Supraspinal vs spinal contribution to the production of arm cycling at different relative intensities.

The proposed research will allow us to determine how the human central nervous system (i.e. brain and spinal cord) functions to produce different patterns of muscle contractions during cyclical arm movements. We will use a variety of stimulation technics to determine how active the brain and spinal cord are during the arm movements. We do not currently have a detailed understanding of how the brain and spinal work together during human movement execution. Before we try to determine how the functional connections between brain and spinal cord are altered in persons with spinal cord injuries, however, we need to determine how they work in non-injured persons. The industry partner included in this proposal employs a chiropractor that is interested in understanding basic nervous system function in humans. An enhanced understanding of how the nervous system works during cyclical movements may lead to new developments in their treatment of patients with upper body injuries.

Faculty Supervisor:

Duane Button

Student:

Alyssa Joy Spence

Partner:

Manning Chiropractic

Discipline:

Kinesiology

Sector:

Sports and recreation

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland