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Writer's pictureFNNDSC
Apr 11, 20224 min read

FNNDSC Weekly Newsletter - Week 15

Updated: Apr 25, 2022



Happy Monday!


Upcoming events:

April 12: Student Presentations: Nicolo De Luca and Cecilia Liberati

11:00-11:30 AM, Zoom information below:

Meeting ID: 985 8073 8775

April 14: FNNDSC Bi-weekly Lecture: Fabrizio Sergi, PhD

10:00-11:00 AM

Password: 028623

July 16-17, 2022 | Location: Proctor Academy in Andover, NH

Abstracts due Saturday April 16, 2022

September 08-09, 2022 in Prague, Czechia

Abstracts/Full-Text Paper Submission Deadline | March 31, 2022

Flux 2022 | September 7-9, 2022 | La Sorbonne Paris, France

The 22nd International Conference on Biomagnetism: August 28 – September 1, 2022

University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Society for Neuroscience: November 12-16, 2022; San Diego, CA

online abstract submission opens on June 21

More information on abstract deadlines here: Society for Neuroscience - Dates and Deadlines (sfn.org)

51ST CNS ANNUAL MEETING: The 51st CNS Annual Meeting will be held at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio October 12-15, 2022.

OHBM 2022 is scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland from June 19, 2022 - June 23, 2022!

ISMRT 31st Annual Meeting • 06-09 May 2022 | London, England, United Kingdom

June 1: Dr. M. Judah Folkman Research Day

September 4–8: ICCN 2022 Geneva, Switzerland



 

Invitation for articles to a special issue on "Advanced Neuroimaging in Fetal, Neonatal, Infant and Child Health"


In collaboration with Diagnostics, guest editors Dr. Hyun Ju Lee, and Dr. Ai Wern Chung (at the FNNDSC) are inviting articles and reviews for a Special Issue on "Advanced Neuroimaging in Fetal, Neonatal, Infant and Child Health". Further information can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diagnostics/special_issues/Neuroimaging_Neonatal


If you have work that you would like to submit for consideration, please contact Ai (aiwern.chung@childrens.harvard.edu) for possible discounts on charges or for further queries.

 

FNNDSC Bi-weekly Lecture: Fabrizio Sergi, PhD | April 14,2022| 10 AM


Presenter: Fabrizio Sergi, PhD


Title: Robot-assisted imaging of neuromuscular function: new insights on the neural substrates of motor control

Abstract: Can we use robots to help humans learn a new motor skill, or to improve performance of a motor task? What are the neural substrates that support motor learning under physical interaction with external agents such as robots? How does repeated exposure to motor training induce plasticity in brain networks? These are fundamental neuroscience questions which have special relevance in multiple domains, such as neuromodulation, surgical training, and motor recovery after injuries of the nervous system. In this talk, I will present methods that we have developed to help address these questions, involving the combination of robotics, neuroimaging, and advanced biosignal processing. Moreover, I will demonstrate two applications of these methods to understand the function of multiple brain areas associated with motor control and motor learning.


Over the past few years, my lab has developed a family of MRI-compatible robots for use with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to study the neural control of movements. In this talk, I will present two systems, the MR-SoftWrist, a wrist exoskeleton capable of force feedback designed to study neural substrates involved in the control of wrist movements during externally imposed forces, and the MR-StretchWrist, a wrist robot designed to elicit stretch reflexes and study their neural correlates using fMRI. Moreover, I will describe two studies where we have used MRI-compatible robots and neuroimaging to study neural function associated with different components of motor control and motor learning. In one experiment, we have used the MR-SoftWrist to quantify function in the cortico-thalamic-cerebellar pathway involved in learning new motor tasks based on changes in resting-state functional connectivity. In a second experiment, we have used the MR-StretchWrist to quantify function in secondary motor pathways such as the reticulospinal tract involved in fast feedback responses and map the somatotopic organization of these responses of flexor and extensor muscles in the brainstem. Together, these tools demonstrate how robotics, functional imaging and neuroscience can be joined across disciplines to understand and perhaps eventually guide both normal function and the nervous system’s response to injury, disease, devices and rehabilitation.



Biography:

Fabrizio Sergi received the BS, MS, and PhD degrees in biomedical engineering from the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy. He is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Delaware, where he directs the Human Robotics Lab, and he holds appointments in the Mechanical Engineering Department and in the Biomechanics and Movement Science Program. His research interests are on the development of robotic devices for physical interaction with humans and on their application in neurorehabilitation.


____________________________________


Zoom meeting information:



Password: 028623


Or dial in from your telephone:

Internally: x28882

Externally: 646-558-8656 (Primary)

408-638-0968 (If you are unable to dial into the primary number)



Or iPhone one-tap:

+16465588656,,91409120118# or +14086380968,,91409120118#



Meeting ID: 914 0912 0118

 

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If you have something that you would like to see featured in the next newsletter, please contact Winona Bruce-Baiden at: winona.bruce-baiden@childrens.harvard.edu

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