English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

How do cats manage to walk so graciously on top of narrow fences or windowsills high above the ground while apparently exerting little effort? In this study we investigated cat full-body mechanics and the activity of limb muscles and motor cortex during walking along a narrow 5-cm path on the ground. We tested the hypotheses that during narrow walking 1) lateral stability would be lower because of the decreased base-of-support area and 2) the motor cortex activity would increase stride-related modulation because of imposed demands on lateral stability and paw placement accuracy. We measured medio-lateral and rostro-caudal dynamic stability derived from the extrapolated center of mass position with respect to the boundaries of the support area. We found that cats were statically stable in the frontal plane during both unconstrained and narrow-path walking. During narrow-path walking, cats walked slightly slower with more adducted limbs, produced smaller lateral forces by hindlimbs, and had elevated muscle activities. Of 174 neurons recorded in cortical layer V, 87% of forelimb-related neurons (from 114) and 90% of hindlimb-related neurons (from 60) had activities during narrow-path walking distinct from unconstrained walking: more often they had a higher mean discharge rate, lower depth of stride-related modulation, and/or longer period of activation during the stride. These activity changes appeared to contribute to control of accurate paw placement in the medio-lateral direction, the width of the stride, rather than to lateral stability control, as the stability demands on narrow-path and unconstrained walking were similar.

Accurate stepping on a narrow path: mechanics, EMG, and motor cortex activity in the cat