Neuromotor behavior and exercise

Dr. Jakub Malik and Sabine Steidel are staying in the working unit of Neuromotor and Training for four weeks and will be working mainly with EEG measurements on the topic of mental fatigue.
Dr. Jakub Malik is scientist and lecturer at the Department of Sports Psychology at the Poznan University of Physical Education in Poland. His research stay is supported by the NAWA PROM Programme.
Sabine Steidel is currently in her Master of Molecular Biomedicine and staying for a scientific internship. After studying Human Movement in Sports and Exercise as well as Biology at the University of Münster she is interested in combining those two study fields.

How can physical activity in nursing homes be sustained over the long term?  The PROGRESS study examined the impact of guided group exercise and other incentives for physical activity in daily life (e.g., activity posters).
The key finding: Success depends largely on the organizational structure and support from staff.
One outcome is the PROGRESS Pyramid—a new framework for firmly embedding physical activity into daily nursing care through staff training, better communication, and the involvement of residents.

Here you will find the full length paper.

Combining cognitive and motor exercises stimulates both the brain and the body simultaneously. Once primarily used for fall prevention in older adults, this approach is now being applied to:

• Neurological diseases (e.g., MS)
• Rehabilitation after sports-related concussions
• Performance enhancement in elite athletes

Since current approaches vary significantly, a new review provides a systematic framework to design tailored training sessions—combining everything from memory tasks to coordination exercises.

Our partner, TK, presents an engaging report showing how a nursing home can become a place for exercise. This isn’t just about sports or physical activity, but also about social interaction among seniors.

Read the full report here.

Click here to visit the project website

At the 23rd IAGG world congress, member of our team presented their research and lead an impactful on-demand session. They also brough back to Münster with them new insights, perspectives and potential collaborations. We've had a total of 3 presentations on this conference. Details you'll find here.

As in previous years, the Neuromotorik team successfully participated in the Leo Campus Run. Once again this year, the weather conditions posed an enormous challenge for all participants. Afterward, the team appeared visibly exhausted but happy.

The Neuromotor Behaviour and Training research group is pleased to announce the official launch of a new research project funded by the Federal Institute of Sport Science BISp: As of 1 April 2026, the project GIM – Gender-Specific Injury Monitoring in Elite Sport is underway. The aim is to develop a practice-oriented implementation toolkit that supports clubs and federations in integrating gender-sensitive monitoring incrementally into their existing structures.

The latest publication from the Neuromotor Function and Training research group by Labott et al., 2026, focuses on improving the established “Short Physical Performance Battery” (SPPB) test for assessing physical performance in older adults. The SPPB is frequently used to assess the physical functioning of older adults and includes, among other things, a 4-meter walk test. The problem: The original scoring criteria were developed for healthy, independent older adults and are therefore often not well-suited for nursing home residents who require care and have multiple chronic conditions.

We are looking for motivated students available immediately to support an ongoing research project investigating fine motor function and cognitive performance in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Participation can take place as part of the Research Project course (BSc M12, MSc M6), a thesis project, or, by arrangement, an internship.

The department of Neuromotor Behavior and Exercise has been awarded €4,500 by the Universitätsgesellschaft Münster in support of its Training Lab project, an initiative that brings sports science expertise to recreational sports clubs across the city. The Training Lab is designed to support niche and traditionally under-resourced recreational sports in Münster by connecting them with academic sports science.
 

The Neuromotorics & Training Department is looking for students (preferably in their 2nd or 4th semester—all majors) who are willing to participate in a whitewater course and take on small, manageable research projects there (e.g., administering questionnaires, load monitoring…). Contact: Prof. Dr. Eric Eils

Minister Melanie Walter visited the University of Twente to learn about the current status of the Interreg project “Parkinson Vibrating Socks.” The focus was on innovative approaches to supporting people with Parkinson's disease, as well as cross-border cooperation within the project consortium.

Two contributions involving the Neuromotor Control and Training research group have been published in the recently released open-access volume Hybrid Societies – Humans Interacting with Embodied Technologies, Volume 1. The volume emerged from the 1st International Conference on Hybrid Societies (March 2023, TU Chemnitz) and the work of the Collaborative Research Center “Hybrid Societies”, and focuses on interactions between humans and intelligent embodied technologies.

The study by Kutz et al. (2026) examines cerebral blood flow regulation in patients with Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) during cognitive stress. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), cerebral blood flow in PCS patients was analysed in comparison to patients with coronary heart disease and healthy control subjects. The results show that PCS patients exhibit decreased temporal but increased spatial variability of blood flow, indicating a more rigid regulation.

We’re pleased to share that Dr Ross Julian recently visited the University of Gloucestershire, where he is a Visiting Research Fellow, for a week of research, teaching, and knowledge exchange focused on women’s football and athlete health. During the visit, Ross delivered a series of presentations, including a well-attended public lecture titled “Training & Injury Risk in Elite Female Football.” The lecture explored how training load, physiology, and contextual factors interact to influence injury risk in elite women players.

In a new podcast on the female menstrual cycle and soccer performance, Dr. Julian discussed his scientific career and his current research in the field of sports science and women's soccer. In the conversation, Ross shares what first sparked his interest in researching the effects of the menstrual cycle on football performance and discusses his contributions to Women’s Football: From Science to High Performance, including three chapters focused on menstrual cycle monitoring, applied practice, and demonstrating performance benefits to encourage stakeholder investment.