Neuromechanical

Neuromechanical describes the interdisciplinary field that studies how the nervous system coordinates with the mechanical properties of the musculoskeletal system to produce movement. It focuses on the bidirectional coupling between neural commands—signals sent from the brain and spinal cord—and the mechanical response of muscles, tendons, joints, and the environment. This includes how neural circuitry generates movement plans, how motor commands are transformed into muscle activations and forces, and how the resulting mechanical dynamics feed back to alter neural control through proprioception and reflexes.

Key concepts include motor control strategies (reflexive, predictive, and adaptive), muscle properties such as force-length and force-velocity relationships, tendon elasticity, and joint mechanics; and environmental interactions like ground reaction forces. Neuromechanical systems exhibit delay, impedance, and damping, requiring control approaches that integrate feedforward generation with feedback corrections.

Researchers use electromyography (EMG), motion capture, force plates, and imaging to quantify neural and mechanical states. Musculoskeletal models—forward or inverse dynamics, sometimes EMG-driven—simulate movement by mapping neural inputs to muscle activations and resulting limb motions. These models often employ system identification and optimization to infer parameters and predict outcomes.

The field informs rehabilitation and assistive devices, including robotic exoskeletons and myoelectric prosthetics, and guides performance optimization in sports and ergonomics.