Influence of altered sensory input and Cortical Asymmetry on Movement Induced Plasticity

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The human brain has an amazing ability to adapt its output in response to movement and we call this “neuroplasticity.” Movement-induced plasticity modifies function of the brain and usually this is positive, and leads to improved performance; but sometimes it goes wrong. Instead of being adaptive and enhancing function, it is actually maladaptive leading to faulty movement patterns, decreasing the speed and accuracy of performance, and creating the potential for injury. In occupational and recreational contexts, we are often learning new motor skills while sensations such as vibration (on an assembly line, or using power tools) or pain (due to sporting injury or occupational overuse) are present. One aspect of my research addresses how these sensory stimuli influence whether movement induced plasticity is adaptive or maladaptive. Equally, advances in technology are changing how we use our hands, increasingly requiring equal use of both hands. In order to ensure that technology design and use leads to adaptive plasticity it is critical to understand how the different sides of our brain are specialized to perform different tasks and how this influences the potential for adaptive or maladaptive plasticity in response to learning new movements, so that technology can be designed to improve movement performance and productivity, rather than leading to injury. My research focuses on understanding the influence of cortical asymmetry on the capacity for neural plasticity and understanding whether our brains are specialized for different types of tasks. I also study the role of sensory inputs not directly generated by the task on sensory and motor processing during motor training and how this influences our capacity for adaptive or maladaptive neural plasticity. To do this, I use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to study changes in the output of the motor areas of the brain and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to study processing of incoming sensory signals by the brain. It is critical to understand the role of asymmetry in the cortical control of movement as well as how sensory disruptions during movement influence plasticity in order to ensure that advances in technology lead to adaptive plasticity rather than maladaptive plasticity. This will provide important knowledge to influence the design of technology for recreational and occupational activities, helping to protect the health and productivity of Canadians in our technology dependent world.