Sensory regulation of stance-to-swing transition in generation of adaptive human walking: A simulation study

In this paper, we investigated sensory mechanisms to regulate the transition from the stance to swing phases in the generation of adaptive human bipedal walking based on a neuromusculoskeletal model. We examined the contributions of the sensory information from the force-sensitive afferents in the ankle extensor muscle and from the position-sensitive afferents from the hip, inspired by a neuro-mechanical simulation for the stepping of the hind legs of cats. Our simulation results showed that the sensory signals related to the force in the ankle extensor muscle make a larger contribution than sensory signals related to the joint angle at the hip to produce robust walking against disturbances, as observed in the simulation results of cat locomotion. This suggests that such a sensorimotor mechanism is a general property and is also embedded in the neuro-control system of human bipedal walking.

► We construct a neuromusculoskeletal model of human walking.
► We use the physiological concepts of central pattern generator and muscle synergy.
► We examine sensory mechanisms to regulate transition from stance to swing phases.
► Unloading rule contributes more than hip extension rule to produce adaptive walking.