ArticleJournal of neurophysiology2020
When 90% of the variance is not enough: residual EMG from muscle synergy extraction influences task performance.
Article in Journal of neurophysiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Myoelectric interface training enables targeted reduction in abnormal muscle co-activation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Neuromotor modules revealed by direct electrical stimulation of the human primary motor cortex.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Muscle-level evaluation of the minimum muscle-stress-change model in human three-joint reaching using anatomically expanded arm models.Biological cybernetics · 2026Article
- Estimating Muscle Parameters via Hierarchical Bayesian Neuromechanics.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A modular architecture for trial-by-trial learning of redundant muscle activity patterns in novel sensorimotor tasks.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Cluster-based muscle synergy analysis scheme for assessing crawling motor function in children with cerebral palsy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- The Differential Effects of Fast Walking Speed on Muscle Coactivation in the Paretic and Non-Paretic Extremities Post-Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · 2026Article
- Baseline EMG alters muscle synergy activations while preserving spatial structure in healthy and post-stroke subjects.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Anticipatory prediction of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transitions: a unified approach.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Muscle synergies and functional network organization underlying Tai Chi movements: a pilot cross-Sectional study towards a personalized Neuromechanical Baseline.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Self-Organizing Recruitment of Compensatory Cortical Areas Post-Stroke Can Maximize Residual Motor Performance.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2026Article
- Developmental changes in upper limb muscle synergies during throwing: A comparison between preschoolers and schoolers.iScience · 2025Article
- Facial expression recognition through muscle synergies and estimation of facial keypoint displacements through a skin-musculoskeletal model using facial sEMG signals.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Muscle synergies for multidirectional isometric force generation during maintenance of upright standing posture.Experimental brain research · 2024Article
- Synergy quality assessment of muscle modules for determining learning performance using a realistic musculoskeletal model.Frontiers in computational neuroscience · 2024Article
- Muscle synergy patterns as altered coordination strategies in individuals with chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Variability of trunk muscle synergies underlying the multidirectional movements and stability trunk motor tasks in healthy individuals.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Neuromuscular control: from a biomechanist's perspective.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Review
- "Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Evidence for shared neural information between muscle synergies and corticospinal efficacy.Scientific reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Muscle synergies are usually identified via dimensionality reduction techniques, such that the identified synergies reconstruct the muscle activity to an accuracy level defined heuristically, often set to 90% of the variance. Here, we question the assumption that the residual muscle activity not explained by the synergies is due to noise. We hypothesize instead that the residual activity is not entirely random and can influence the execution of motor tasks. Young healthy subjects performed an isometric reaching task in which the surface electromyography of 10 arm muscles was mapped onto a two-dimensional force used to control a cursor. Three to five synergies explained 90% of the variance in muscle activity. We altered the muscle-force mapping via "hard" and "easy" virtual surgeries. Whereas in both surgeries the forces associated with synergies spanned the same dimension of the virtual environment, the muscle-force mapping was as close as possible to the initial mapping in the easy surgery; in contrast, it was as far as possible in the hard surgery. This design maximized potential differences in reaching errors attributable to residual activity. Results show that the easy surgery produced smaller directional errors than the hard surgery. Additionally, simulations of surgeries constructed with 1 to 10 synergies show that the errors in the easy and hard surgeries differ significantly for up to 8 synergies, which explains 98% of the variance on average. Our study thus indicates the need for cautious interpretations of results derived from synergy extraction techniques based on heuristics with lenient accuracy levels.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.