Neural Underpinnings

Oscillatory activity of larger neural ensembles arises when adjacent neurons synchronize their firing in accordance with different behavioral states like performing a precision grip. The synchronization is currently believed to be an essential ingredient for the information processing in neural populations in general and in the brain in particular. Studying dynamical 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.

Synchronization in Motor Control

Age effects in bimanual coordination

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.

FirSteps – The Emergence of Walking in Children

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.

Learn2Walk – Brain meets spine

We analyze brain and muscular activity in typically developing children and in children with cerebral palsy. We seek to unravel the reorganization of cortical and cortico-muscular activity accompanying the development of walking with the ultimate aim to design novel rehabilitation techniques for cerebral palsy.

Move-Age

Understanding Ageing and Mobility. Funded by the EU as part of the Erasmus Mundus program, this international training network involves 40-odd PhD students studying age-related changes in human movement.

4D-EEG

Assessing Arm Function Recovery Post-Stroke. Goal of this EU-funded 4D-EEG project is to develop innovative methods for accurate localization of brain activity patterns and quantification of the interactions between multiple brain areas.

Neurostimulation

Information about this topic will be available soon