Welcome!
The Motor Control Lab at York University is affiliated with the Centre for Vision Research, the VISTA and Connected Minds programs, and the School of Kinesiology and Health Science. We are also associated with York's graduate and undergraduate Neuroscience programs, the Dependable Internet of Things NSERC Create Program, and the York University Centre for Aging Research (YU-CARE).
Current and Recently Completed Studies!
Integrating cognition, sensation, and motor action for skilled performance in adults post-concussion: This project aims to improve protocols to assess whether a worker is safe to return to his or her job by assessing cognitive (e.g. reasoning and remembering), motor, and sensory changes after concussion in a population of working-aged men and women. This study is led by Sonia Vovan, rPT and funded by CIHR.
Concussion Recovery and Skilled Performance in Working-aged Adults: Sex Differences in the Neural Correlates of Persistent Symptoms After Concussion:
The goal of this project is to characterize the sex-related differences in an individual’s behavioural response to mild brain injury. We aim to quantify not just the differences in rule-based skilled performance, requiring the integration of sensation, cognition, and motor control, but also the underlying differences in the large-scale brain networks that control this integration. We further analyse estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels in our working-aged participants to examine the effects of these hormones on brain and behaviour in those with persising concussion symptoms. These data will allow us to understand how sex- and gender-related differences influence brain injury recovery. This project is led by Miracle Ozzoude and Kiran Bumra, and funded by CIHR.
Visuomotor control network changes as a function of hormone levels in working-aged women. Interactions with our environment require intact connections between frontal, parietal, and subcortical brain regions. While some of these interactions are direct, others require cognitive-motor integration (CMI), where the guiding visual information and motor action are decoupled. Our group has shown sex differences in the networks controlling these visuomotor skills. However, most of this research is based on data from pre-menopausal college-aged women. To address the fundamental knowledge gap around the impact of sex hormones on the neural control of movement, we examine the effect of sex hormones on the relationships between brain network function and skilled performance in females between the ages of 34 and 57 in their pre, peri, and postmenopausal stages. This work is led by Nicole Smeha, and funded by NSERC and a CFREF/VISTA York Tier 1 Research Chair (LS).
Using Cognitive-motor integration performance to predict future injury vulnerability in athletes with a history of concussion. This project uses behavioural rule-based skilled performance measures and statistical analyses to test the utility of our cognitive-motor integration task in assessing risk of further injury in athletes deemed recovered from concussion. This study is led by CéAnn Marks and Anthony Machula and funded by a CFREF/VISTA York Tier 1 Research Chair.
Functional skill assessment in older adults using advanced technology: The objective of the current study is to examine the neural basis of voluntary motor action in older adults with and without dementia. A secondary objective is to test and further develop tools and technologies used for neurological assessment. We are collaborating with Dr. Jen Ryan at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest for this research, which is led by Ghazal Adibmoradi and funded by ORF.
Functional MRI of bimanual movement production: Our research team is working to understand the control processes used by the brain in the planning and performance of movements performed using both hands together. This study is led by Dr. Diana Gorbet, Alicia Rogojin, and Nicole Smeha and funded by NSERC.
Behavioural and imaging neural correlates of cognitive-motor integration in preclinical Alzheimer's disease: Impacts of sex, genetic risk, and menopause status: This project seeks to gain a fundamental understanding of how age, sex, genetics, and hormonal status influence brain networks that may be especially vulnerable in those at risk for dementia. This study was led by Dr. Alica Rogojin and funded by CIHR.
An immersive VR-robotic interface for visuomotor rehabilitation after stroke: This study will test whether use of an immersive virtual reality activity with a robotic interface can strengthen connections in the brain. This research, supported by the VISTA/CFREF program, is in collaboration with Dr. Mary Bunch and IT Universe Ltd.
Recent papers:
Rogojin A, Gorbet DJ, Sergio LE (2023) Sex-related differences in the brain networks controlling bimanual coordination. Experimental Brain Research Mar;241(3):793-806. doi: 10.1007/s00221-023-06561-5.
Rogojin A, Gorbet D, Hawkins KM, Sergio LE (2023) Differences in structural MRI and diffusion tensor imaging underlie visuomotor performance declines in older adults with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Jan 12;14:1054516. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1054516.
Hurtubise JM, Gorbet DJ, Hynes L, Macpherson AK, Sergio LE (2022) Relationship between cerebellum volume and self-reported symptoms in females with post-concussion syndrome. Brain Injury Dec; 22:1-15. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2022.2158231
Smeha N, Kalkat R, Sergio LE, Hynes L (2022) Sex-related differences in visuomotor skill recovery following concussion in working aged adults. BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 14(1),1:17.
Bunch M, Johnson M, Moro S, Adams MS, Sergio LE (2021) Language Games of Disability and Cure: Recommendations for Neurorehabilitation Research from a Critical Disability Studies Perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2021.1982024
Chaudhary M, Adams MS, Mukhopadhyay S, Litoiu M, Sergio LE (2021) Sabotage detection using Deep Learning models on EEG data from cognitive-motor integration task. Front. Hum. Neurosci.: 558; https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.662875
Sergio LE, Gorbet DJ, Adams MS, Dobney DM. (2020) The Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Cognitive-Motor Integration for Skilled Performance. Frontiers in Neurology. 2020 Sep 16;11:1060.
Hurtubise JM, Gorbet DJ, Hynes L, Macpherson AK, Sergio LE (2020) White matter integrity and its relationship to cognitive-motor integration in females with and without post-concussion syndrome (In press, Journal of Neurotrauma, https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2019.6765
Echlin HE, Gorbet DJ, Sergio LE (2020) Assessment of a Cognitive-Motor Training Program in Adults At-Risk for Developing Dementia (in press, Canadian Geriatrics Journal)
Rogojin A, Gorbet DJ, Sergio LE (2019) Sex, APOE, and dementia family history: Relationship between dementia risk and cognitive-motor integration performance. J. Alz. Dis. 71:685-701. doi 10.3233/jad-190403
