The overall goal of this patient-oriented research career development award is to prepare the candidate to perform quantitative research as an independent investigator in the field of vestibular rehabilitation. The candidate has background as a clinical physical therapist and academician. She has prepared herself over the last few years to transition from a clinician to a clinician scientist. The candidate intends to use this award to receive focused coursework and research training related to persons at risk for falling and those with vestibular dysfunction. The candidate intends to augment her education in physical therapy and motor learning/control with coursework in three core areas: 1) the psychology of persons with anxiety/panic disorders, 2) research design, especially the use of randomized clinical trials, and 3) augment her knowledge of virtual reality, the special senses (including vestibular physiology and anatomy), and optic flow. Dr. Joseph Furman, Dr. Rolf Jacob, and Dr. Mark Redfern will mentor the candidate's research development. With their guidance, the candidate will receive intensive training in postural control, vestibular anatomy and physiology, panic/anxiety, and research methods related to persons with vestibular disorders. The primary objectives of this research are to increase the understanding of how virtual reality affects postural control in persons with vestibular disorders, to compare virtual reality therapy to conventional physical therapy, and to determine if virtual reality scenes used in a virtual reality cave can be effectively adapted for use with head mounted devices for application in rehabilitation. The proposed research will examine postural sway, anxiety self-report, and gain/clinical balance measures following exposure to virtual reality (VR) scenes. The data derived from the above three goals will help direct a randomized clinical trial that will assist in determining if virtual reality is an effective method of intervention with persons with vestibular dysfunction.
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