Signal Processing #2

Our laboratory is interested in the mechanisms underlying recovery of locomotion following human spinal cord injury (SCI). We have shown that subjects with motor incomplete SCI (sparing of some volitional motor control) exhibit significant increases in their maximal force generation capacity within a fatiguing protocol. This is in stark contrast to the decrease in maximal force consistently displayed by healthy control subjects during the same protocol. This photograph shows equipment used to collect and analyze electromyographic and force data. It was taken after the first trial of a new protocol, the results of which indicate that the volitional component of a maximal contraction is necessary for extra force to develop. These results corroborate with the theory that descending neuromodulators from the midbrain have the ability to augment force output. Pictured in the foreground are active surface electrodes (DE 2.1, Delsys, Boston, MA) suspended over an isokinetic dynameter (not shown). The background is filled with an assortment of amplifiers, filters and analogue/digital converters.