Colloquium Schedule

Sensory Stimulation Affects Motor Symptoms: Treating Cervical Dystonia with Vibration

Jason Kang, Ph.D. Student
School of Kinesiology, Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory 
University of Minnesota

Monday, March 17 at 4:00 pm | 405 Walter Library

Abstract: Cervical dystonia (CD) is a movement disorder characterized by abnormal head postures, tremors, and pain. While traditional treatments such as Botox injections and deep brain stimulation can be effective, they are often expensive and not well-tolerated by all patients. Vibrotactile stimulation (VTS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive alternative, modulating sensorimotor processing via the cerebello-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network. I will report findings from a multicenter study involving 67 CD patients, evaluating the effects of VTS on perceived pain and head posture. The majority of participants experienced significant reductions in pain and improvements in head posture. Additionally, I will present findings of a recent case study, where we observed changes in neuronal activity within the Globus Pallidus Internus (GPi) of the basal ganglia in one patient. These neuronal alterations correlated with reductions in cervical muscle EMG activity and improvements in head posture, providing insight into the potential mechanisms underlying VTS effects. 
 

Cortical mechanisms of gait and balance with aging and after stroke

Jacqueline Palmer, PT, DPT, PhD
Medical School
University of Minnesota

Monday, February 17 at 4:00 pm | 405 Walter Library

Abstract: Balance impairments in older adults and after stroke are common but poorly understood. Stiffer biomechanical strategies for balance control are also common in older adults and after stroke, contributing to lower resilience to postural perturbations and increased fall risk. After stroke, an impaired ability to utilize the paretic leg rapidly and effectively after stroke may bias compensatory utilization of the nonparetic leg for balance control. Our laboratory measures evoked cortical responses with electroencephalography (EEG) during standing balance reactions. We have found evidence that older adults increase reliance on the cerebral cortex for postural stability, and those with lower balance ability show the greatest cortical reliance. Thus, the inability of older individuals to engage the cerebral cortex during balance recovery could contribute to balance deficits in the presence of a brain lesion affecting cortical and subcortical brain regions, such as stroke. Supporting this notion, our results show that when neurocompensatory strategies break down, people after stroke increase recruitment of cortical activity during balance recovery responses. In this talk, I will share published and preliminary findings from our laboratory and our collaborators showing that distinct cortical activity signatures of balance control reflect different aspects of cognitive-motor interactions in aging and after stroke.

Kinesiology on the Waves

Tom Stoffregen, Ph.D.
School of Kinesiology, 
University of Minnesota

Monday, December 16 at 4:00 pm | 402 Walter Library

Abstract: In this presentation, I will discuss the science of human movement on ships at sea. That is, I will discuss life on a moving surface. Sea travel is ancient (> 10,000 years) and common (>30,000,000 paying passengers/year). It also covers the lifespan, from family cruises with small children to retirement cruises. Life on a moving surface requires wholesale adjustments to the control of the body. The process of adjustment, known as "getting your sea legs", can be fast or slow. Most people get their sea legs within 48 hours (many in less than 12), while some people require up to 96 hours. Thus, adaptation to life on a moving surface offers a natural laboratory for the study of perceptual-motor learning, one that exhibits both wide variations and striking similarities across individuals. The existence of "laboratory grade" motion sensing technologies that are portable has enabled -- for the first time -- the scientific study of human movement in the nautical setting. Findings from recent research help us to understand how ship motion affects both the body and the mind. More importantly, such findings pose challenges for theories of perceptual-motor control, in general.

They're bright but can't Move: Improving motor outcomes in children with developmental coordination disorder in the real world

Emmanuel Bonney, Ph.D.
School of Kinesiology, Institute of Child Development
University of Minnesota

Monday, November 18 at 4:00 pm | 405 Walter Library

Should dyad practice become a tool in robotic neurorehabilitation?

School of Kinesiology,  Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory 
University of Minnesota

Monday, October 21 at 4:00 pm | 405 Walter Library

“It’s the Wrong Hand”. Why treat the good hand in Stroke Patients?

Robert L. Sainburg, Ph.D. OTR 
Penn State University

Monday, September 30 at 4:00 pm | 405 Walter Library

Hand biomechanics and rehabilitation

Imaging the cerebellar nuclei in ataxia

Dagmar Timmann  
Professor, Department of Experimental Neurology University of Duisburg-Essen

Friday, November 18, 2022, at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm  
109 Cooke Hall
 

Development and testing of wearable technologies for improving goal-directed movement after stroke

Robert Scheidt  
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering 
Marquette University

Thursday, August 25, 2022, at 11:00 am - 12:30 pm  
402 Walter Library

Robotics for treating stroke: From neurosurgery to neurorehabilitation, to neuroprosthetics

Vitor Mendes Pereira 
Director, Endovascular Research and Innovation 
St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto

Lorenzo Masia 
Professor, Medical Technology 
Heidelberg University

David Reinkensmeyer 
Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering; Anatomy & Neurobiology 
University of California at Irvine

Riki Banerjee 
Vice President, R&D Synchron

December 9, 2021 at 11-13:00h CST (Zoom)

Using Clinical Data to Drive Clinical Practice: Bringing Practice Change to Scale

Patricia L. Scheets 
Vice President of Quality and Clinical Outcomes 
Infinity Rehab

November 19, 2021, 1-2 pm 
Phillips Wangensteen Building (PWB) Room 2-400

Neuroplasticity and Neuromodulation after Severe Stroke: Teasing Out the Unknowns

Lumy Sawaki 
Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 
CHRH SCI Endowed Chair 
College of Medicine,  University of Kentucky

April 22, 2019

Leading with Cancer Rehabilitation to Improve Survivorship Care

Nicole Stout 
CEO, 3e Services 
Consultant 
Office of Strategic Research, Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine 
National Institutes of Health

November 16, 2018

Mitigating Biomechanical Analyses of Human Movement and the Implications for Clinical Interventions

Richard Neptune 
Department Chair and Professor 
John T. MacGuire Professorship in Mechanical Engineering 
University of Texas, Austin

April 25, 2018

Improvement of Gait and Balance Function in Patients with Peripheral Neuropathy Using a Wearable Sensory Prosthesis

Lars Oddsson 
Faculty, Technology Leadership Institute, U of M 
President & Co-Founder, RX Function Inc.

October 23, 2017

The cerebellum and learning – focus on eyeblink conditioning in humans

Dagmar Timmann
Associate Professor of Experimental Neurology
Department of Neurology
University Clinic Essen, Germany

June 5, 2017