Research

Numerous numbers of skeletal muscles and joints compose our body and numerous sensory receptors are ubiquitously distributed among them. Proper and time-varying combination of skeletal muscle activity is the key to make proper bodily movement. We also need to extract information about the changes in our body and the world surrounding us during movement from sensory receptors. How does the nervous system perform this multidimensional and redundant information processing which is difficult even with a “super computer”? How are they acquired in development and learning? We pursue these questions by using the upper limb movements of nonhuman primates as a model. Currently, we are examining how the different spinal descending tract shapes the coordinated muscle activity and how the neural strategy to control muscle coordination is influenced by the acute alternation of the skeletomuscular structure (muscle relocation surgery).