The effect of altering afferent input from the spine and limbs on sensorimotor integration

感觉运动整合(SMI)是中枢神经系统(CNS)整合来自身体不同部位的传入(传入)信息并形成适当的运动输出到肌肉的能力。在学习新技能以及在家中和工作场所执行任务时，有效的感应器运动集成是必不可少的。感觉运动整合受损可能部分解释了为什么疼痛会变成慢性疼痛，以及为什么工人在高水平重复活动和/或姿势压力的工作中经常伤害自己。我的研究探索了颈部和上肢传入输入之间相互作用的基础科学，将有助于为运动学习和运动能力提高奠定坚实的科学基础，并在损伤预防中发挥作用。它有可能为加拿大人的健康和福祉作出贡献，并将由此产生的基础科学知识应用于改进工作场所设计和工作、运动和休闲运动技能培训的战略。由于疲劳或姿势压力，颈部和背部的输入发生改变，可能会改变上肢的感觉信息处理。假设来自颈部的感觉反馈的变化改变了神经系统中的环境，随后来自四肢的感觉反馈被接收和处理到神经系统中，从而导致输入和肌肉运动输出的改变以及运动控制方式的改变。这项研究涉及两种可用于测量受试者感觉运动整合的技术的应用，即体感诱发电位测量大脑对感觉信息的处理，以及经颅磁刺激在人类运动皮质上的应用，测量运动输出到特定目标肌肉的平衡。这两项技术将帮助我们了解颈部和上肢感觉处理的变化如何影响大脑控制手部和手臂肌肉输出的方式。

Sensorimotor integration (SMI) is the ability of the central nervous system (CNS) to integrate afferent (incoming) information from different body parts and formulate appropriate motor outputs to muscles. Effective sensorimotor integration is essential when learning new skills and when performing tasks at home and in the workplace. Impaired sensorimotor integration may partially explain why pain becomes chronic and why workers frequently injure themselves in jobs with a high level of repetitive activity and/or postural stress. My research explores the basic science of the interaction between afferent input from the neck and upper limb and will contribute to a solid science foundation that underpins motor learning and performance enhancement as well playing a role in injury prevention. It has the potential to make contributions to the health and well-being of Canadians as well applying the resultant basic science knowledge to improved strategies for workplace design and motor skill training for work, sport and leisure. Altered input from the neck and back due to fatigue or postural stress may alter processing of sensory information from the upper limb. It is hypothesized that changing sensory feedback from the neck alters the environment in the nervous system into which subsequent sensory feedback from the limbs is received and processed, thus leading to altered "sensorimotor" integration of that input and changes in motor output to muscles and the way movement is controlled. This research involves the application of two techniques which can be used to measure sensorimotor integration in human subjects, namely somatosensory evoked potentials which measure the processing of sensory information by the brain and the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation over the human motor cortex, which measures the balance of motor output to a defined target muscle. These two techniques will help us understand how changing sensory processing from the neck and upper limb affects the way the brain controls the output to hand and arm muscles.