ArticleJournal of neurophysiology2023
Minimum effort simulations of split-belt treadmill walking exploit asymmetry to reduce metabolic energy expenditure.
Article in Journal of neurophysiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Enhanced motor learning and motor savings after acute intermittent hypoxia are associated with a reduction in metabolic cost.The Journal of physiology · 2024Trial
- Adaptive mediolateral control during split-belt walking: Energetics of interlimb coordination and enhanced savings following acute intermittent hypoxia.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Quantifying human adaptation to a novel split-belt walking condition after broad experience at different belt speeds.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Weight-bearing symmetry changes after asymmetric surface stiffness walking.Journal of neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Gait Adaptation to Asymmetric Foot-Ground Compliance Applied by Robotic Footwear.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2026Article
- A model of the cerebellum generates gait adaptations in a reflex-based neuromusculoskeletal model during split-belt walking.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- A model of the cerebellum generates gait adaptations in a reflex-based neuromusculoskeletal model during split-belt walking.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Association of gait speed with risk of diabetes mellitus among older adults: findings from the China health and retirement longitudinal study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Explaining human motor coordination via the synergy expansion hypothesis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Behavioural energetics in human locomotion: how energy use influences how we move.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Review
- Article
- The dual timescales of gait adaptation: initial stability adjustments followed by subsequent energetic cost adjustments.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Associations between asymmetry and reactive balance control during split-belt walking.Journal of biomechanics · 2024Article
- Gait Adaptation to Asymmetric Hip Stiffness Applied by a Robotic Exoskeleton.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2024Article
- Gait adaptation to asymmetric hip stiffness applied by a robotic exoskeleton.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
Walking on a split-belt treadmill elicits an adaptation response that changes baseline step length asymmetry. The underlying causes of this adaptation, however, are difficult to determine. It has been proposed that effort minimization may drive this adaptation, based on the idea that adopting longer steps on the fast belt, or positive step length asymmetry (SLA), can cause the treadmill to exert net-positive mechanical work on a bipedal walker. However, humans walking on split-belt treadmills have not been observed to reproduce this behavior when allowed to freely adapt. To determine if an effort-minimization motor control strategy would result in experimentally observed adaptation patterns, we conducted simulations of walking on different combinations of belt speeds with a human musculoskeletal model that minimized muscle excitations and metabolic rate. The model adopted increasing amounts of positive SLA and decreased its net metabolic rate with increasing belt speed difference, reaching +42.4% SLA and -5.7% metabolic rate relative to tied-belt walking at our maximum belt speed ratio of 3:1. These gains were primarily enabled by an increase in braking work and a reduction in propulsion work on the fast belt. The results suggest that a purely effort minimization driven split-belt walking strategy would involve substantial positive SLA, and that the lack of this characteristic in human behavior points to additional factors influencing the motor control strategy, such as aversion to excessive joint loads, asymmetry, or instability.
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