Visuomotor control of ankle joint using position vs. force

Abstract

Ankle joint plays a critical role in daily activities involving interactions with environment using force and position control. Neuromechanical dysfunctions (e.g., due to stroke or brain injury), therefore, have a major impact on individuals’ quality of life. The effective design of neuro‐rehabilitation protocols for robotic rehabilitation platforms relies on understanding the control characteristics of the ankle joint in interaction with external environment using force and position, as the findings in upper limb may not be generalizable to the lower limb. This study aimed to characterize the skilled performance of ankle joint in visuomotor position and force control. A two‐degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) robotic footplate was used to measure individuals’ force and position. Healthy individuals (n = 27) used ankle force or position for point‐to‐point and tracking control tasks in 1‐DOF and 2‐DOF virtual game environments. Subjects’ performance was quantified as a function of accuracy and completion time. In contrast to comparable performance in 1‐DOF control tasks, the performance in 2‐DOF tasks was different and had characteristic patterns in the position and force conditions, with a significantly better performance for position. Subjective questionnaires on the perceived difficulty matched the objective experimental results, suggesting that the poor performance in force control was not due to experimental set‐up or fatigue but can be attributed to the different levels of challenge needed in neural control. It is inferred that in visuomotor coordination, the neuromuscular specialization of ankle provides better control over position rather than force. These findings can inform the design of neuro‐rehabilitation platforms, selection of effective tasks and therapeutic protocols.