In the field of rehabilitation medicine that treats human activities, the function of "movement" plays a very important role as the basis of activity. The central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord, plays a central role in motor functions as a commander sending motor commands.
We have been conducting research to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the recovery of motor functions, such as changes in neural functions and reconstruction of neural pathways, in various pathological conditions in which motor functions are impaired due to damage to the nervous system caused by cerebrovascular diseases.
We have been conducting studies that evaluate the states of the neural system using state-of-the-art evaluation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and magnetic resonance imaging, in combination with quantitative evaluation of kinematic movements using robots. We are also pursuing the possibility of new therapeutic neuromodulating approaches including peripheral electrical and magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct-current electrical stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation, to promote the recovery of motor functions by addressing the neural mechanisms mentioned previously.
Functional evaluation of motor areas in the brain using transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation activates neurons by the electric field generated in the brain by magnetic stimulation, which can be used to evaluate the connections between brain regions or those from the brain to peripheral muscles. This allows us to evaluate the details of the neural network and study the mechanism underlying the recovery of motor function.
Evaluation of motor function using an upper limb robot (Kinarm Exoskeleton Labs™)
The figure on the right shows the motor trajectory of the hand position during the reaching task and the same task used in the evaluation of motor functions of upper limb.
