Neuromuscular Control of Movement

Full course description

The course neuromuscular control of human movement seeks to understand how muscles, sense organs, motor pattern generators, and brain interact to produce coordinated movement. Applications of this field include ameliorating human health problems, e.g., restoration of movement following brain or spinal cord injury and prosthetic design. Additionally, understanding the remarkable performance that humans can achieve in sports. Conceptually, the key element of neuromuscular control is the emergent cooperation of the neural system (sensors and CNS) and the biomechanical system (muscles and bones). A key goal is dynamic tuning of all systems to create stable and effective locomotor behavior in a continuous interaction with the environment.

In this course specific aspects of human movement (e.g. walking, running, jumping) are addressed to elucidate the basic principles underlying neuromuscular control. Proper execution of an intended task requires a complex intermuscular coordination, involving both neuronal sensing of movement and neuronal control of the muscular motors. Topics that will be addressed in the course are: neural pathways involved in human movement, structure and function of the musculoskeletal system, control schemes for upright stance, but also stable and efficient walking and running. Furthermore, the course will address how knowledge on neuromuscular control can help to understand the limitations that certain patient groups experience and to improve performance via motor learning strategies and external aids. Such knowledge is of vital importance for biomedical scientists that want to contribute to (para) medical disciplines like neurology, orthopedics, physical therapy, sports medicine or rehabilitation medicine.

The course is an introduction into the neuromuscular control of human posture and movement. It requires a basic understanding of the anatomical structures and functional units of the neuromuscular skeletal system, which has been addressed in BBS1004 Brain and Movement. The course also includes statistics, which is an extension to the statistical skills developed in courses BBS1003 and BBS2001.