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Jürgen Konczak gave a talk at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Banff, a town in the Canadian Rockies. He spoke at a symposium on cerebellar stroke and presented research of his lab and his German collaborators from the Essen University Medical Center on what are good neurophysiological and neuroanatomical predictors of recovery after cerebellar stroke or tumor resection. The symposium was attended by over 200 professionals involved in acute stroke care and rehabilitation such as neurologists specializing in stroke, physiatrists, occupational and physical therapists. 

We just published a systematic review on the scientific evidence of vibro-tactile stimulation as a potential treatment for various forms of focal dystonia. The review shows that the last 10 years have seen an increased interest to apply vibration as a symptomatic treatment for focal dystonia. Empirical evidence shows that up to 85% of participants in clinical studies responded positively to vibro-tactile stimulation. The open access article was published in the journal Dystonia. The international team of authors included Dr. Ozkul from Gaza University in Ankara, Turkey and Dr. Rooney from Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom. From the lab, Shima Amini, doctoral student, and Jürgen Konczak, lab director, initiated the work and complemented the team.

Laryngeal dystonia is a chronic disorder characterized by spasms of laryngeal muscles that impair speech. Past research from the lab showed that vibro-tactile stimulation (VTS) of the larynx is a form of neuromodulation that may alleviate the voice symptoms in people with laryngeal dystonia. Now the lab received a $59,000 grant award from the Dysphonia International organization to study the neurophysiological mechanism behind the effectivenees of VTS. In cooperation with researchers at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, we will use high-resolution MRI to examine how the brain networks involved in speech are altered in people with laryngeal dystonia during VTS. 

Yung-tze Lee, Farina Mirbagheri, and Xinyi Zhou, HSC lab members and masters students, published a study on ankle proprioception in the Journal of Motor Behavior. Yung-tze, receiving a dual-degree from Chang Gung University in Taiwan and the University of Minnesota, is the first author of the paper that investigated differences in ankle position sense acuity during dorsi- versus plantarflexion.  

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.

Jürgen Konczak recently gave a talk at the Dimensions of Motor Control conference that was hosted by the Technische Universität München, a premier institution in Germany. He presented research findings on the transfer of motor on proprioceptive learning that is relevant for understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of motor skill acquisition and relearning of skills during rehabilitation. At the conference he connected with former lab member Carmen Krewer, who leads a neurorehabilitation research group at a large rehabilitation hospital outside of Munich.