Previous research had shown that when people are required to simultaneously perform a cognitive and balance task their performance is worsened in one or both tasks, and that this interference is even more marked in people with reduced sensorimotor and/or cognitive functioning due to age and disease [1-2]. Interestingly, it […]
We continually receive sensory information about our environment and ourselves. Similar to human interactions, some sources of information are more credible than others. Thus, how does the central nervous system decide what source of information to listen to? What happens if the only available source of information is a distorted […]
Repetitive pairing of stimuli to the motor cortex and peripheral nerves supplying muscles can induce plasticity at synapses between nerve cells that control voluntary muscle activity. This technique has therapeutic potential for enhancing activity at synapses that lie within the spinal cord and transmit commands from the brain to the […]
The brain cannot properly control the movement of the body without knowing something about its size. However, the body does not have receptors to signal size directly, the brain has to work it out using information from multiple senses (e.g. touch, vision, proprioception) and then store it in body “maps” […]
Stroke can impair motor and/or sensory systems in very different ways depending on the individual (Teasell & Hussein, 2013). Currently, many neurological measures of the functional consequences of stroke use very coarse scales and/or rely of the subjective judgements of clinicians (Scott & Dukelow, 2011). In our lab we are […]
Following a stroke or spinal cord injury some people develop stiff joints, sometimes referred to as contracture. It is not well understood why contractures develop. Also, it is not clear whether they result from changes in the muscle or the tendon, which is why researchers and clinicians are very interested […]
As a graduate student, I volunteered at my local community centre and the manager assigned me to run one of the weekly exercise classes offered to older people in the community. I found this experience highly rewarding and I was impressed by the enthusiasm of participants. The highlight of each […]
Immediately following a spinal cord injury (SCI) patients enter a state of areflexia and muscle weakness that is gradually replaced by the recovery of neuronal and network excitability leading to improvements in residual motor function over time as well as to the development of spasticity (i.e. involuntary muscle spasms). Spasticity […]
Siobhan Moylan, a science and media communicator at Neuroscience Research Australia, recently conducted this insightful interview with Professor Simon Gandevia. In the interview, Professor Gandevia talks at length about motor impairment, which is the focus of a recent NHMRC Program Grant entitled ‘Motor Impairment: basic and applied human neurophysiology’. […]
Treatments for tremor disorders have largely focused on the prescription of medications or, in more severe cases, brain surgery (for a review see Schneider & Deuschl 2015). In recent years, there have been some novel – and at times ‘sci-fi’ – approaches to reducing tremor amplitude. Such approaches include the […]
