The role of proprioceptive plasticity in movement control

• Applicant: Dr. Bernard Marius 't Hart
• Subject Area: Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: from 2014 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 261481774

The role of proprioceptive plasticity in movement control Movement-control systems in our brains have a remarkable ability to shape and repair themselves based on sensory information about performed movements. Current models and experiments on motor learning have focused almost exclusively on the resulting changes to motor function - or motor plasticity - without regard to the role of sensory processes. I hypothesize that proprioception (the felt position of limbs) is not only independently affected by motor learning, but that in turn these changes in proprioception contribute to changes in movements following learning. My goal is to test this role of proprioceptive plasticity in sensorimotor learning, and hence in motor control in general. To do this, I will use a virtual reality-robotic system that can manipulate the visual position of the hand so that human subjects experience a discrepancy between the seen and felt/actual hand position. The resulting changes in hand movements and perceived hand position can thus be assessed and different aspects of these compared in three separate projects. I will test how the changes in both sensory estimates and movements (1) vary across the workspace, (2) affect early cortical processing of proprioceptive signals and (3) how these changes are related to learning-dependent changes in predicted sensory consequences of movements. Examining how our adaptive mechanisms use information from vision and proprioception will clarify the principles underlying sensorimotor learning in a novel way. Taking proprioceptive plasticity into account will allow filling a fundamental gap in current models of motor learning by incorporating proprioceptive plasticity. Insights gained here should also improve our understanding of the many neurological disorders in which sensorimotor disabilities are a major feature, and so may ultimately lead to their improved assessment and rehabilitation.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Canada
• Host: Professorin Denise Henriques, Ph.D.