On November 26, some of the finest minds in medical science will meet in Sydney, Australia to discuss the latest research on motor impairments – the diseases or health conditions that disrupt function of the human motor system (brain, nerves, and muscles) and cause physical disability. The event that will […]
Over the past 4.5 years, researchers from all over the world have written non-technical summaries on their research for the Motor Impairment Blog. Consequently, the Blog contains a rich archive of information on topics such as muscle strength and weakness, falls and balance, sensation, pain, motor control, and research methods. […]
People with pain move differently. Why is this the case? Prof Paul Hodges talks about his research on muscle adaptations in people with pain.
It is well known that the nervous system is capable of change. One way that change occurs is through the strengthening or weakening of connections between nerve cells; a process termed synaptic plasticity. In the laboratory, we can produce synaptic changes using stimulation techniques that activate various parts of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Inputs from specialised cutaneous and muscle afferents are crucial for tactile manipulation and accurate movement and postural control. Both sets of afferents project to the cerebral cortex and contribute to proprioceptive senses (e.g. Proske & Gandevia, 2012). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the cortical activation produced by cutaneous […]
