Assessing the Relationship Between Gesture Intuitiveness and Muscle Network Efficiency: A Comparison of NMF and Inter-Muscular Coherence Analysis Methods

This pilot study investigates the relationship between gesture intuitiveness and muscle network efficiency in human–machine interactions (HMIs), emphasizing objective neurophysiological measures. EMG signals from 16 muscles were analyzed to construct muscle networks based on synergies derived from non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and intermuscular coherence (IMC) across three frequency bands. Metrics such as weighted global efficiency (WGE) and effective average strength (EAS) were correlated with gesture intuitiveness levels. Preliminary results suggest that WGE and EAS in synergy-based muscle networks, particularly in the Gamma 1 band, may be associated with perceived gesture intuitiveness (p = 0.10 and 0.05, respectively). These findings suggest the potential utility of neurophysiological metrics to support the assessment of intuitive gestures, warranting further investigation with broader samples.