We study the relationship between altered inter- and intra-hemispheric structural and functional connectivities in the motor the network. Our focus is on the correlation between connectivies and declined motor performance in the elderly.
We address effects of augmented visual feedback on postural control to investigate the direct effects of this feedback on postural control and its potential benefits for balance control in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
For rhythmic movements the corresponding state variables are modeled as self-sustaining oscillators. We particularly focus on the stability of coordination patterns, i.e. on the interactions between oscillators.
The stability of coordination can often be addressed via the relative phase between the individual limb movements. We are studying in detail the effect of different interactions between limbs, effects of noise and non-autonomous forcing.
We study how different control processes contribute to stabilizing the coordination between limbs, and how they change as a function of, e.g., movement frequency and amplitude, learning, development and pathology.
Building on research on kinematic measures and neural correlates of gait stability, we hypothesize that several distinct phases of the gait cycle require active control.
Walking on two legs is inherently unstable. Still, we humans perform remarkable well at it, mostly without falling. We measure and perturbed walking to gain more insight into the role of the central nervous system in controlling gait stability.
Studying motor-related changes of synchronized neural activity and its network-like distribution elucidates how the brain can operate as functional unit despite numerous anatomical connections between simultaneously active neurons.
We relate the dynamical and stochastic properties of (networks of) neurons to understand the functional role of oscillatory activity in motor control. Focus is on the relation between frequency bands, be it switches between frequencies or interactions between coexisting oscillations.
We analyze cross-frequency synchronizability of complex, functional networks accompanying different oscillatory regimes with focus on effects of mutual transfer of network structures, e.g., via the type of clustering or the correlations of random components.
We develop a large arsenal of sophisticated motor behaviors from the moment we are born. In the elderly, however, motor skills are jeapordized, calling for an in-depth research for age-related changes in motor control.
The first independent step of a child may be small, but it represents a giant leap for its development. This project addresses the emergence of coordination patterns and motor primitives or muscle synergies in typically developing children and in children with cerebral palsy.
