Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition

The CNBC is the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University’s joint neuroscience research and education program.

Events

Mar
28
Thu
CMU NI: Wilsaan Joiner: Distinguished Speaker Series: “Children with Unilateral Congenital Below Elbow Limb Deficiency (UCBED) Can Proportionally Control the Residual Muscles of the Missing Hand” @ MI 328
Mar 28 @ 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Join us for the NI Distinguished Speaker Series.

Wilsaan Joiner

Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; Neurology

University of California, Davis

Thursday, March 28th @ 4:00 PM
Mellon Institute, 328 or Zoom

https://cmu.zoom.us/j/94256797197?pwd=a0JiZFF4NEJ6ZmZ3b0dDV2J6eW01UT09
Meeting ID: 942 5679 7197
Passcode: 520044

Children with Unilateral Congenital Below Elbow Limb Deficiency (UCBED) Can Proportionally Control the Residual Muscles of the Missing Hand

Children with a unilateral congenital below elbow deficiency (UCBED) have one typically developed limb and one that ends below the elbow, at the proximal level or mid forearm. Given that their affected muscles have never actuated an intact hand, it has been assumed these patients have limited control of their residual muscles. Here, we examined the extent to which patients could use visual feedback of their muscle state to proportionally control their affected muscles. We used ultrasound imaging and machine learning to provide patients control over a cursor using either the affected or unaffected limb. As children transitioned between two selected muscle states/percent activation (e.g., an open hand: 0% activation, and full power grasp: 100% activation), the cursor moved along one axis. Following calibration, we asked participants to move the cursor to targets which appeared at intermediate activation levels (e.g., 50%). We show that without prior training, patients (N=8; ages 8-20) can accurately reach and maintain multiple target cursor positions with their affected muscles. Specifically, we observed that across participants there was a significant main effect of goal location on average cursor position for the affected limb (p < 0.01), revealing that patients can use visual feedback to proportionally control the state of their residual muscles. These results suggest that despite never actuating a hand with their affected muscles, children with UCBED can both control these muscles, and can use sensory information to modulate this control. These results contribute to the advancement of dexterous and intuitive prosthetic devices for this patient population.

About Professor Wilsaan Joiner

Dr. Wilsaan Joiner’s research group conducts translational research that investigates the integration of sensory and motor signals, and the role these signals play in guiding goal-directed movements. Dr. Joiner obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and the National Eye Institute. Before joining the departments of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; and Neurology at UC Davis, Dr. Joiner was an associate professor at George Mason University. At UC Davis Dr. Joiner is a CAMPOS Scholar and was recently selected as a Chancellor’s Fellow. His current research is funded by several grants from NASA, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Joiner, please reach out to Aimee Dorney, adorney@andrew.cmu.edu.  

Mar
29
Fri
CNBC Postdoc Writing Group
Mar 29 @ 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

CNBC Postdoc Writing Group

Fridays, 2-4pm

Contact: Andrew Gerlach (arg151@pitt.edu)

Location is typically Zoom: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/5307316889 (Passcode: 1234)

Description: Two hour block dedicated to writing papers, grants, reviews, etc. We use the Pomodoro system of 25 min blocks with 5 min breaks in between to chitchat.

There’s a group of ~10 people who attend semi-regularly. On any given week, it’s typical to have 3-5 people. It’s used for accountability and setting aside a dedicated chunk of time for writing (although some people use it for analysis or whatever else they may need to focus on). It’s also been helpful in building a postdoc community.

Please reach out to Andrew with any questions!

Apr
1
Mon
CNBC Brain Bag Spring Semester 2024
Apr 1 @ 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

In-person MI 348 or 328; Zoom: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93422291137