Investigation and modulation of neural structures underlying motor preparatory processes

为即将到来的行动做准备的过程，比如准备在十字路口信号灯改变时开始步行，对大多数人来说都是熟悉的，也相对容易的。只有当这些能力因神经运动损伤或疾病(如帕金森氏症)而减弱时，我们才会注意到它们的重要性。运动准备涉及神经系统许多结构的激活变化，但其中许多过程中涉及的时间进程和精确的神经路径和连接尚不清楚。目前的研究计划旨在从多个角度探索支配运动准备的神经过程：1)与准备和启动动作相关的过程的行为结果，2)这些准备过程背后的神经结构，以及3)使用新的脑刺激技术，如TMS和TDC，是否可以增加或减少运动准备。这项研究的每个部分都涉及不同的方法和不同的分析水平，以提供更全面的关于神经对运动准备的贡献和实验操作的行为结果的观点。这项研究将极大地扩展我们对运动准备和感觉整合的理解，从行为和神经生理学层面进行分析，对患有神经运动障碍的个人，如帕金森氏症和中风，具有启示意义。这项研究的结果可能在几个领域产生直接或间接的影响：从这项研究中获得的知识可能有助于假肢等新技术的开发，这项研究还可能导致针对感觉运动缺陷患者的新干预和治疗，从而对医疗保健系统产生直接有益的影响，如改进治疗和降低成本。

The process of preparing for upcoming actions, such as getting ready to start walking when a crossing signal changes, is both familiar and relatively effortless for most people. It's only when these abilities are diminished due to neuromotor injury or disease (such as Parkinson's disease) that we take note of their importance. Motor preparation involves changes in the activation of many structures along the nervous system, but the time course and precise neural pathways and connections involved in many of these processes are not well understood. The current research program is designed to explore the neural processes governing motor preparation from multiple viewpoints: 1) behavioural outcomes of processes related to preparation and initiation of actions, 2) neural structures underlying these preparatory processes, and 3) whether motor preparation can be increased or decreased using novel brain stimulation techniques such as TMS and tDCS. Each part of this research involves different methods and employs different levels of analysis in order to provide more holistic view of the neural contributions to motor preparation and the behavioural outcomes of experimental manipulations. This research will greatly extend our understanding of motor preparation and sensory integration from behavioural and neurophysiological levels of analysis with implications for individuals with neuro-motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease and stroke. The outcomes of this research may have direct or indirect impacts in several areas: Knowledge gained from this research may contribute to the development of new technologies such as prosthetic devices, and this research may also lead to novel interventions and treatments for individuals with sensorimotor deficits, resulting in direct beneficial impacts to the health care system such as improved treatments and lowered costs.