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Full-Text Articles in Motor Control
Spinal Motor Neuron Excitability And Balance Control Changes Following Downslope Walking, Nikki Aitcheson-Huehn
Spinal Motor Neuron Excitability And Balance Control Changes Following Downslope Walking, Nikki Aitcheson-Huehn
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Downslope walking (DSW) has been proposed as a rehabilitation tool for people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) although there are mixed findings in young adults (YA) regarding the balance control changes, despite both populations experiencing depressed spinal motor neuron (MN) pool excitability. Our aim was to determine whether YAs could demonstrate improved balance control in conjunction with SOL H reflex depression (estimate of spinal MN excitability) following DSW. We also aimed to determine whether reciprocal inhibition was a potential mechanism for H reflex depression via conditioned SOL H reflexes. Thirty young adults (23±1.4y, 6 males) were assigned to 30-minutes of DSW …
The Effects Of External Focus Of Attention Exercise Rehabilitation On Dual Task Walking In Parkinson's Disease, Eric N. Beck
The Effects Of External Focus Of Attention Exercise Rehabilitation On Dual Task Walking In Parkinson's Disease, Eric N. Beck
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Parkinson’s disease impairs control of well-learned movements, and therefore, individuals with Parkinson’s disease are forced to walk with greater conscious control. This causes difficulties while walking and completing a secondary task simultaneously (dual tasking), in that distractions from conscious control of walking increase the risk of falls and injury. Although, attention-based exercise may be a potential avenue to decrease the demands associated with walking in Parkinson’s disease. For example, an external focus of attention (on manipulated objects) has been found to recruit the networks that are important for walking with little conscious control (automatic control networks). In contrast, an internal …
Influence Of Planning Resources On Gait Control In Parkinson’S Disease, Frederico P. Faria
Influence Of Planning Resources On Gait Control In Parkinson’S Disease, Frederico P. Faria
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Movement disturbances in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been associated with difficulties to plan complex actions. Performance of simple and complex actions overloads resources for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it is unclear if central resources required to plan gait adjustments while walking exacerbate gait disturbances of patients with PD. More specifically, it is unclear how gait impairments, sensory processing, and the dopaminergic system influence the load on processing resources (e.g. cognitive load) during the planning of step modifications. In order to investigate the relative influence of these factors on cognitive load and its impact on gait control, …