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Project

Neural basis for the interactions between head, arms and legs during gait.

Because humans are bipeds, most studies on gait have focused on leg movements. However, rhythmic arm swing has recently attracted a lot of attention since there is increasing evidence that arm swing movements during gait are controlled by locomotor central pattern generators (CPGs), similar to the situation for the legs. Furthermore it is thought that these centers are coupled either through spinal connections or by control from supraspinal centers. This coupling is the topic of the first 2 parts of this project. First the focus will be on how arm movements contribute to the regulation of reflexes in the legs during gait. In part 2 the focus will be on the effects of the execution of different tasks by the legs (sitting, standing and walking) on the performance of arm movements. In sitting and standing, in-phase movements are more stable than anti-phase movements. In conterast, during gait the anti-phase movements dominate (alternating arm swing). It is predicted that the task of the legs has a strong impact on the neural control of arm movements. Research into the effects of head position on interlimb coordination is the topic of part 3 of the current project. Altered head position can affect arm and leg movements through primitive reflexes. These reflexes disappear later in the development but they persist in Cerebral Palsy. It is not known however how these reflexes interact with gait, nor is it known how they relate to the brain damage in these children. The latter can be studied through MRI (voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Such measurements can be successfully correlated with functional measures.
Date:1 Jan 2011 →  31 Dec 2014
Keywords:Gait, Central pattern generators (CPGs), Interlimb coordination, Reflexes, Cerebral Palsy, Primitive reflexes, Head position, Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
Disciplines:Orthopaedics, Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing