Brief Communication: Dynamic Plantar Pressure Distribution during Locomotion in Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

摘要

To better place the form and motion ofnthe human foot in an evolutionary context, understandingnhow foot motions change when quadrupeds walk biped-nally can be informative. For this purpose, we comparednthe pressures beneath the foot during bipedal and quad-nrupedal walking in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).nThe pressure at nine plantar regions was recorded usingna pressure mat (120 Hz), while the animals walked on anlevel walkway at their preferred speeds. The resultsnrevealed substantial differences in foot use between thentwo modes of locomotion, and some features observed dur-ning bipedal walking resembled human gait, such as thenmedial transfer of the center of pressure (COP), abruptndeclines in forefoot pressures, and the increased pressurenbeneath the hallux, all occurring during the late-stancenphase. In particular, the medial transfer of the COP,nwhich is also observed in bonobos (Vereecke et al.: Am JnPhys Anthropol 120 (2003) 373–383), was due to a biome-nchanical requirement for a hind limb dominant gait, suchnas bipedal walking. Features shared by bipedal and quad-nrupedal locomotion that were quite different from humannlocomotion were also observed: the heel never contactednthe ground, a foot longitudinal arch was absent, the hal-nlux was widely abducted, and the functional axis was onnthe third digit, not the second