Physiological modules for generating discrete and rhythmic movements: action identification by a dynamic recurrent neural network

In this study we employed a dynamic recurrent neural network (DRNN) in a novel fashion to reveal characteristics of control modules underlying the generation of muscle activations when drawing figures with the outstretched arm. We asked healthy human subjects to perform four different figure-eight movements in each of two workspaces (frontal plane and sagittal plane). We then trained a DRNN to predict the movement of the wrist from information in the EMG signals from seven different muscles. We trained different instances of the same network on a single movement direction, on all four movement directions in a single movement plane, or on all eight possible movement patterns and looked at the ability of the DRNN to generalize and predict movements for trials that were not included in the training set. Within a single movement plane, a DRNN trained on one movement direction was not able to predict movements of the hand for trials in the other three directions, but a DRNN trained simultaneously on all four movement directions could generalize across movement directions within the same plane. Similarly, the DRNN was able to reproduce the kinematics of the hand for both movement planes, but only if it was trained on examples performed in each one. As we will discuss, these results indicate that there are important dynamical constraints on the mapping of EMG to hand movement that depend on both the time sequence of the movement and on the anatomical constraints of the musculoskeletal system. In a second step, we injected EMG signals constructed from different synergies derived by the PCA in order to identify the mechanical significance of each of these components. From these results, one can surmise that discrete-rhythmic movements may be constructed from three different fundamental modules, one regulating the co-activation of all muscles over the time span of the movement and two others elliciting patterns of reciprocal activation operating in orthogonal directions.

Intuicionismo y formalismo en la filosofía de la matemática de I. Kant y H. Hilbert. Sobre función y significado de la intuición matemática

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Physiological modules for generating discrete and rhythmic movements: Component analysis of EMG signals

A central question in Neuroscience is that of how the nervous system generates the spatiotemporal commands needed to realize complex gestures, such as handwriting. A key postulate is that the central nervous system (CNS) builds up complex movements from a set of simpler motor primitives or control modules. In this study we examined the control modules underlying the generation of muscle activations when performing different types of movement: discrete, point-to-point movements in eight different directions and continuous figure-eight movements in both the normal, upright orientation and rotated 90 degrees. To test for the effects of biomechanical constraints, movements were performed in the frontal-parallel or sagittal planes, corresponding to two different nominal flexion/abduction postures of the shoulder. In all cases we measured limb kinematics and surface electromyographic activity (EMB) signals for seven different muscles acting around the shoulder. We first performed principal component analysis (PCA) of the EMG signals on a movement-by-movement basis. We found a surprisingly consistent pattern of muscle groupings across movement types and movement planes, although we could detect systematic differences between the PCs derived from movements performed in each sholder posture and between the principal components associated with the different orientations of the figure. Unexpectedly we found no systematic differences between the figute eights and the point-to-point movements. The first three principal components could be associated with a general co-contraction of all seven muscles plus two patterns of reciprocal activatoin. From these results, we surmise that both "discrete-rhythmic movements" such as the figure eight, and discrete point-to-point movement may be constructed from three different fundamental modules, one regulating the impedance of the limb over the time span of the movement and two others operating to generate movement, one aligned with the vertical and the other aligned with the horizontal.

Design and implementation of fishery modules in integrated household surveys in developing countries

Fish and other aquatic animals contribute to the food security of citizens of developing countries, both as a source of income and as a component of healthy diets, yet fishing is not currently captured in most integrated household surveys. This sourcebook provides essential technical guidance on the design of statistical modules and questionnaires aimed at collecting fishery data at the household level. Background on the main policies important to the fishery sector, information on the data needed to analyze issues of policy relevance, and methodology on the construction of survey questions to collect necessary data are also provided. The document is organized to provide essential technical guidance on how to design statistical modules and questionnaires aimed at collecting fishery data at the household level. It includes an overview of the main technical and statistical challenges related to sampling fishery-dependent households. The document starts with an introductory section identifying the potential reasons why fisheries and in particular small-scale fisheries have not been adequately included in national statistical systems in a large number of countries. The report then proposes a succinct review of what is known (and what remains unknown) about small-scale fisheries and their contribution to the livelihoods of households in sub-Saharan Africa. It also provides readers with background on the main policies that are important to the fishery sector, information on the data needed to analyze issues of policy relevance, and methodology on the construction of survey questions to collect necessary data.

Ecuaciones integrales en el contexto de espacios de Hilbert

Las ideas básicas de la teoría de los espacios de Hilbert tienen como origen diversos problemas del análisis funcional, entre los cuales podemos citar los relativos a ciertas ecuaciones integrales lineales. Concretamente, un precedente de los métodos de la teoría espectral de operadores fue precisamente el enfoque de I. Fredholm de resolución de ciertas ecuaciones integrales mediante la teoría de matrices y determinantes infinitos utilizando el método de coeficientes indeterminados. Imitando la técnica de von Koch para desarrollar determinantes infinitos, Fredholm desarrolló su famoso teorema de alternativa en la resolución de las ecuaciones que llevan su nombre. Algunos tipos de ecuaciones integrales lineales están relacionados con operadores acotados completamente continuos y la teoría espectral para esta clase de operadores se podrá aplicar en la resolución de estas ecuaciones. En esta memoria se estudian distintos aspectos de estas y otras ecuaciones integrales. En el capítulo 1 se definen los conceptos básicos necesarios para el seguimiento de la misma, como es la de operador lineal y sus propiedades. Se distingue una clase importante de operadores, los compactos. Y se demuestra que todo operador integral pertenece a esta clase de operadores. En los capítulos 2 y 3 se introduce el concepto de ecuación integral, diferenciando las de Fredholm de las de Volterra, y se estudian diferentes técnicas de resolución de dichas ecuaciones, como son el teorema de alternativa, el teorema espectral para operadores compactos y autoadjuntos, ecuaciones integrales con núcleos degenerados y resolución por el método de aproximaciones sucesivas. Para finalizar, en el apéndice se resuelven algunos ejercicios utilizando los diferentes métodos estudiados.