XV Progress in Motor Control

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Keynote Speakers


Programme

XV Progress in Motor Control: “Crossroads between Neurophysiology and Applications”


DAY 1, June 30 (Monday) – Auditorium at the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS #100)

  • 07:30 – 12:00 Registration, CBLS Lobby (Poster setup)
  • 07:30 – 08:45 Continental Breakfast, CBLS Foyer
  • 08:00 – 17:00 Exhibitors, CBLS Lobby
  • 09:00 – 09:15 Opening remarks
    • Chair of the Organizing Committee: Mariusz Furmanek, PhD, PT
    • Dean of the CHS: Patrick Vivier, MD, PhD
    • President of the URI: Marc B. Parlange, PhD
    • President of the ISMC: Gene Tunik, PhD, PT

PART I: THEORETICAL ADVANCES IN MOTOR CONTROL

  • Chairs: Mindy F. Levin, PhD, PT & Gene Tunik, PhD, PT
  • 09:15 – 09:40 Mark L. Latash, PhD: Origins of processes within the uncontrolled manifold
  • 09:4010:05 Jonathan R. Wolpaw, MD: Heksor: The CNS substrate of a skilled behavior

10:05 – 10:45 Coffee break, CBLS Foyer

  • Chairs: Shirley Handelzalts, PT, PhD & Reza Shadmehr, PhD
  • 10:45 – 11:10 Alaa A. Ahmed, PhD: Movement slowing and rational decision making in healthy aging
  • 11:10 – 11:35 Edward Large, PhD: Musical neurodynamics
  • 11:35 – 12:00 David A. Rosenbaum, PhD: Preparedness in thought and action

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Mainfare Dining Hall (Hope Commons, 19 Butterfield Rd)

13:00 – 15:00 POSTER SESSION I: “Motor control theory and mechanisms”CBLS Foyer

PART II: MOTOR LEARNING AND NEURAL PLASTICITY

  • Chairs: Giselle M. Petzinger, MD & Stuart N. Baker, PhD
  • 15:00 – 15:25 Gene Tunik, PhD, PT: Posterior parietal contributions to motor learning
  • 15:25 – 15:50 Michael Vesia, PhD: Effects of multi-day state-dependent parietal intermittent theta burst stimulation on the motor control network
  • 15:50 – 16:15 Daniela Corbetta, PhD: Body mapping and the development of goal-directed reaching in infancy
  • 16:15 – 16:40 Raoul M. Bongers, PhD: Searching for new coordinative structures in degrees of freedom space

16:40 – 16:50 Q&A

17:30 – 20:00 Welcome Reception, CBLS lower lobby


DAY 2, JULY 1 (TUESDAY) – Auditorium at the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS #100)

  • 07:30 – 12:00 Registration, CBLS Lobby
  • 07:30 – 08:30 Continental Breakfast, CBLS Foyer
  • 08:30 – 08:45 Yoga Session I:Breathwork for mindfulness”, CBLS #010
  • 08:00 – 16:00 Exhibitors, CBLS Lobby

PART III: ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS

  • Chairs: Alla A. Ahmed, PhD & Mark L. Latash, PhD
  • 09:00 – 09:25 Stuart N. Baker, PhD: Relative contributions of corticospinal and reticulospinal tracts to control of the primate upper limb
  • 09:25 – 09:50 Reza Shadmehr, PhD: The potent vectors of the cerebellum
  • 09:50 – 10:15 Mathew Yarossi, PhD: Measuring corticospinal recruitment gain with TMS

10:15 – 10:45 Coffee break, CBLS Foyer

  • Chairs: Daniela Corbetta, PhD & Jonathan R. Wolpaw, MD
  • 10:45 – 11:10 Cristian Cuadra, PhD, PT: The dual roles of vestibulospinal reflexes: excitatory and inhibitory influences on limb muscle activity
  • 11:10 – 11:35 Richard E.A. van Emmerik, PhD: Locomotor coordination, shock attenuation and dynamic visual acuity
  • 11:35 – 12:00 2025 Early Career Award Presentation
    Greg Pearcey, PhD, CSEP-CE: Decoding human motoneuron firing behaviour illuminates diversity in movement control

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Mainfare Dining Hall (Hope Commons, 19 Butterfield Rd)
12:10 – 13:00 ISMC Board Meeting, CBLS #152

PART IV: MOTOR DISORDERS MECHANISMS AND REHABILITATION

  • Chairs: Ela Plow, PhD & Raoul M. Bongers, PhD
  • 13:00 – 13:25 Michael W. Jakowec, PhD: Astrocytes bridging motor behavior and synaptic plasticity in Parkinson’s Disease
  • 13.25 – 13:50 Brooke Dexheimer, PhD, OTD, OTR/L: Multimodal approaches for identifying lateralized motor learning mechanisms and their implications in early Parkinson’s Disease
  • 13:50 – 14:15 Giselle M. Petzinger, MD: The association of cognitive and motor performance in Parkinson’s Disease:  understanding the role of cerebellum and related circuitry

14:15 – 14:45 Coffee break, CBLS Foyer

  • Chairs: Monica A. Perez, PhD & Danielle Piscitelli, PhD, PT
  • 14:45 – 15:20 Aiko K. Thompson, PhD: Non-invasive neurobehavioral training to improve motor behaviors and functions of the targeted pathway in CNS disorders
  • 15:20 – 15:45 Evangelos A. Christou, PhD: Ataxic symptoms in essential tremor: can DBS help?
  • 15:45 – 16:10 Andrea L. Behrman, PhD, PT, FAPTA: The lens matters: walking recovery after pediatric spinal cord injury

Free time (Newport, Narragansett, Providence)
Dinner on your own (make sure to make a reservation)


DAY 3, JULY 2 (WEDNESDAY) – Auditorium at the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS #100)

  • 07:30 – 12:00 Registration, CBLS Lobby (Poster setup)
  • 07:30 – 08:00 Yoga Session II: “Body awareness” (outdoor in front of the CBLS)
  • 07:30 – 08:45 Continental Breakfast, CBLS Foyer
  • 08:00 – 15:00 Exhibitors, CBLS Lobby

PART V: RECOVERY OF MOTOR FUNCTION

  • Chairs: Brooke Dexheimer, PhD, OTD, OTR/L & Michael Vesia, PhD
  • 09:00 – 09:25 Mindy F. Levin, PhD, PT: Translation of motor control principles to functional movement improvement after stroke
  • 09:25 – 09:50 Monica A. Perez, PhD: Strategies to maximize functional restoration following spinal cord injury09:50 – 10:15  
  • Danielle Piscitelli, PhD, PT: Motor control as a pathway to recovery in neurorehabilitation

10:15 – 10:45 Coffee break, CBLS Foyer

  • Chairs: Andrea L. Behrman, PhD, PT, FAPTA & Michael W. Jakowec, PhD
  • 10:45 – 11:10 Shirley Handelzalts, PT, PhD: Understanding lower-limb coordination deficits to facilitate gait recovery after stroke
  • 11:10 – 11:35 Ela Plow, PhD: The undamaged motor cortex in stroke: friend or foe?
  • 11:35 – 12:00 Manuel F. DaSilva, MD: Hand control: intersection of biomechanics, motor control, and implications for clinical practice

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch, CBLS Foyer
12:15 – 13:15 Journal of Motor Control Board Meeting, CBLS #152

13:00 – 15:00 POSTER SESSION II “Motor impairments and rehabilitation” CBLS Foyer

15:00 – 15:30   2025 Bernstein Prize Presentation
Introduction: Mark L. Latash, PhD
T. Richard Nichols, PhD: Determinants of the force-length characteristic

PART VI: HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE EQUILIBRIUM-POINT HYPOTHESIS
(Tribute to Anatol G. Feldman, PhD)

  • 15:30 – 15:40 David A. Rosenbaum, PhD
  • 15:40 – 15:50 Mindy F. Levin, PhD, PT
  • 15:50 – 16:00 Gene Tunik, PhD, PT
  • 16:00 – 16:10 Danielle Piscitelli, PhD, PT
  • 16:10 – 16:20 Raoul M. Bongers, PhD
  • 16:20 – 16:30 Mark L. Latash, PhD
  • 16:30 – 16:40 Concluding statement by Anatol G. Feldman, PhD

18:30 – 19:00 Aperitif

19:00 – 21:00 Closing dinner

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