This work was supported by NIH grant P20 GM109098, NSF and WVU ADVANCE Sponsorship Program (VG), and WVU departmental start-up funds.

All participants involved in experimentation undergo informed consent procedures approved by the West Virginia University Institutional Review Board (IRB).
1. Overall System Characteristics, Design, and General Experimental Task
Note: The complete setup is comprised of the following major components: EMG equipment and associated digital acquisition (DAQ) equipment; a motion capture system (this protocol incorporates an active LED system); a TMS unit with a figure-of-e...

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The objective of this article is to describe a method for incorporating VR into the study of human motion and a method for synchronizing various data streams. Virtual Reality will expand the capabilities of researchers that attempt to recreate real-world movement scenarios in a laboratory setting. Combining VR with other neuromuscular recording and stimulus methodologies forms a powerful suite of tools for comprehensively studying human motor control mechanisms. The resulting multidimensional datasets obtained during met...

Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly becoming an accessible research tool for use in a number of fields, including the study of human motion. The study of upper limb movement is especially benefited by incorporating VR. Virtual reality permits the rapid customization of experimental parameters designed to investigate specific kinematic and dynamic features of arm movement control. These parameters can be individually adjusted for each subject. For example, the locations of virtual targets can be scaled to ensure identical initial arm posture across subjects. Virtual reality also allows the manipulation of visual feedback during experiments, which is an invaluable tool in visuomotor research1&#8211;5.
The use of realistic VR environments with other biomechanical tools will also permit naturalistic movement scenarios in which to test movement patterns. This arrangement is becoming increasingly valuable to the study and practice of rehabilitation after disease and injury6,7. Mimicking naturalistic movements and environments (e.g. performing movements in a virtual kitchen) in a clinical setting will enable rehabilitation specialists to more precisely describe an individual&#8217;s impairments in a real-world context. Highly individualized impairment descriptions will allow for more focused treatment strategies, potentially increasing the efficacy and reducing the duration of rehabilitation.
Combining VR with other tools such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), surface electromyography (EMG), and full body motion capture, creates an extremely powerful and flexible platform for studying the neuromuscular control of movement in humans. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a powerful non-invasive method of measuring the excitability and functional integrity of descending motor pathways (e.g. corticospinal tract) through EMG responses such as motor evoked potentials (MEPs)8. Modern three-dimensional motion capture systems also enable researchers to study neuromuscular activity together with resulting movement kinematics and dynamics. This permits the creation of extremely detailed models of the musculoskeletal system as well as the testing of hypotheses regarding the structure and function of neural controllers. These studies will expand our scientific knowledge of the human sensorimotor system and lead to improvements in treatment of musculoskeletal and neurological disorders.
However, one major problem with multifunctional systems is the synchronization of separately recorded data streams (e.g. motion capture, EMG, etc.). The goal of this protocol is to describe a generalizable arrangement of common commercially available systems to simultaneously record biomechanical and physiological measurements during movement. Other investigators using equipment from different manufacturers may have to alter elements of this protocol to fit their specific needs. However, general principles from this protocol should still be applicable.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Transcranial magnetic stimulator</td>
			<td>Magstim</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>TMS stimulator and coils</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Impulse X2</td>
			<td>PhaseSpace</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Motion capture system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MA300 Advanced Multi-Channel EMG System</td>
			<td>Motion Lab Systems</td>
			<td>MA300-28</td>
			<td>EMG pre-amplifier and amplifier</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Norotrode EMG electrodes</td>
			<td>Myotronics</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>EMG electrodes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BNC-2111 Single-Ended, Shielded BNC Connector Block</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>779347-01</td>
			<td>BNC Connector Block</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NI PXI-1033 
			5-Slot PXI Chassis with Integrated MXI-Express Controller</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>779757-01</td>
			<td>DAQ chassis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NI PXI-6254 
			16-Bit, 1 MS/s (Multichannel), 1.25 MS/s (1-Channel), 32 Analog Inputs</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>779118-01</td>
			<td>DAQ card</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SHC68-68-EPM Cable (2m)</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>192061-02</td>
			<td>Shielded cable</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DK1 or DK2</td>
			<td>Oculus VR</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Ocuclus Rift headset</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vizard 5 Lite</td>
			<td>WorldViz</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Virtual reality software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C1 and C2 capacitors</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Adjust values to suit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>R1 and R2 resistors</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Adjust values to suit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD4011 NAND gate</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>NAND gate</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2N2222 transistor</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Transistor</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NE555 timer circuit</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Timer circuit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DB25 and USB connectors</td>
			<td>varied</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>parallel and USB connectors</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

multifunctional setup for studying human motor control using transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, motion capture, and virtual reality

The study of neuromuscular control of movement in humans is accomplished with numerous technologies. Non-invasive methods for investigating neuromuscular function include transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and three-dimensional motion capture. The advent of readily available and cost-effective virtual reality solutions has expanded the capabilities of researchers in recreating &#8220;real-world&#8221; environments and movements in a laboratory setting. Naturalistic movement analysis will not only garner a greater understanding of motor control in healthy individuals, but also permit the design of experiments and rehabilitation strategies that target specific motor impairments (e.g. stroke). The combined use of these tools will lead to increasingly deeper understanding of neural mechanisms of motor control. A key requirement when combining these data acquisition systems is fine temporal correspondence between the various data streams. This protocol describes a multifunctional system&#8217;s overall connectivity, intersystem signaling, and the temporal synchronization of recorded data. Synchronization of the component systems is primarily accomplished through the use of a customizable circuit, readily made with off the shelf components and minimal electronics assembly skills.

Synchronization of the numerous data streams in this setup allows one to record the kinematics, continuous muscle activity (EMG), and instantaneous neuromuscular activity (MEPs) that occur during movements of the upper limb. Repeated trials of a given movement are required to reconstruct MEP response profiles over an entire movement. Figure 4 displays data collected from one subject. Figure 4A shows an example of these data streams during a single trial with the corresponding synchroniza...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Multifunctional Setup for Studying Human Motor Control Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Electromyography, Motion Capture, and Virtual Reality at JoVE.

Multifunctional Setup for Studying Human Motor Control Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Electromyography, Motion Capture, and Virtual Reality

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and 3D motion capture are commonly used non-invasive techniques for investigating neuromuscular function in humans. In this paper, we describe a protocol that synchronously samples data generated by all three of these tools along with the unique addition of virtual reality stimulus presentation and feedback.

The study of neuromuscular control of movement in humans is accomplished with numerous technologies. Non-invasive methods for investigating neuromuscular ...

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10.8K Views.  West Virginia University. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and 3D motion capture are commonly used non-invasive techniques for investigating neuromuscular function in humans. In this paper, we describe a protocol that synchronously samples data generated by all three of these tools along with the unique addition of virtual reality stimulus presentation and feedback.

Video: Multifunctional Setup for Studying Human Motor Control Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Electromyography, Motion Capture, and Virtual Reality