Dissociating control of postural stiffness from active stability state exploration by transcranial magnetic stimulation (JohannsenLU18SF2)

The control of stiffness, whether of the whole body or individual limbs, is one of the core features of sensorimotor control. When interacting with our environment, we rely on flexible, context-, task-, and intention-specific adjustments of stiffness. Determining the right amount of stiffness, or compliance when interacting with the environment, is the key challenge. With respect to postural control, high body stiffness is often an expression of maladaptive behaviour. Severe postural imbalance observed in neurological patients such as individuals follow stroke suggests that not only their perception of postural orientation is affected but also that they are not able to assess their state of postural stability accurately. A modern understanding of any embodied perceptual activities acknowledges that it is an “active” process which involves sensorial exploration and probing of the state of environment as well as the body. High body stiffness, however, would prevent active exploratory movements and thus impair perception and postural state estimation. Further, perceptual uncertainty could lead to states of anxiety, i.e. fear of falling, which are known to increase postural stiffness. Thus, it is not surprising if stroke patients show a combination of impaired body balance, high postural stiffness and severe state of anxiety, which altogether prevent or delay benefits of balance retraining. In this PhD project, we will make use of quantitative measurements in human movement science combined with non-invasive brain stimulation (rTMS) and neuro-imaging techniques in healthy individuals. Studies will be designed mainly as single- und multi-session lab experiments to identify the mechanisms of action in postural stiffness regulation and active state exploration.

For more information on the supervisor for this project, please go here: https://people.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/l-johannsen

The type of programme: PHD

Project Start Date: 2018/19

Full-time

- Entry Requirements: This project is suitable for someone with a good first degree (at least 2:1) in a related topic area, such as Human Movement Science, Sport Science, Psychology, Behavioural Neuroscience, Medicine, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy

The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1