Dietz
Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Universitätsklinik Balgrist und Schweizerisches Paraplegikerzentrum » Paraplegikerzentrum » Prof. Dr. Volker Dietz (emeritiert) » Dietz
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Neuronal control of movement: reflexes, programs and supraspinal influence | ||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | The research in this NF-project is focused on the basic motor control mechanisms within the human central nervous system that organize the execution of movements. For this, different studies comprising the acquisition and performance of a high-precision locomotor task, i.e. obstacle avoidance stepping during treadmill walking, are performed. The main goal is to investigate the functional modulation of polysynaptic spinal reflexes during such a locomotor task. In this context, the involvement of the upper limbs in the obstacle stepping task associated with a quadrupedal reflex organisation is of special interest. Therefore, spinal reflexes are randomly evoked by tibial nerve stimulation in both normal and pre-obstacle stepping and analyzed in ipsilateral leg flexor and bilateral proximal arm muscles using Electromyography (EMG). The experiments are performed with young healthy subjects as well as with patients with a neurological disorder, such as Parkinson’s disease or stroke, in order to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying their locomotor deficits. Furthermore, the influence of the locomotor capacity in children during the mid-childhood development period is of interest. However, besides the reflex modulation occurring at a spinal level, also the supraspinal mechanisms underlying the obstacle stepping task are investigated using Electroencephalography (EEG). |
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| Publications / Publikationen | Hess, F., Van Hedel, H.J. & Dietz, V. (2003) Obstacle avoidance during human walking: H-reflex modulation during motor learning. Exp Brain Res, 151, 82-89.Michel, J., van Hedel, H.J. & Dietz, V. (2007) Facilitation of spinal reflexes assists performing but not learning an obstacle-avoidance locomotor task. Eur J Neurosci, 26, 1299-1306.Michel, J., van Hedel, H.J. & Dietz, V. (2008) Obstacle stepping involves spinal anticipatory activity associated with quadrupedal limb coordination. Eur J Neurosci, 27, 1867-1875.Dietz, V. & Michel, J. (2008) Locomotion in Parkinson's disease: neuronal coupling of upper and lower limbs. Brain, 131, 3421-3431. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | locomotor learning; interlimb coordination; spinal reflex behaviour; movement disorders; motor rehabilitation | ||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
SNF (Personen- und Projektförderung) |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2008 to Dec 2011 |