities is integrated immediately or processed separately in the early phase of a response. We perturbed the estimated state of the limb with both unimodal and bimodal visual and proprioceptive perturbations without changing the actual limb state. For visual perturbations, a cursor representing the hand was shifted to the left or the right relative to the true hand location. For proprioceptive perturbations, the biceps or triceps muscles were vibrated, which induced illusory limb-state changes to the right or the left. In the bimodal condition, the perturbations to vision and proprioception were either congruent or incongruent in their directions. Response latencies show that it takes ∼100 ms longer to respond to unimodal visual perturbations than to unimodal proprioceptive perturbations. Responses to bimodal perturbations show that it takes an additional ∼100 ms beyond the response to unimodal visual perturbations for intermodal consistency to impact the response. These results suggest that visual and proprioceptive signals are initially processed separately for state estimation and only combined at the level of the limb's motor output, instead of being immediately integrated into a single state estimate of the limb. Both visual and proprioceptive signals provide information about arm state during reaching. By perturbing the perceived, but not the actual, position of the hand in both modalities using visual disturbances and muscle vibration, we examined multimodal integration and state estimation during reaching. Our results suggest that the early reach corrections are based on separate state estimates from the two sensory modalities and only later are based on a combined state estimate.
Topics: Psychomotor Performance; Hand; Arm; Proprioception; Reaction Time; Visual Perception
PubMed: 37073978
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00324.2022 -
PloS One 2024Bilateral proprioception includes the ability to sense the position and motion of one hand relative to the other, without looking. This sensory ability allows us to...
Bilateral proprioception includes the ability to sense the position and motion of one hand relative to the other, without looking. This sensory ability allows us to perform daily activities seamlessly, and its impairment is observed in various neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and stroke. It can undergo experience-dependent plasticity, as seen in trained piano players. If its neural correlates were better understood, it would provide a useful assay and target for neurorehabilitation for people with impaired proprioception. We designed a non-invasive electroencephalography-based paradigm to assess the neural features relevant to proprioception, especially focusing on bilateral proprioception, i.e., assessing the limb distance from the body with the other limb. We compared it with a movement-only task, with and without the visibility of the target hand. Additionally, we explored proprioceptive accuracy during the tasks. We tested eleven Controls and nine Skilled musicians to assess whether sensorimotor event-related spectral perturbations in μ (8-12Hz) and low-β (12-18Hz) rhythms differ in people with musical instrument training, which intrinsically involves a bilateral proprioceptive component, or when new sensor modalities are added to the task. The Skilled group showed significantly reduced μ and low-β suppression in bilateral tasks compared to movement-only, a significative difference relative to Controls. This may be explained by reduced top-down control due to intensive training, despite this, proprioceptive errors were not smaller for this group. Target visibility significantly reduced proprioceptive error in Controls, while no change was observed in the Skilled group. During visual tasks, Controls exhibited significant μ and low-β power reversals, with significant differences relative to proprioceptive-only tasks compared to the Skilled group-possibly due to reduced uncertainty and top-down control. These results provide support for sensorimotor μ and low-β suppression as potential neuromarkers for assessing proprioceptive ability. The identification of these features is significant as they could be used to quantify altered proprioceptive neural processing in skill and movement disorders. This in turn can be useful as an assay for pre and post sensory-motor intervention research.
Topics: Humans; Proprioception; Upper Extremity; Movement; Hand; Electroencephalography
PubMed: 38489319
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299873 -
PloS One 2024The objectives of this study are to compare hip muscle strength, hip joint proprioception, and functional balance between individuals with unilateral hip OA and...
The objectives of this study are to compare hip muscle strength, hip joint proprioception, and functional balance between individuals with unilateral hip OA and asymptomatic individuals and to examine the relationships among these variables in the hip OA population. In a prospective cross-sectional study, 122 participants (unilateral Hip OA: n = 56, asymptomatic: n = 56) were assessed at the CAMS/KKU musculoskeletal Physical Therapy laboratory. Ethical standards were upheld throughout the research, with informed consent obtained. Hip muscle strength was measured using a hand-held dynamometer, hip joint proprioception with a digital inclinometer, and functional balance using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Hip OA individuals exhibited significantly lower muscle strength and proprioceptive accuracy, and poorer functional balance than controls (p < 0.003). Correlation analyses revealed a positive correlation between muscle strength and BBS scores (r = 0.38 to 0.42) and a negative correlation with TUG test times (r = -0.36 to -0.41). Hip joint reposition sense (JRS) in flexion showed a negative correlation with balance (r = -0.46), while JRS in abduction was positively correlated (r = 0.46). The study highlights the clinical importance of muscle strength and proprioception in functional balance among individuals with unilateral hip OA. The results support the incorporation of muscle strengthening and proprioceptive training in interventions to improve balance and mobility in this population.
Topics: Humans; Osteoarthritis, Hip; Prospective Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Proprioception; Muscle Strength
PubMed: 38363786
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298625 -
Journal of Neuroengineering and... Apr 2024Previous work has shown that ~ 50-60% of individuals have impaired proprioception after stroke. Typically, these studies have identified proprioceptive impairments...
BACKGROUND
Previous work has shown that ~ 50-60% of individuals have impaired proprioception after stroke. Typically, these studies have identified proprioceptive impairments using a narrow range of reference movements. While this has been important for identifying the prevalence of proprioceptive impairments, it is unknown whether these error responses are consistent for a broad range of reference movements. The objective of this study was to characterize proprioceptive accuracy as function of movement speed and distance in stroke.
METHODS
Stroke (N = 25) and controls (N = 21) completed a robotic proprioception test that varied movement speed and distance. Participants mirror-matched various reference movement speeds (0.1-0.4 m/s) and distances (7.5-17.5 cm). Spatial and temporal parameters known to quantify proprioception were used to determine group differences in proprioceptive accuracy, and whether patterns of proprioceptive error were consistent across testing conditions within and across groups.
RESULTS
Overall, we found that stroke participants had impaired proprioception compared to controls. Proprioceptive errors related to tested reference movement scaled similarly to controls, but some errors showed amplified scaling (e.g., significantly overshooting or undershooting reference speed). Further, interaction effects were present for speed and distance reference combinations at the extremes of the testing distribution.
CONCLUSIONS
We found that stroke participants have impaired proprioception and that some proprioceptive errors were dependent on characteristics of the movement (e.g., speed) and that reference movements at the extremes of the testing distribution resulted in significantly larger proprioceptive errors for the stroke group. Understanding how sensory information is utilized across a broad spectrum of movements after stroke may aid design of rehabilitation programs.
Topics: Humans; Proprioception; Stroke; Movement; Stroke Rehabilitation; Robotics
PubMed: 38594762
DOI: 10.1186/s12984-024-01350-9 -
Journal of Neurophysiology May 2023Spatial perception of our hand is closely linked to our ability to move the hand accurately. We might therefore expect that reach planning would take into account any...
Spatial perception of our hand is closely linked to our ability to move the hand accurately. We might therefore expect that reach planning would take into account any changes in perceived hand position; in other words, that perception and action relating to the hand should depend on a common sensorimotor map. However, there is evidence to suggest that changes in perceived hand position affect a body representation that functions separately from the body representation used to control movement. Here, we examined target-directed reaching before and after participants either did (Mismatch group) or did not (Veridical group) experience a cue conflict known to elicit recalibration in perceived hand position. For the reaching task, participants grasped a robotic manipulandum that positioned their unseen hand for each trial. Participants then briskly moved the handle straight ahead to a visual target, receiving no performance feedback. For the perceptual calibration task, participants estimated the locations of visual, proprioceptive, or combined cues about their unseen hand. The Mismatch group experienced a gradual 70-mm forward mismatch between visual and proprioceptive cues, resulting in forward proprioceptive recalibration. Participants made significantly shorter reaches after this manipulation, consistent with feeling their hand to be further forward than it was, but reaching performance returned to baseline levels after only 10 reaches. The Veridical group, after exposure to veridically aligned visual and proprioceptive cues about the hand, showed no change in reach distance. These results suggest that perceptual recalibration affects the same sensorimotor map that is used to plan target-directed reaches. If perceived hand position changes, we might assume this affects the sensorimotor map and, in turn, reaches made with that hand. However, there is evidence for separate body representations involved in perception versus action. After a cross-sensory conflict that results in proprioceptive recalibration in the forward direction, participants made shorter reaches as predicted, but only briefly. This suggests perceptual recalibration does affect the sensorimotor map used to plan reaches, but the interaction may be short-lived.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Visual Perception; Adaptation, Physiological; Feedback, Sensory; Hand; Proprioception
PubMed: 37125747
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00493.2022 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Mar 2020Trial-and-error motor adaptation has been linked to somatosensory plasticity and shifts in proprioception (limb position sense). The role of sensory processing in motor...
Trial-and-error motor adaptation has been linked to somatosensory plasticity and shifts in proprioception (limb position sense). The role of sensory processing in motor skill learning is less understood. Unlike adaptation, skill learning involves the acquisition of new movement patterns in the absence of perturbation, with performance limited by the speed-accuracy trade-off. We investigated somatosensory changes during motor skill learning at the behavioral and neurophysiological levels. Twenty-eight healthy young adults practiced a maze-tracing task, guiding a robotic manipulandum through an irregular two-dimensional track featuring several abrupt turns. Practice occurred on and . Skill was assessed before practice on and again on , with learning indicated by a shift in the speed-accuracy function between these assessments. Proprioceptive function was quantified with a passive two-alternative forced-choice task. In a subset of 15 participants, we measured short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to index somatosensory projections to motor cortex. We found that motor practice enhanced the speed-accuracy skill function ( = 32.15, < 0.001) and was associated with improved proprioceptive sensitivity at retention ( = 24.75, = 0.0031). Furthermore, SAI increased after training ( = 5.41, = 0.036). Interestingly, individuals with larger increases in SAI, reflecting enhanced somatosensory afference to motor cortex, demonstrated larger improvements in motor skill learning. These findings suggest that SAI may be an important functional mechanism for some aspect of motor skill learning. Further research is needed to test what parameters (task complexity, practice time, etc.) are specifically linked to somatosensory function. Somatosensory processing has been implicated in motor adaptation, where performance recovers from a perturbation such as a force field. We investigated somatosensory function during motor skill learning, where a new motor pattern is acquired in the absence of perturbation. After skill practice, we found changes in proprioception and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), signifying somatosensory change at both the behavioral and neurophysiological levels. SAI may be an important functional mechanism by which individuals learn motor skills.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Afferent Pathways; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Motor Cortex; Motor Skills; Neural Inhibition; Neuronal Plasticity; Practice, Psychological; Proprioception; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Young Adult
PubMed: 31995429
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00497.2019 -
NeuroImage Oct 2018Corticokinematic coherence (CKC) between limb kinematics and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals reflects cortical processing of proprioceptive afference. However, it...
Corticokinematic coherence (CKC) between limb kinematics and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals reflects cortical processing of proprioceptive afference. However, it is unclear whether strength of CKC is reproducible across measurement sessions. We thus examined reproducibility of CKC in a follow-up study. Thirteen healthy right-handed volunteers (7 females, 21.7 ± 4.3 yrs) were measured using MEG in two separate sessions 12.6 ± 1.3 months apart. The participant was seated and relaxed while his/her dominant or non-dominant index finger was continuously moved at 3 Hz (4 min for each hand) using a pneumatic movement actuator. Finger kinematics were recorded with a 3-axis accelerometer. Coherence was computed between finger acceleration and MEG signals. CKC strength was defined as the peak coherence value at 3 Hz form a single sensor among 40 pre-selected Rolandic gradiometers contralateral to the movement. Pneumatic movement actuator provided stable proprioceptive stimuli and significant CKC responses peaking at the contralateral Rolandic sensors. In the group level, CKC strength did not differ between the sessions in dominant (Day-1 0.40 ± 0.19 vs. Day-2 0.41 ± 0.17) or non-dominant (0.35 ± 0.16 vs. 0.36 ± 0.17) hand, nor between the hands. Intraclass-correlation coefficient (ICC) values indicated excellent inter-session reproducibility for CKC strength for both dominant (0.86) and non-dominant (0.97) hand. However, some participants showed pronounced inter-session variability in CKC strength, but only for the dominant hand. CKC is a promising tool to study proprioception in long-term longitudinal studies in the group level to follow, e.g., integrity of cortical proprioceptive processing with motor functions after stroke.
Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Brain Mapping; Female; Fingers; Humans; Magnetoencephalography; Male; Movement; Proprioception; Reproducibility of Results; Somatosensory Cortex; Young Adult
PubMed: 29964185
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.078 -
Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Dec 2023Hand proprioception is essential for fine movements and therefore many activities of daily living. Although frequently impaired after stroke, it is unclear how hand...
BACKGROUND
Hand proprioception is essential for fine movements and therefore many activities of daily living. Although frequently impaired after stroke, it is unclear how hand proprioception evolves in the sub-acute phase and whether it follows a similar pattern of changes as motor impairments.
OBJECTIVE
This work investigates whether there is a corresponding pattern of changes over time in hand proprioception and motor function as comprehensively quantified by a combination of robotic, clinical, and neurophysiological assessments.
METHODS
Finger proprioception (position sense) and motor function (force, velocity, range of motion) were evaluated using robotic assessments at baseline (<3 months after stroke) and up to 4 weeks later (discharge). Clinical assessments (among others, Box & Block Test [BBT]) as well as Somatosensory/Motor Evoked Potentials (SSEP/MEP) were additionally performed.
RESULTS
Complete datasets from 45 participants post-stroke were obtained. For 42% of all study participants proprioception and motor function had a dissociated pattern of changes (only 1 function considerably improved). This dissociation was either due to the absence of a measurable impairment in 1 modality at baseline, or due to a severe lesion of central somatosensory or motor tracts (absent SSEP/MEP). Better baseline BBT correlated with proprioceptive gains, while proprioceptive impairment at baseline did not correlate with change in BBT.
CONCLUSIONS
Proprioception and motor function frequently followed a dissociated pattern of changes in sub-acute stroke. This highlights the importance of monitoring both functions, which could help to further personalize therapies.
Topics: Humans; Activities of Daily Living; Motor Disorders; Upper Extremity; Proprioception; Stroke
PubMed: 37953595
DOI: 10.1177/15459683231207355