The Neurophysiology Of Abnormal Motor Development In Preterm Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$479,967.00
Summary
Better neonatal care has improved survival of prematurely born children. While most of these children will have no obvious brain lesion and attend mainstream schools, many will experience motor and cognitive difficulties and problems with social adjustment. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying this dysfunction are unknown. We will study preterm and term born children to elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying motor and cognitive dysfunction associated with prematurity.
Plasticity Of Sensorimotor Representations In Adult Primate Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$554,656.00
Summary
Cells in some regions of the brain, collectively known as the sensorimotor cortex, control our capacity to purposefully move the arms and hands. Damage to these regions in adults causes severe deficits. However, rehabilitative training can restore some control over the muscles. To understand how the brain circuits change to compensate for injury, and what effect rehabilitation may have on these changes, I will study cellular alterations in the movement control pathways in the cerebral cortex.
Muscle fatigue is common after exercise in healthy people. In many tasks, some muscles become more fatigued than others. Thus, the nervous system must often coordinate fatigued muscles (which produce less force) with unfatigued muscles. We will investigate how fatigue of one muscle alters the way the brain controls other muscles that are engaged in the same task or in unrelated tasks. This will aid understanding of the failures of coordination that lead to poor performance and injury.
Motor Unit Synchronisation And Neuromuscular Performance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,500.00
Summary
The fine control of force is important for many everyday tasks such as writing, grasping objects between index finger and thumb, and fastening buttons. Factors that influence the ability to control force include the coordinated activation of groups of muscle fibres called single motor units. This proposal focuses on the concept that the coordinated activation of motor units is influenced by muscle activity and can impair the ability to produce finely controlled muscle contractions. The goal of t ....The fine control of force is important for many everyday tasks such as writing, grasping objects between index finger and thumb, and fastening buttons. Factors that influence the ability to control force include the coordinated activation of groups of muscle fibres called single motor units. This proposal focuses on the concept that the coordinated activation of motor units is influenced by muscle activity and can impair the ability to produce finely controlled muscle contractions. The goal of these studies is to explore the boudary conditions of the adaptive nature of the nervous system to examine how coordinated motor unit activity influences these aspects of neuromuscular performance. The outcomes of these experiments will identify if altering muscle activity influences the control of movement by altering single motor unit activity. These results will have direct application to the interpretation of abnormal movement control and tremor that is observed in certain neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, new information will be gained on the adaptability of the motor system and its role in the execution of fine motor tasks that may aid in the development of rehabilitation strategies following stroke or spinal cord injury.Read moreRead less
Whether holding the arm still or standing, the brain uses a silent proprioceptive sense that unconsciously detects and controls our movements. Key sensory receptors for this sense are located within the muscles that are also contracting. This is a project to discover how proprioception is affected by muscle contraction and how this affects postural control. This will improve the management of many common disorders that affect movement and balance.