Mechanisms Of Body Representation And The Sensory Consequences Of Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,842.00
Summary
How does the brain control movement without vision? We cannot see our mouth but can easily put food in it. The brain uses a combination of sensory signals and stored models of the body, to control movement. The body models, and their interaction with sensory information, is not well understood. but they are disrupted by common clinical disorders. This research project investigates unsolved questions about the body model including how it is affected by stroke.
Neuronal Activity And Variability Underlying Perception And Action
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,802.00
Summary
Perception and behaviour are often unpredictable. We do not identically perceive repeated stimuli, and even professional athletes cannot precisely replicate their actions. This project compares variations in the activity of motion-sensitive neurons in the brain with variability in motion perception and eye movements. This should give insights into how neuronal activity underlies conscious perception and eye movements and may ultimately help treat conditions with impaired control of movement.
Understanding The Organisation Of The Medial Parietal Cortex: Sensorimotor Integration For Goal-directed Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$551,862.00
Summary
Reaching and grasping are of obvious significance for a productive life, and many of the brain areas known to be involved in the direction of arm movements are located in the parietal lobe. Stroke affecting this part of the brain causes disability, as people become unable to reach accurately, or to close their hands around objects with appropriate strength. This project will combine modern physiological and anatomical methods to reveal the brain circuitry responsible for such crucial skills.
This is a study of the senses which arise from our muscles and which tell us where our different body parts are, at any point in time. These senses, collectively called proprioception, are also involved in the automatic, unconscious control of our muscles. So, ultimately, they allow us to stand and to move freely with precision and confidence, even in the dark. One of these senses, the sense of effort or of heaviness, is believed to be generated within the brain. It intensifies when we become fa ....This is a study of the senses which arise from our muscles and which tell us where our different body parts are, at any point in time. These senses, collectively called proprioception, are also involved in the automatic, unconscious control of our muscles. So, ultimately, they allow us to stand and to move freely with precision and confidence, even in the dark. One of these senses, the sense of effort or of heaviness, is believed to be generated within the brain. It intensifies when we become fatigued. These experiments will be concerned with finding out more about how this works. We have a method that uses magnetic stimulation of the brain to change its control of our muscles. Using it we will learn how this sense is generated. When we close our eyes and move our limbs we realise that we know exactly where they are at any point in time. It remains uncertain exactly how this information is generated within the nervous system. One idea, arising from some recent experiments which we want to test, is that as we move the limb, the skin over the moving parts is stretched and stretch-sensitive nerve endings in the skin provide us with information about the movement. Alternatively, perhaps it is the effort we exert to maintain limb position against the force of gravity which tells us where the limb is. In another recent study we have found that when a muscle has become painful from excessive exercise or from some local strain injury, our ability to control the muscle and so move the limb is no longer as effective. We want to study the underlying nervous mechanisms responsible for the changes in movement control. Are they designed to spare the muscle while it recovers from injury? How are they brought about? All of this work is important for a better understanding of ourselves, for a better clinical diagnosis when something goes wrong and for improved treatment of diseased or injured muscles.Read moreRead less