PURPOSEThe broad purpose of this lab is to better understand principles of motor control and motor learning, and how the brain contributes to effective movement, with a long-range goal to impact remediation, rehabilitation and therapeutic practices. One focus is the contribution of the basal ganglia and cerebellum to the learning, planning and online control of tasks, such as rapid aiming and reach-to-grasp. A second related focus is the learning and retention of internally generated versus visually triggered movements in people with Parkinson’s disease. We are also examining stability of gait across the lifespan and in people with PD, and we are initiating a clinical gait assessment program. I am engaged in collaborative work in which sequential performance and bimanual control are being examined in children with developmental coordination disorder.
PROJECTS
Motor Learning in People with Parkinson’s disease. The purpose of this project is to examine learning and retention after 3 weeks of practicing four fundamentally different motor tasks. Funding: NIH Grant NS 43733-02
Pictured is
the visually triggered task. The task is to let go of the ball at the top of
the ramp, make contact with the blue button and pick up the ball in the green
target area. Subjects practiced this task at home and were tested weekly in the
lab for performance and retention. Changes in performance are based on number
of successful interceptions and kinematic measurements using a dual Northern
Digital Optotrak 3020 Camera System
(right picture).
Exercise Effects in Cognitive Processing in Older Adults.
One of the tasks in this study is reaction time that varies in complexity (pictured is an 8-choice condition). Another task that is known to require executive processes of the frontal lobe is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, but is not speeded. This task was not affected by exercise or fitness level.
The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which people with PD plan a movement sequence as a group of movements, or whether the overall approach is more segmented. Changes in performance were measured using the Optotrak system. The goal of the task pictured is to move as quickly as possible to a series of targets. The results indicate that people with PD do not use feedforward anticipation in a manner similar to young or older neurologically healthy adults. 
Attention and Gait in Older Adults. The purpose of this project is to examine changes in stability in older adults while engaging in cognitive processing. One primary measure of gait that we are utilizing is gait harmonics. Pictured is a triaxial accelerometer mounted on a belt at the waist and on the head.
Additional equipment in the lab not pictured: EyeLink System and camera for eye tracking; crystal goggles; Grass16-channel EMG; dual finger tapping; WACOM graphics tablet; Fifth Glove.
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Department of Kinesiology, 235 Forker Building, Ames, Iowa 50011
Phone: (515) 294-8009, Fax: (515) 294-8740, hhp@iastate.edu.
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