The defining mathematical features of movements disorders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The defining mathematical features of movements disorders
IRAS ID
233848
Contact name
Anna Sadnicka
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Movement disorders are neurological disorders which disrupt the brains control of healthy movement patterns. When considering potential diagnoses clinicians evaluate the characteristics of movement during a clinical examination. Interestingly, even amongst international leaders in the field of movement disorders there is substantial variation in diagnoses even when evaluating the same video of the same patient. Such variability between clinicians suggests that there is still much work to be done to establish objective and reliable classifiers of the different movement disorders. In this project we will study the patterns of movements which are generated in disease states from a mathematic perspective to better classify, give insight into pathophysiological processes, better monitor disease progression and better monitor response to treatment.
We plan to use a variety of non-invasive techniques
1. Kinematic tests. Attach sensors to body regions of interest and record movements.2. Behavioural tests. Custom built hand devices requiring individuals to press buttons with fingers and writing tablets and stylus will be used to examine how skills and the temporal and sequential features of movement are encoded within the brain.
3. Robotic tests using a robotic arm will enable us to to manipulate the sensory environment to provide experimental paradigms which mimick some of the tasks that the motor control system has to deal with everyday. How the brain responds to these sensory disturbances or perturbations and the effects on movement will give further information on the disease.
4. Neurophysiological tests using paradigms which probe the excitability of the brain or selectively examine the function of different regions of the brain. The activity of muscles will be monitored using electrodes which are taped to the skin. Electrical stimulation which is also used in routine nerve conduction tests will be used in some paradigms.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0159
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion