162957 20260217205525.0 doi 10.1126/scirobotics.adl0085 sideral 138708 ART-2024-138708 eng Sagastegui Alva, Patrick G. Excitation of natural spinal reflex loops in the sensory-motor control of hand prostheses 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Sensory feedback for prosthesis control is typically based on encoding sensory information in specific types of sensory stimuli that the users interpret to adjust the control of the prosthesis. However, in physiological conditions, the afferent feedback received from peripheral nerves is not only processed consciously but also modulates spinal reflex loops that contribute to the neural information driving muscles. Spinal pathways are relevant for sensory-motor integration, but they are commonly not leveraged for prosthesis control. We propose an approach to improve sensory-motor integration for prosthesis control based on modulating the excitability of spinal circuits through the vibration of tendons in a closed loop with muscle activity. We measured muscle signals in healthy participants and amputees during different motor tasks, and we closed the loop by applying vibration on tendons connected to the muscles, which modulated the excitability of motor neurons. The control signals to the prosthesis were thus the combination of voluntary control and additional spinal reflex inputs induced by tendon vibration. Results showed that closed-loop tendon vibration was able to modulate the neural drive to the muscles. When closed-loop tendon vibration was used, participants could achieve similar or better control performance in interfaces using muscle activation than without stimulation. Stimulation could even improve prosthetic grasping in amputees. Overall, our results indicate that closed-loop tendon vibration can integrate spinal reflex pathways in the myocontrol system and open the possibility of incorporating natural feedback loops in prosthesis control. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/810346/EU/Calibrating and Improving Mechanistic models of Biodiversity/CLIMB This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 810346-CLIMB info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/CNS2022-135366 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-031905-I info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess All rights reserved http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ 27.5 2024 ROBOTICS 1 / 48 = 0.021 2024 Q1 T1 5.94 2024 Artificial Intelligence 2024 Q1 Mechanical Engineering 2024 Q1 Control and Optimization 2024 Q1 Computer Science Applications 2024 Q1 30.6 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion Boesendorfer, Anna Aszmann, Oskar C. Ibáñez, Jaime Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-8439-151X Farina, Dario 5008 800 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Electrón.Com. Área Teoría Señal y Comunicac. 9, 90 (2024) Sci. robotics Science robotics 2470-9476 4480439 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/162957/files/texto_completo.pdf Postprint 2287320 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/162957/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Postprint oai:zaguan.unizar.es:162957 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:30:09 ARTICLE