NEUROMOTOR FUNCTION CORE (RC-2)

University Of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Neuromotor Function Core (RC-2) provides support for research conducted in University of Maryland,[unreadable] Baltimore (UMB) OAIC studies. The RC-2 enhances Pepper Center goals by providing the expertise and[unreadable] investigator resources to. assess the biomechanical and neurological mechanisms of functional performance[unreadable] with particular emphasis on gait, reaching and balance in older people with physical disabilities due to stroke,[unreadable] hip fracture or other chronic diseases associated with aging and disability. RC-2 aims are to:[unreadable] 1. Provide reliable functional and neurological measures to enhance the rehabilitation science in OAIC-supported[unreadable] clinical research studies which investigate the mechanisms underlying the physical and[unreadable] neuromuscular limitations of older individuals with stroke, hip fracture and other chronic diseases.[unreadable] 2. Develop new methodology to investigate deficits in neuromotor control and brain function in older disabled[unreadable] individuals and, in collaboration with RC-1, facilitate the implementation of motor learning principles and[unreadable] new technologies into novel exercise rehabilitation interventions that can be tested in the laboratory and[unreadable] then, if efficacious, be translated into the community.[unreadable] 3. Conduct research examining central and peripheral neural mechanisms in focused rehabilitation studies[unreadable] that are already shown to be efficacious to better understand the mechanisms of exercise-mediated[unreadable] neural adaptations underlying motor recovery and inform the design of new interventions.[unreadable] 4. Provide consultation, mechanistic insight and training to Junior Faculty and OIAC investigators, other[unreadable] Pepper Centers and investigators studying rehabilitation of older people with physical limitations at other[unreadable] institutions in the selection and use of functional and neuromotor assessment tools and assist in the[unreadable] interpretation of the research findings.[unreadable] Conduct of laboratory-based and standardized measures of functional performance, cortical and peripheral[unreadable] neuromuscular adaptations in the RC-2 allows strict maintenance of blinding as critical mechanistic outcomes[unreadable] are determined, and eliminates duplication of expensive testing equipment. Collection of functional,[unreadable] biomechanical and non-invasive neurophysiologic data by RC-2, and subsequent integration with data[unreadable] collected in other Cores enables a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary examination of mechanistic factors[unreadable] associated with novel rehabilitation intervention in stroke and hip fracture. Internal to the Pepper Center, RC-[unreadable] 2 is the primary support core for a CDP on proximal and distal arm training in stroke, a P/ES on bilateral[unreadable] robot-assisted ankle training in stroke and secondary support on a CDP for comparing impairments with[unreadable] muscle abnormalities, a P/ES on treadmill training in older individuals with HIV and a P/ES on treadmill[unreadable] training in hip fracture. The RC-2 is supports and is supported by 9 externally funded grants.[unreadable]