Neuromotor behavior and exercise

Robert Stojan recently presented the 'Parkinson Vibrating Socks' project (funded by InterregVI) to an audience of numerous members of the Parkinson Forum Kreis Steinfurt e.V.. The project is centred on cross-border cooperation between universities, clinics and companies in Germany and the Netherlands. The aim of the project is the scientifically supported development of a vibrotactile cueing system for people with Parkinson's disease who suffer from the symptom of freezing of the gait. The cueing system is intended to improve the mobility and quality of life of affected people. Further information about the project and the opportunity to participate in studies can be found on our homepage.


 

Today (1st March 2024) is the official launch of the EU-funded doctoral network TReND, coordinated by the Department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise at the University of Münster. Within this network, 12 doctoral students at 8 participating institutions across Europe will conduct research to transfer fundamental knowledge about motor control and motor learning to clinical applications. The goal is to promote the rehabilitation of neurological diseases. Further information about the network can be found here.

We warmly welcome Stefan Maas, who joins our team in the Neuromotor and Training department to do his PhD in the "Parkinson Vibrating Socks" project. Having already gained valuable experience as a student assistant in the "Joint Action" project for three years, Stefan is now continuing his scientific journey with us. His previous work on the Joint Action project and his Master of Education provide a solid foundation for his success in our research project."

From January 15th to 19th, 2024, Dr. Julian Rudisch, PD Dr. Dieter Kutz, and Prof. Dr. Claudia Voelcker-Rehage were invited to the 12th Annual Winter Academy of the Department of Movement and Training Science at the University of Bern in Blatten-Belalp, Switzerland. The event was held under the motto "Sensorimotor Uncertainty and Functional Variability." The hosting colleagues from Bern, Damian Beck, Dr. Stephan Zahno, and Prof. Dr. Ernst-Joachim Hossner, are partners in the EU-funded MSCA Doctoral Network TReND, which officially launches on March 1st, 2024. The meeting was therefore utilized to engage in intensive discussions about the fundamental theoretical understanding of dealing with sensorimotor uncertainty and the relevance of functional variability for motor control in neuromotor disorders.

 

Two new employees have recently joined our team. We welcome Frank Landgraf as system programmer/administrator and Philipp Müller as programmer for virtual worlds of the GRAIL (Gait-Realtime-Analysis-Interactive-Lab) system.

A new study from our department demonstrates the importance of maintaining fitness into old age because the current fitness status of 80 + -year-olds is positively associated with cognitive performance and neuronal resources. Interestingly, the analysis of event-related and motor-related cortical potentials (as pictured) showed that fitter older adults might have more neuronal resources for early visual processing and motor response generation. Read the full-length publication here.

Handover actions are joint actions between two people in which an object is transferred from a giver to a receiver. This requires precise coordination of both the hand kinematics and the scaling of the gripping forces of both actors. A measurement object is presented that synchronously records the gripping forces of both actors on the instrument and the kinematic data of both actors as well as the position and orientation of the instrument in space using an optical motion capture system.

Sensors 2023, 23(24), 9694; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23249694

Robert Stojan has been honored with the University of Münster's dissertation prize for his exceptional work on "Brain Functional Aspects of Cognitive Aging During Ecologically Valid Motor-Cognitive Behavior". This prestigious award is presented annually during the summa cum laude event, recognizing the best dissertations in each faculty. Here you will find a brief summary of this year's honored dissertations. Heartfelt congratulations on this achievement!