In: PLoS ONE, 2013, vol. 8, no. 12, p. e81038
It is well known that following skill learning, improvements in motor performance may transfer to the untrained contralateral limb. It is also well known that retention of a newly learned task A can be degraded when learning a competing task B that takes place directly after learning A. Here we investigate if this interference effect can also be observed in the limb contralateral to the trained...
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In: Journal of Motor Behavior, 2013, vol. 45, no. 3, p. 271-278
The authors’ aim was to evaluate the effect of balance training on cervical joint position sense in people with subclinical neck pain. Thirty-four participants were randomly assigned to balance training or to stay active. Sensorimotor function was determined before and after 5 weeks of training by assessing the ability to reproduce the neutral head position and a predefined rotated head...
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In: Experimental Brain Research, 2013, p. -
It is well established that the presence of external feedback, also termed augmented feedback, can be used to improve performance of a motor task. The present study aimed to elucidate whether differential interpretation of the external feedback signal influences the time to task failure of a sustained submaximal contraction and modulates motor cortical activity. In Experiment 1, subjects had to...
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In: PLoS ONE, 2012, vol. 7, no. 9, p. e44496
Part of the sensory information is processed by our central nervous system without conscious perception. Subconscious processing has been shown to be capable of triggering motor reactions. In the present study, we asked the question whether visual information, which is not consciously perceived, could influence decision-making in a choice reaction task. Ten healthy subjects (28±5 years) executed...
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In: Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 2012, vol. 40, no. 2, p. 106–115
How can the human central nervous system (CNS) control complex jumping movements task- and context-specifically? This review highlights the complex interaction of multiple hierarchical levels of the CNS, which work together to enable stretch-shortening cycle contractions composed of activity resulting from feedforward (preprogrammed) and feedback (reflex) loops.
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In: PLoS ONE, 2012, vol. 7, no. 3, p. e32433
The present study aimed to elucidate whether the type of feedback influences the performance and the motor cortical activity when executing identical visuomotor tasks. For this purpose, time to task failure was measured during position- and force-controlled muscular contractions. Subjects received either visual feedback about the force produced by pressing a force transducer or about the actual...
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In: European Journal of Neuroscience, 2012, vol. 35, no. 10, p. 1622-1629
The aim of the present study was to artificially induce plasticity in the human spinal cord and evaluate whether this plasticity is pathway specific. For this purpose, a technique called paired associative stimulation (PAS) was applied. Volleys evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex and peripheral nerve stimulation of the nervus tibialis in the popliteal...
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In: PLoS ONE, 2011, vol. 6, no. 10, p. e25657
At the onset of dynamic movements excitation of the motor cortex (M1) is spatially restricted to areas representing the involved muscles whereas adjacent areas are inhibited. The current study elucidates whether the cortical motor command for dynamic contractions is also restricted to a certain population of cortical neurons responsible for the fast corticospinal projections. Therefore,...
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In: Journal of Applied Physiology, 2009///doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00301.2009
During experiments involving ischemic nerve block we noticed that the short latency response (SLR) of evoked stretches in m. soleus decreased immediately following inflation of a pneumatic cuff surrounding the lower leg. The present study aimed to investigate this short-term effect of pressure application in more detail. 58 healthy subjects were divided into 7 protocols. Unilateral stretches were...
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