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Brain plasticity after spinal cord injury
Following spinal cord injury, the brain is deprived of a major source of sensory input and changed motor behaviour. In this study we use fMRI to investigate how this affects processing along the sensorimotor stream.
The Neural Control of Movement Lab (NCM) at ETH Zürich, in collaboration with the Paralab at the Spinal Cord Injury Centre at Balgrist University Hospital, is conducting a neuroimaging experiment aimed at identifying how the brain changes following a tetraplegic spinal cord injury. Following spinal cord injury, the brain is deprived of a major source of sensory input. This is thought to lead to extensive reorganisation in brain areas containing detailed map-like body representations (e.g. the primary somatosensory cortex), such that neighbouring body-part representations ‘invade’ the area deprived of input and/or output. This assumption of drastic reorganisation has been highly influential both in the neuroscientific literature and the clinic. However, we recently demonstrated that the functional representation of the paralysed and sensory deprived hand is preserved after spinal cord injury. In the current project, we aim to understand these seemingly contradictory processes in further detail. We will combine functional MRI with behavioural and clinical testing to understand which determinants allow sensory representations in S1 to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation following sensory input loss.
The Neural Control of Movement Lab (NCM) at ETH Zürich, in collaboration with the Paralab at the Spinal Cord Injury Centre at Balgrist University Hospital, is conducting a neuroimaging experiment aimed at identifying how the brain changes following a tetraplegic spinal cord injury. Following spinal cord injury, the brain is deprived of a major source of sensory input. This is thought to lead to extensive reorganisation in brain areas containing detailed map-like body representations (e.g. the primary somatosensory cortex), such that neighbouring body-part representations ‘invade’ the area deprived of input and/or output. This assumption of drastic reorganisation has been highly influential both in the neuroscientific literature and the clinic. However, we recently demonstrated that the functional representation of the paralysed and sensory deprived hand is preserved after spinal cord injury. In the current project, we aim to understand these seemingly contradictory processes in further detail. We will combine functional MRI with behavioural and clinical testing to understand which determinants allow sensory representations in S1 to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation following sensory input loss.
The goal of the student will be to help test tetraplegic spinal cord injury patients and healthy control participants and analyse behavioural data. The student will (together with a research assistant) make the testing schedule and organise further aspects associated with the testing. The student will further assist with the fMRI assessments. The student will analyse behavioural and clinical tests with the ultimate goal to relate this to brain measurements. Since this project requires extensive training, we are only able to consider students who aim to join this project for a minimum duration of 6 months as a part-time internship (50%; with the possibility to extend to a full-time MSc thesis project). This internship will start in October at the earliest, the exact date can be discussed.
Tasks
Administer clinical and behavioural tests
Provide assistance with MRI testing
Data organisation and analysis
Your Profile
Requirements
Student in Health Sciences and Technology, Psychology, Biomedical Imaging, Neuroscience, Human Movement Sciences, Biology, or related fields of study
Swiss-German speaker, fluent in English speaking and writing
self-organised and independent
disciplined
reliable
friendly and warm personality (able to make chit-chat, while sticking to a tight testing schedule)
better to have:
experience in patient communication
experience in processing data
experience with Matlab or other programming languages
Good knowledge of statistics and experience with SPSS or RStat
already living in Zurich
The goal of the student will be to help test tetraplegic spinal cord injury patients and healthy control participants and analyse behavioural data. The student will (together with a research assistant) make the testing schedule and organise further aspects associated with the testing. The student will further assist with the fMRI assessments. The student will analyse behavioural and clinical tests with the ultimate goal to relate this to brain measurements. Since this project requires extensive training, we are only able to consider students who aim to join this project for a minimum duration of 6 months as a part-time internship (50%; with the possibility to extend to a full-time MSc thesis project). This internship will start in October at the earliest, the exact date can be discussed.
Tasks Administer clinical and behavioural tests Provide assistance with MRI testing Data organisation and analysis
Your Profile Requirements Student in Health Sciences and Technology, Psychology, Biomedical Imaging, Neuroscience, Human Movement Sciences, Biology, or related fields of study Swiss-German speaker, fluent in English speaking and writing self-organised and independent disciplined reliable friendly and warm personality (able to make chit-chat, while sticking to a tight testing schedule)
better to have: experience in patient communication experience in processing data experience with Matlab or other programming languages Good knowledge of statistics and experience with SPSS or RStat already living in Zurich
Please submit a short motivation letter, a CV, and record of your studies to:
Dr. Sanne Kikkert
Neural Control of Movement Lab, NCM Lab
ETH Zürich
Sanne.kikkert@hest.ethz.ch
Please submit a short motivation letter, a CV, and record of your studies to: Dr. Sanne Kikkert Neural Control of Movement Lab, NCM Lab ETH Zürich Sanne.kikkert@hest.ethz.ch