Motor and Brain Development Dynamics

We study the behavioral and functional mechanisms underpinning motor coordination, with particular emphasis to the interaction between motor behavior and brain activity. We aim at contributing to a better understanding of such interaction during the life span of humans, from the development of interconnected motor and brain functions during the perinatal age, to the regression of those functions with aging. Our studies are performed by combining behavioral observations and kinematics acquisitions with the monitoring of the brain function by means of fMRI, EEG and MEG systems.

Coordination Dynamics

Within the theoretical framework of Coordination Dynamics we study unimanual and bimanual finger coordination and their neural correlates in populations of non-clinical and clinical subjects affected by neuro-motor impairments to the upper limbs. Our studies focus on the behavioral and functional synchronization versus an external rate, and on their reorganization during spontaneous and intentional switching between different coordination patterns. Our studies are performed using fMRI and HR-EEG systems to monitor the brain function, whereas motor behavior is quantified by means of a non-magnetic equipment that we developed for the quantification of finger kinematics during coordination tasks.

Ongoing projects:

  1. Neural Dynamics of Coordination Switching and Selection to uncover the neural dynamics associated with intentional and spontaneous switching between patterns of coordination.
    We perform the study in collaboration with Prof. KJ Jantzen, Human Cognition and Neural Dynamics Laboratory (HCND Lab), Western Washington University, Bellingham (Washington – USA), using a 64 channel active electrode EEG system from BioSemi (available at the HCND Lab).
  2. Cortical dynamics underpinning unimanual and bimanual finger coordination, and the transition between different motor patterns in patients affected by Parkison’s Disease and by obsessive-compulsive disease to disentangle a correlation between the development of the disease and the functional and behavioral dynamics.
    We perform the study in collaboration with Prof. Sandro Sorbi, Prof. Alessandro Rossi, Dr. Antonio Serio, Dr. Bianca Maria Guarnieri, Istituto di Ricerca Clinica Villa Serena, Casa di Cura Villa Serena, Città S. Angelo (Pescara, Italy), using a 128 channel active electrode EEG system from EBNeuro.

Publications:

  • De Luca C., Bertollo M. and Comani S.: Non-magnetic equipment for the online high-resolution quantification of finger kinematics during functional studies of bimanual coordination. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, submitted 2009.
  • De Luca C., Jantzen K.J., Comani S., Bertollo M. and Kelso J.A.S.: The role of the Basal Ganglia in intentional switching depends on pattern stability. Journal of Neuroscience, submitted 2009.
  • De Luca C., Comani S., Di Donato L., Caulo M., Bertollo M. and Romani GL. 2007 A-magnetic optic-mechanical device to quantify finger kinematics for fMRI studies of bimanual coordination. Brain Topography, 19(3):155-160.

Conferences:

  • K.J. Jantzen, M. Seifert, M. Hieb, C. De Luca, S. Comani, M. Bertollo (2009) The large scale cortical dynamics of intentional switching between patterns of coordination. 15th Annual Meeting for Human Brain Mapping, San Francisco, (CA – USA), 18-23 June 2009
  • C. De Luca, K.J. Jantzen, M. Bertollo, S. Comani, J.A.S. Kelso (2008) The role of Basal Ganglia in the intentional switching between coordination patterns of different stability. NCM 2008 – 18th Annual Meeting of Neural Control of Movement, Naples (FL – USA), 29 April – 4 May 2008
  • K.J. Jantzen, M. Bertollo, C. De Luca, S. Comani, J.A.S. Kelso (2007) The Neurophysiology of Intentional Switching Among Patterns of Bimanual Coordination. 13th Annual Meeting for Human Brain Mapping, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 10-14 June 2007
  • M. Bertollo, C. De Luca, L. Di Donato, M. Caulo, S. Comani (2007) Simultaneous behavioral observations and functional imaging during bimanual coordination in humans. 13th Annual Meeting for Human Brain Mapping, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 10-14 June 2007
  • K.J. Jantzen, M. Bertollo, C. De Luca, S. Comani, J.A.S. Kelso (2007) Neural mechanisms of intentional switching among patterns of bimanual coordination. International Conference CD2007, Coordination: Neural, Behavioral and Social Dynamics, Boca Raton (Florida) USA, 22-25 February 2007
  • S. Comani, C. De Luca, L. Di Donato, M. Bertollo (2007) High spatio-temporal resolution behavioral recording of bimanual coordination during functional imaging. International Conference CD2007, Coordination: Neural, Behavioral and Social Dynamics, Boca Raton (Florida) USA, 22-25 February 2007
  • C. De Luca, S. Comani, L. Di Donato, M. Caulo, M. Bertollo and G.L. Romani (2006) A-magnetic optic-mechanical device to quantify finger kinematics for fMRI studies of bimanual coordination. 17th Meeting of the International Society for Brain Electromagnetic Topography (ISBET 2006), Chieti (Italia) 27-30 September 2006

Early infancy

This research line is designed to study the development and learning of motor skills in infants as young as one month of age up to 6 years of age. In particular, our research seeks to understand the development of mu-rhythm (µ) in non clinical infants, since little is still known about µ in infants and how it develops with age. The µ supposedly reflects activation of the Mirror Neuron System (MNS) since it desynchronizes in response during execution and observation of movements. MNS dysfunction has been suspected in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism). Therefore, a deeper understanding of the development of those systems may contribute to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. We investigate the development of infants’ neural activity by means of a pediatric MEG system (babySQUID) installed at the MIND Research Network of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque (NM, USA).

Ongoing projects:

  1. Characterization of the Mirror Neuron System in infants with typical and atypical development.
    We develop this research at the Mind Research Network of the University of New Mexico Health Science Center (UNMHSC, NM – USA) in collaboration with Dr. Julia Stephen, Prof. Robert Annett and Prof. Yoshio Okada, and using the pediatric MEG system (babySQUID) installed at the MIND Research Network. This study is being sponsored by the UNMHSC Clinical and Translational Sciences Center (CTSC) with Human Research Review Committee (HRRC) approval #08-236.

Conferences:

  • Berchicci, M., Zhang, T., Romero, L., Peters, A., Annett, R., Teuscher, U., Bertollo, M., Okada, Y., Comani, S., Stephen, J. (2009) Characterization of mu-rhythm in children aged 1-13 month-old. 7th Congress of Progress in Motor Control, Marseille (FRA), July 23-26, 2009
  • Berchicci, M., Zhang, T., Romero, L., Peters, A., Annett, R., Teuscher, U., Bertollo, M., Okada, Y., Comani, S., Stephen, J. (2009) Mu-rhythm detection in infants. 15th Annual Meeting for Human Brain Mapping, San Francisco, (CA – USA), June 18-23, 2009
  • Berchicci, M., Zhang, T., Romero, L., Peters, A., Annett, R., Teuscher, U., Bertollo, M., Okada, Y., Comani, S., Stephen, J. (2009) Characterization of mu-rhythm in children aged 3-9 month-old. 1st International workshop Perinatal Biomagnetism 2009: How can it helps sick fetus?, Chieti, (Italy), April 4, 2009
  • Stephen, J., Zhang, T., Hill, D., Lopez, B., Romero, L., Peters, A., Berchicci, M., Okada, Y. (2009) Increases in coherence index with age in neurotypical children. 1st International workshop Perinatal Biomagnetism 2009: How can it helps sick fetus?, Chieti, (ITA), April 4, 2009