Paul D. Cheney, Ph.D.

Brain Control of Movement: We investigate basic neural mechanisms underlying the control of voluntary movement and recovery of motor function following brain injury. Some general questions we are working on include: 1) How are synaptic connections between single corticospinal neurons and motoneurons of agonist and antagonist muscles organized? 2) Do the synaptic connections of corticospinal neurons represent combinations of muscles that function as functional synergies in the performance of skilled, multi-joint voluntary movements? 3) What is the relative efficacy of output effects on muscle activity from different premotor cortical areas in comparison to primary motor cortex? 4) How does motor output from cortex vary as a function of electrical stimulation parameters? 5) What role do secondary cortical motor areas and ipsilateral primary motor cortex play in recovery of function following stroke related brain injury?