Event Details:
Amy Bastian, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
Human motor learning depends on a suite of brain mechanisms that are driven by different signals and operate on timescales ranging from minutes to years. Understanding these processes requires identifying how new movement patterns are normally acquired, retained and generalized, as well as the effects of distinct brain lesions. This lecture will focus on normal and abnormal motor learning and how we can use this information to improve rehabilitation for individuals with neurological damage.
Bio
Dr. Amy Bastian is a neuroscientist and physical therapist who studies the neural control of human movement. She is Chief Science Officer of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Director of the Center for Movement Studies. Dr. Bastian holds the rank of Professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins, with a joint appointment in Neurology.
Dr. Bastian studies how people with and without neurological damage control movement and learn new patterns. Her laboratory uses computerized movement tracking techniques, non-invasive brain stimulation, novel devices and robotics to control walking and reaching movements. One major focus of her work has been on the role of the cerebellum in moving, sensing and learning. The second is on locomotor control and plasticity in adults, children and stroke survivors.