The current view in neuroscience holds that the brain, together with its sensory and motor structures and the environment, form a closed-loop system – a sensorimotor loop – in which the brain receives information from the environment and converts it into a motor response while simultaneously making predictions about future...
The dynamics of human joints are fundamental characteristic of the human motor system, and altered joint impedance can hinder mobility. Individuals with transtibial amputation typically experience slower and energetically costly gait, while individuals with chronic stroke experience persisting gait deficits arising from spasticity, hypertonia and paresis. Investigating joint impedance of...
Chromatin, a complex nuclear structure comprised of DNA, histones, RNA, and other nuclear proteins, is one of the most critical components within the cell because it houses the genetic information and its organization regulates important cellular functions, such as transcription, replication, and repair. Its structural organization is well understood at...
Vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) provide mechanical integrity to cells and serve as markers of tissue origin and cell differentiation. Several non-mechanical roles for vimentin have recently been reported, including regulation of key pathways that control cell growth, cell signaling, and cell motility. Here, I present the role of vimentin in...
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used widely and frequently in the clinical setting to image and diagnose patients. In addition to the anatomical scans that can be acquired using MRI, different kinds of physiological parameters, such as blood flow, can be obtained by utilizing pulse sequence, scan protocol and post-processing....
Proprioception, or the sense of one’s body in space, provides critical feedback that the brain usesto generate controlled movements. When proprioceptive feedback is lost, people find it difficult
to perform even basic motor tasks. Despite its importance, proprioceptive coding of single
neurons in the cuneate nucleus (CN), the most peripheral...
Shoulder (glenohumeral joint) osteoarthritis causes pain, limits daily activities, and frequently requires joint replacement surgery. In shoulder osteoarthritis, the glenoid bone surface erodes in one of two ways: symmetrically (concentric deformity) or asymmetrically (eccentric deformity). Shoulder replacements in patients with eccentric deformities fail and require additional, revision surgery more often...
A stroke occurs when blood flow in the brain is impaired and often causes damage to corticospinal tract projections that control the muscles of the upper-extremity. Due to this damage, 50-70% of stroke survivors experience long-term upper-extremity functional deficits(Faria-Fortini, Michaelsen, Cassiano, & Teixeira-Salmela, 2011). These deficits result from motor impairments...
Bioelectronic devices at the biotic/abiotic interface face a number of key challenges that include device degradation when exposed to biological fluid, their elicited immune response due to mechanical mismatch, and poor signal transduction. Organic electronic materials and their devices, such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) address these shortcomings. They can...
4D Flow MRI is a phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging method that enables direct measurement of velocities in three orthogonal directions throughout the heartbeat. This permits direct quantification of hemodynamic parameters, including flow, mean velocity, peak velocity, and pulsatility, for individual cerebral vessels. Despite ongoing research into neurovascular applications of 4D...
