Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory

In collaboration with colleagues in the Department of Otolaryngology, the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab (HSC Lab) received the second phase of funding of a $494,136 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The funded project examines laryngeal vibration as a possible treatment for people with unexplained chronic cough, a condition that affects an estimated 5% of all Americans. Because the pathophysiology of chronic cough is not well understood, these patients have very limited treatment options. Our earlier proof-of-concept work could document that a subgroup of people with chronic cough respond to laryngeal vibration and this award seeks to substantiate this finding in a clinical trial. Jürgen Konczak, director of the HSC Lab, serves as Co-PI; Dr. Stephanie Misono from Otolaryngology, who sees patients in her clinic, is the PI of the grant.

Leoni Viola Winter, a long-time member of the laboratory, defended her dissertation entitled The effects of proprioceptive training and dyad practice to improve sensorimotor function. The lab wishes her all the best for her future. Dr. Winter will stay in Minneapolis. She has accepted a postdoctoral researcher position in the Motor Neurophysiology Lab of Dr. Cooper in the Department of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. 

 

Jürgen Konczak together with an Italian research group at the Sapienza University of Rome published a paper entitled Muscle theta activity in the pathophysiology of cervical dystonia in the journal Neurobiology of disease. The research was conducted in Rome where the group examined the abnormal muscle of people with cervical dystonia, a disorder characterized by unvoluntary muscle spasms of neck muscles that lead to abnormal head movements and posture. A main finding was that an eleoctrophysiological feature called theta-band intermuscular coherence between specific muscles is increased in patients with cervical dystonia. 

Shima Amini, a member of the HSC Lab successfully defended her master's thesis entitled Usability and Feasibility of In-home Vibro-Tactile Stimulation for Treating Voice Symptoms in Laryngeal Dystonia and submitted her final version to the Graduate School. Shima will continue as a doctoral student in the laboratory.