The long-term vision of the principal investigator's (Pl)'s research program involves participating in translational studies of motor control in normal aging and Parkinson's disease (PD). The first step will be to develop clinically-relevant behavioral tests to assess motor control and related neural function in preclinical animal models. While the PI is currently funded to study age-related changes in rats' orolingual motor function, extension of the research program into more sophisticated behavioral and electrophysiological recording techniques is desired. Specifically, the PI needs additional time to work with Dr. Paul D. Cheney, who has agreed to train the PI to perform combined electrophysiological/electromyography (EMG) studies. This will allow the PI to study movement-related neural activity in greater detail and with greater precision. In addition, the PI plans to develop a forelimb force control task into a method to study functional cortical organization and reorganization as a function of age and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) depletion in rats. Dr. Randy J. Nudo has agreed to train the PI in sensorimotor cortical mapping techniques so that this procedure can be incorporated into the Pi's laboratory. During the time of the award period, the PI will participate in a graduate-level course in the responsible conduct of scientific research. Dr. James Voogt, former chair of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, has agreed to serve as a senior faculty mentor to the PI during the award period. Dr. Voogt will counsel the PI on career-related issues and serve as a source of accountability. The K02 award will allow the PI to spend 90% of his time conducting research. It will also provide valuable financial resources since it will allow for 90% of the Pi's salary to be returned to the PI for research-related purposes. ? ? Relevance to Public Health: ? This research should yield information regarding relationships between neural function and motor function in normal aging and in Parkinson's disease. ? ? ?
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