The main research goals of the Brain Behavior Lab are to better understand the factors that influence motor-skill learning. Motor-skill factors include the type and amount of skill repetition involved, the type of skills to be learned, the type of instructions provided, issues related to aging, damage to the brain, and sleep. The lab houses multiple workstations for the collection and processing of behavioral data.
Researchers are particularly interested in understanding how individuals with brain damage, such as stroke, recover motor function and the underlying mechanisms that promote this recovery. We have recently demonstrated that individuals suffering from chronic stroke benefit from sleep to promote motor skill learning whereas older, healthy adults do not. The Brain Behavior Lab is currently working to understand which sleep parameters are associated with overnight skill enhancement using EEG.
Examining which sleep parameters are associated with off-line motor skill learning in individuals following stroke
Examining how cognition impacts sleep-dependent off-line motor skill learning in individuals following stroke
Assessing the role of sleep in learning a complex motor skill in young, healthy adults
Assessing the impact of sleep and age on learning a functional real-life task
Analyzing sleep disturbances in individuals with stroke and multiple sclerosis
Sleep Promotes Off-line Enhancement of an Explicitly Learned Discrete but not Continuous Task. Research poster presentation at APTA Combined Section’s Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 2011
Sleep Promotes Transfer of Learning. Research poster presentation at APTA Combined Section’s Meeting, San Diego, CA, 2010
Click to view enlargements of posters Brain Behavior Lab researchers have presented.
Sleep Enhances Off-line Spatial and Temporal Motor Learning After Stroke
The Role of Sleep and Knowledge in Motor Skill Learning
Sleep Enhances Motor Skill Learning and Memory Consolidation in Individuals Post-Stroke