Sensorimotor Control of Human Movement

Summary

In the Integrative Sensorimotor Neuroscience Laboratory, headed by Drs. Ryan Peters and Tyler Cluff, we are interested in how our nervous system controls movements of our body, particularly of the arms and hands. To study this, we use a mixture cutting-edge neurophysiological techniques to record activity from muscles (electromyography), brain (electroencephalography), and sensory nerves (human microneurography), all while we have you perform different natural reaching and grasping movements with your arms/hands in the lab.

Human microneurography involves placing a very fine microelectrode into a peripheral nerve to record action potentials from individual sensory receptors. It is kind of like acupuncture, however, the electrodes are a bit finer than acupuncture needles so the slight pinching sensation as the needle enters the skin is even less noticeable. The main difference between this and acupuncture would be that we are directly targeting a peripheral nerve. A slight sensation of pressure, as well as a tingling feeling radiating down the arm are commonly felt as the electrode enters the nerve fascicle, however, this procedure is generally non-painful, as there are no pain receptors beneath the level of the skin. We encourage participants to come and watch an experiment prior to participating. IF, however, the prospective participant is not interested in the microneurography portion of the experiment, but is generally fine with the other protocols mentioned above, we would still like to have them participate, as not all experiments will require microneurography or needles of any kind.