Experience drives changes in the connections between neurons in the brain. This neuroplasticity is a fundamental property of the nervous system, critical for learning and memory, but also important for recovery from injury and development of some nervous system disorders. This study will improve understanding of how, with practice, the human brain adapts to functional demands in the development of motor skill. Musicians are used as exemplars of fine motor skill who show long-term experience-driv ....Experience drives changes in the connections between neurons in the brain. This neuroplasticity is a fundamental property of the nervous system, critical for learning and memory, but also important for recovery from injury and development of some nervous system disorders. This study will improve understanding of how, with practice, the human brain adapts to functional demands in the development of motor skill. Musicians are used as exemplars of fine motor skill who show long-term experience-driven plasticity in the brain. This study will provide specific and detailed quantitative information about how motor cortex circuits important for control of the hand are altered in musicians. The study will also improve understanding of basic mechanisms involved in short-term neuroplasticity associated with motor learning in musicians and non-musicians, and hemispheric or training-related differences in these properties which may contribute to different abilities to use the hand for fine motor tasks.Read moreRead less
Novel Assessments Of The Central And Peripheral Control Of The Human Hand
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,105.00
Summary
This is a study of how the human hand works. The hand is supremely adapted for manual skills ranging from writing and playing a musical instrument to non-verbal communications via gesture and pointing. How is the range of hand skills achieved? We are motivated to study this because the ability of the hand to recovery from some neurological disorders, particularly stroke, is very poor. One important element in virtually all activities of the hand is precise movement of the thumb. The tip of the t ....This is a study of how the human hand works. The hand is supremely adapted for manual skills ranging from writing and playing a musical instrument to non-verbal communications via gesture and pointing. How is the range of hand skills achieved? We are motivated to study this because the ability of the hand to recovery from some neurological disorders, particularly stroke, is very poor. One important element in virtually all activities of the hand is precise movement of the thumb. The tip of the thumb is flexed by a single muscle, a muscle only present in humans. We want to determine how this muscle works, and how the force it produces affects the whole hand. We will use specialised neurophysiological techniques to do this in human volunteers. There is no comparable animal model for this type of work due to significant differences at both the level of the brain and the level of the muscle. Second, we want to understand better how the cells in the spinal cord which control the hand (and other) muscles work. We have two new ways to do this, including a novel technique which can activate these cells with a form of stimulation that may help us improve functional electrical stimulation. Finally, with 27 bones and more than 25 muscles which operate it, the hand is not simple to control. We will use a new apparatus to measure how well it is controlled, and we will directly stimulate the motor areas of the brain to evaluate the control. From this, we will come up with new understanding, as well as new stimulus and measurement techniques that can be applied to patients with impaired hand function, as occurs all too often after stroke.Read moreRead less
Viral-mediated Modulation Of BDNF Expression In Motor Neurons To Promote The Recovery Of Hand/digits Function In A Rat Model Of Spinal Cord Injury That Impairs Normal Grasping Action.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$341,427.00
Summary
This project seeks to lure injured axons towards motor neurons, a process that is essential for the recovery of motor function. BDNF gradients will be created along the injured axons path. Axons will have to elongate to reach the first source of BDNF. They will need to elongate even more to get to the next source of BDNF, hence bringing them each time closer to their lost targets. This gene therapy scenario has the potential to bring gene therapy a step closer for human spinal cord injury.