The goal of this Postdoctoral Fellowship is to allow the applicant to further develop basic research skills necessary for an independent career investigating movement impairments in people with neurologic injury. The goal of the proposed research is to better understand factors contributing to impaired finger movements in hemiplegia. Studies have been designed to test the general hypothesis that multiple mechanisms contribute to the impaired control of individuated finger movements in people with pure motor hemiparesis. Experiments will address: 1) what is the extent of the loss of individuated finger movements in people with pure motor hemiparesis, 2) whether this loss is due, in part, to an inability to selectively activate appropriate muscles, and 3) whether this loss is due, in part, to an increase in mechanical coupling between the fingers. To address these aims, kinematic and electromyographic data will be collected from people with pure motor hemiparesis and control subjects as they perform individuated finger movements (i.e. move each finger while the others stay still). The proposed experiments should help to more clearly define the mechanisms underlying impaired finger control in people with hemiparesis. Results from these experiments may assist rehabilitation professionals in designing and implementing rehabilitation strategies to improve hand function in people after stroke.
| Schieber, Marc H; Lang, C E; Reilly, K T et al. (2009) Selective activation of human finger muscles after stroke or amputation. Adv Exp Med Biol 629:559-75 |
| Lang, Catherine E; Schieber, Marc H (2004) Reduced muscle selectivity during individuated finger movements in humans after damage to the motor cortex or corticospinal tract. J Neurophysiol 91:1722-33 |
| Lang, Catherine E; Schieber, Marc H (2004) Human finger independence: limitations due to passive mechanical coupling versus active neuromuscular control. J Neurophysiol 92:2802-10 |
| Lang, Catherine E; Schieber, Marc H (2003) Differential impairment of individuated finger movements in humans after damage to the motor cortex or the corticospinal tract. J Neurophysiol 90:1160-70 |
