Decoding motoneuron firing to illuminate diversity in human movement control

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Gregory Pearcey delivers a seminar on their research -

Movement is fundamental for human life, yet little is known about the neural code of human movement. Due to their direct connection to muscle fibres, which collectively form the motor unit, alpha motoneurons are the only cells in the central nervous system that can be routinely recorded in humans. Until recently, it was quite difficult to examine motoneurons in humans due to the invasive procedures required to sample their behaviour. Now, we can routinely record tens of motor units at a time, which has provided us with incredible insights into the diversity in motoneuron properties innervating functionally distinct muscles in humans across the lifespan (i.e., ageing), between the sexes and in response to fluctuations in sex hormones, and in people with motor impairments (i.e., stroke, SCI, etc.). These insights have provided important guiding information required to rapidly advance therapeutic interventions, such as acute intermittent hypoxia.

Arrivals from 11:45 am for a 12:00 noon start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1:00pm.

This event is hybrid format, please use the required booking button at the bottom of the page to choose either in-person or online attendance.
(Please note that in-person spaces are limited and booking is required, so we can manage numbers for catering and also the space in the seminar room)

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IAS seminars are typically recorded, minus any Q&A sessions at the end, again to encourage contributions. The recordings are then uploaded to our website on a Fellows bio page and/or Programme page, along with our IAS YouTube Channel. If you are not able to attend a seminar live, please do still register as we will email everyone who registered to let them know once the recordings are made available.