Neuromuscular Physiology Lab
Phone:404-894-1030, Fax:404-894-7593
Reserach Interests
Human movement is dependent on the neural strategy in activating skeletal muscles that have variable mechanical properties. Neuromuscular Physiology Lab identifies the neural and mechanical mechanisms underlying motor skills. For this purpose, we look at variability in neural signals and motor output (e.g., fluctuations in neural excitation, muscle activity, muscle force, and movement) in young and old individuals.Personnel
Director: Minoru (Shino) Shinohara, PhDPhD Students: Vasiliy Buharin, BS, Ashley Johnson, MS, Shikhar Vohra, MS
Master Student: Kali Marquardt, BS
Undergraduate Student: Rob Grier, David Sotto
Collaborators: Christopher Bell, PhD, Colorado State University; Jorge Juncos, MD, Emory University; Ryuta Kinugasa, PhD, Waseda University, Japan, Motoki Kouzaki, PhD, Kyoto University; Kimitaka Nakazawa, PhD, National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled; Lena Ting, PhD, Emory/Georgia Tech; Ronald Tusa, MD, Emory University; Yasuhide Yoshitake, PhD, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences
Research Opportunities
We welcome undergraduate/graduate students and research scholars in Neuromuscular Physiology Lab. The participation can be short, long, internship, or sabbatical stay. Research activity may include development of experimental apparatus and software (Labview or Matlab), data collection & analysis (Matlab, Labview, or SPIKE2), conference presentation, and manuscript writing. Graduate students and research scholars from other institutions/countries are also welcome. Dr. Shino is a program faculty for Bioengineering and IGERT (Hybrid Neural Microsystems) at Georgia Tech. Undergraduate students at Georgia Tech can apply for President’s Undergraduate Research Awards for funding (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program).Current Research Projects
- - Sympathetic nerve activity and movement fluctuations
- - Sympathetic nerve activity and spinal reflex
- - Noise-induced sensory enhancement and motor performance
- - Sensory input and postural sway
- - Oscillatory input from brain to muscle in old adults
- - Contralateral effects on force fluctuations in old adults
- - Force fluctuations and postural sway in old adults
- - Changes in force direction with muscle fatigue
- - Alternate muscle activity during prolonged contractions
- - Assessment of muscle recruitment with fMRI
Funding
Recent Publications
Yoshitake Y, Masani K, Shinohara M. Laser-detected lateral muscle displacement is correlated with force fluctuations during voluntary contractions in humans. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 173:271-8, 2008.
Heise G, Shinohara M, Binks L. Biarticular leg muscles and links to running economy. International Journal of Sports Medicine 29: 688-691, 2008.
Shinohara M, Keenan KG, Enoka RM. Fluctuations in motor output of a hand muscle can be altered by the mechanical properties of the position sensor. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 168: 164-173, 2008.
Yoshitake Y, Kouzaki M, Fukuoka H, Fukunaga T, Shinohara M. Modulation of muscle activity and force fluctuations in the plantarflexors after bedrest depends on the knee position. Muscle & Nerve 35: 745-55, 2007.
Kouzaki M, Shinohara M. The frequency of alternate muscle activity is associated with the attenuation in muscle fatigue. Journal of Applied Physiology 101: 715-720, 2006.
Shinohara M, Yoshitake Y, Kouzaki M, Fukunaga T. The medial gastrocnemius muscle attenuates force fluctuations during plantar flexion. Experimental Brain Research 169: 15-23, 2006.
Shinohara M, Sogaard K. Mechanomyography for studying force fluctuations and muscle fatigue. Exercise and Sport Science Reviews 34: 59-64, 2006.
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