Locomotor Training and Recovery Research Program (LTRRP) Mission Statement
The mission of the Locomotor Training and Recovery Research Program (LTRRP) is to maximize the recovery of locomotion in individuals with central nervous system injury or disease, targeting stroke and spinal cord injury, and to enhance their quality of life. Dr. Andrea Behrman and Dr. Steve Kautz provide the leadership for the locomotor research initiative combining expertise in adult neurorehabilitation, motor control, biomechanics, and engineering.
Our aim, through research, is to apply an understanding of the neurobiological control of walking and experience-dependent plasticity to develop and test therapeutic training interventions that promote the recovery of walking for home and community ambulation. To that end, we pursue questions that will ultimately provide clinicians with the knowledge and tools to provide the “best practice” for the recovery of walking. Furthermore, we are interested in understanding the mechanisms that impair locomotion after CNS insult relative to the requirements for locomotion. We are also developing new tools for measurement that begin in the research lab, but that will be translated into clinical practice.
Advances in technology and our biomechanical understanding of movement have enhanced our capacity to analyze movement, posture, balance, and walking and to understand fundamental principles related to motor control deficits and their implications for locomotor recovery.
BRRC Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Laboratory:
Dr. Jeffrey Kleim's TMS laboratory is housed within the BRRC. This lab, a 300 square foot dedicated suite, contains state of the art transcranial magnetic stimulation equipment to study the neurophysiological substrates of rehabilitation-dependent recovery from stroke. The suite includes a computerized stereotaxic neuronavigation system (Brain Sight) that integrates volumetric MRI scans with the TMS system. This allows for the precise localization of stimulation location on the cortex and ensures the reliability of repeated stimulation. The stimulation system itself also includes a 70 mm Magstim coil and Grass EMG recording apparatus. Two G5 Macintosh computers are also dedicated to the collection and analysis of EMG responses and motor map topography. Further, a full time technician has been hired to run the laboratory and oversee all experimental procedures. Michelle will have unlimited access to these facilities and to the expertise of the TMS team headed by Dr. Kleim.
VA/University of Florida Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Human Motor Performance Laboratory:
The primary focus of the 1,800 square foot Laboratory is the assessment of motor performance in individuals with injury, disease, or age-related changes in motor function. It is a joint VA/University of Florida laboratory that is housed in the BRRC. The laboratory is equipped with a VICON Motion Systems motion capture system, consisting of the VICON 612 data station with 8 active video channels and a 64 channel A/D board for analog signals. There are 10 1000 Hz M2 cameras (Digital CMOS M2 series cameras have a resolution of 1280 x 1024) with visible infrared variable intensity DST strobes. Included software is: VICON workstation, VICON polygon, VICON Body Builder, Plug-in Gait, Plug-in Modeler, VICON Real Time II, and a VICON Plug-in to export C3D data to Motion, Muscle, Joint, and Bone file (ASCII) to use with SIMM. This lab is also equipped with the equipment necessary to complete the UE force measures and analyses. The laboratory houses a programmable Adept-six robotic arm, load cells to measure arm and finger/thumb forces, platform for UE stabilization, and the Strength-Dexterity Test System. The lab is also equipped with a Konigsberg Instruments T42, 32-channel telemetry EMG system designed to transmit on a discreet carrier frequency set between 176 and 216 MHz. The lab also houses a Biodex System 3 Pro Orthopedic Testing & Rehabilitation Sys for isokinetic strength testing. Three full-time engineers are employed to assist investigators in data collection and analysis.
In the News:
VA striving to serve new vets of Iraq, Afghanistan, Gainesville.com. Aug. 15, 2005
Research on strokes bolstered, Gainesville.com. Oct 17, 2005
