Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

There is growing evidence that periods of either increased or decreased sensory activity has the capacity to affect the way that the brain subsequently processes sensory information, both from the area of altered activity and adjacent areas. Altered input from the neck and back also has the potential to alter processing of sensory information from the upper limb. It is hypothesized that changing sensory feedback from the neck alters the environment in the nervous system into which subsequent sensory feedback from the limbs is received and processed, thus leading to altered sensorimotor integration by the brain of that input. This research involves the application of two techniques which can be used to measure sensorimotor integration in human subjects, namely somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) which measure the processing of sensory information by the brain and the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the human motor cortex, which measures the balance of motor output to a defined target muscle. Applying these two techniques to similar patterns of repetitive movements will help us understand how changing sensory processing from the neck and upper limb affects the way the brain controls the output to hand and arm muscles. This is important research because it will deepen our understanding of how sensory input from the spinal column interacts with feedback from the limbs to affect central sensorimotor integration. This research is important for Canadians. It will help us understand how posture and habitual patterns of use affect the learning and acquisition of new motor skills. It is relevant to the fields of motor learning, ergonomics and understanding the role of neural plasticity in the development of overuse injuries.