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Project

Compensatory neural recruitment as a result of traumatic brain injury: the penetration of cognition into action.

 
This project is about the fundamental study of changes in movement control and its coupling to executive functioning in children and young adults after sustaining a traumatic brain injury. Studying a complex motor tasks with high executive demands by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we will expand the knowledge about changes in brain activity itself and its link to motor and cognitive behaviour. In addition, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) will be used to define the link between structure specific damage and motor and cognitive behaviour. This project is innovative since these changes in motor coordination, executive function and their coupling have hardly been studied in children and young adults with TBI. It is highly important to generate this knowledge as this surplus brain activity implies a reduction in flexibility of motor control, due to the resulting limitation in available neural resources. Moreover, the acquired knowledge will provide new insights in the degree of brain plasticity after sustaining a TBI. These insights will lead to earlier, better and more specific diagnostics and to the development of new therapies.
 
 
Date:4 Feb 2008 →  30 Sep 2010
Keywords:Traumatic brain injury, Psychology
Disciplines:Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing, Orthopaedics, Animal experimental and comparative psychology, Applied psychology, Human experimental psychology
Project type:PhD project