The UCM approach provides an analysis that allows to quantify how DoFs are organized or coordinated through the structure of variability of DoFs with respect to a given task performance. Motor synergy has often been quantified using the Uncontrolled Manifold (UCM) approach 11, 12 in a variety of motor tasks. Cumulating evidence on postural control has suggested that the CNS is able to synergistically control multiple DoFs such as multiple segments, multiple muscles, and multiple fingers for the stabilization of their combined actions such as whole body center of mass 5, 6, overall muscle activations 7, 8, and multi-finger grasping 9, 10. The concept of motor synergies has been proposed as a control mechanism of the CNS 3, which refers to task-specific patterns of the multi-degrees of freedoms (DoFs) that stabilize the performance of a particular motor task 4. To achieve this remarkable balance control, the central nervous system (CNS) is required to coordinate multiple body segments for the stabilization of the overall action of the whole body. Humans are capable of robust balance control despite many challenges caused by external perturbations 1 as well as internal ones 2. These findings suggest that long-term specialized dance training can improve the central nervous system’s ability to utilize the redundant DoFs in the whole-body system.

The dancers demonstrated greater utilization of redundant degrees of freedom (DoFs) supported by the greater task-irrelevant variability as compared to non-dancers. We used Uncontrolled Manifold analysis to quantify the variability in the task-relevant space and task-irrelevant space within the multi-dimensional space made up of individual segments’ centers of mass with a velocity adjustment. A custom-made machine was used to provide a short pulling impulse at the waist in the anterior direction to ten dancers and ten non-dancers. In this study, we investigated how dancers coordinate body segments when a physical perturbation is given to their body. However, little is known about how they coordinate their body segments for such superior control. Professional dancers demonstrate an amazing ability to control their balance.

Xcom 2 made whole