Neural Control of Movement Laboratory

Susanne M Morton, PT, PhD, Director

Location:    1-155 MEB

                       319-335-9808

 WebLabPict.jpg

Current Personnel:    

  • Susanne Morton (Director)
  • Chu-Ling Yen (PhD student)
  • Sara Hussain (PhD student)
  • Doug Savin (PhD student)
  • Angela Hanson (rotating DPT student)
  • Tara Hackney (research assistant)
  • Andrew Couch (research assistant)
  • 2010-2011 DPT students: S Crane, D Halfman, S Kirk, J Nelson, C Larsen, A Wedeking

 

Past Trainees:             

  • Shih-Chiao Tseng (2008-2010)
  • DPT students: F Cummins, J Ferris, B Goos, E Muff, R Plunkett, J Stagg (2009-2010); D Schultz (2008-2009)

Research Interests:

The NCM lab focuses on mechanisms of human central nervous system control and adaptation of movement. We are particularly interested in how the brain helps to control and modify walking patterns in response to changes in the environment, behavioral goal, and availability of sensory feedback, and in the context of learning. We study healthy populations as well as individuals with central nervous system dysfunction affecting movement, e.g., stroke. Movements are carefully quantified using kinematic (trajectories, joint angles, etc.), kinetic (forces, torques, etc.), electromyographic (muscle activity) and non-invasive brain stimulation measurements.

 

Current Projects:

  • Mechanisms of impaired locomotion and interlimb coordination in post-stroke hemiparesis 
  • Motor adaptation and motor learning in health and disease
  • Non-invasive brain stimulation to influence interhemipheric effects between motor cortices post-stroke.

Below is some sample data from a recent project investigating interlimb coordination during walking in healthy young adults. We show that a predictable perturbation to a single limb produces coordinated bilateral feedforward responses over time, which work to maintain stability and forward propulsion. Note that the EMG changes persist even after the perturbation is removed. 

Major Instrumentation:

  • Motion capture:  Optotrak Certus System, dual position sensors
  • Electromyography:  Motion Labs Systems 10 channel surface EMG unit
  • Non-invasive brain stimulation:  Magstim Rapid2 transcranial magnetic stimulation unit

 

Funding:

  • NIH / NINDS   R21 NS067189 (current)
  • NIH / NICHD / NCMRR   K01 HD050369 (current)
  • Foundation for Physical Therapy (2009-2010)

 

Selected Recent Publications:

  • Tseng SC, Morton SM. Impaired interlimb coordination of voluntary leg movements in post-stroke hemiparesis. J Neurophysiol 2010 104(1): 248-257. 
  • Morton SM, Tseng YW, Zackowski KM, Daline JR, Bastian AJ. Longitudinal tracking of gait and balance impairments in cerebellar disease. Mov Disord 2010 Jun 11. 
  • Reisman DS, Bastian AJ, Morton SM. Neurophysiologic and rehabilitation insights from the split-belt and other locomotor adaptation paradigms. Phys Ther 2010 90(2): 187-195. 
  • Savin DN, Morton SM. Asymmetric generalization between the arm and leg following prism-induced visuomotor adaptation. Exp Brain Res 2008 186(1): 175-182. 
  • Morton SM, Bastian AJ. Cerebellar contributions to locomotor adaptations during splitbelt treadmill walking. J Neurosci 2006 26(36): 9107-9116.
  • Morton SM, Bastian AJ. Prism adaptation during walking generalizes to reaching and requires the cerebellum. J Neurophysiol 2004 92(4): 2497-2509.

  

For a full list of publications, see Dr. Morton’s CV.