Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory Carlson 202G Department of Integrative Physiology University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0354 phone: 303-492-4965 fax: 303-492-6778

Research Interests

1. Muscle fatigue - the performance capabilities of persons with multiple sclerosis on two types of fatiguing contractions that differ in the demand on cortical structures.


2. Aging - changes in the spinal cord that diminish motor output and the functional capabilities of older adults.


3. Stepping - association between the responsiveness of selected spinal pathways and the level of muscle activity in the legs of young and old adults as they perform stepping tasks.

Videos

Personnel

• Director: Roger M. Enoka, Ph.D.


• Research Faculty: Thorsten Rudroff, Ph.D.


• Post-doctoral Fellows: Stéphane Baudry, Ph.D.


• Professional Research Assistants: Joel Enoka, B.A.


• Graduate Students: Adam Maerz, B.A., Jamie Justice, M.S., Jeff Gould, B.A., Lauren Pierpoint, B.A., Mark Jesunathadas, B.S., Matt Holmes, M.Sc., Michael Pascoe, M.S., Nicole Gordon, B.S.


• Undergraduate Students: Diba Mani, James Gibb, Stephen Matthews


• Collaborators: Jacques Duchateau, Ph.D., Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; Dario Farina, Ph.D., Aalborg University, Denmark; Jeff Hebert, P.T., Ph.D., University of Colorado at Denver; Kari Kalliokoski, Ph.D., University of Turku, Finland; Roberto Merletti, Ph.D., Politecnico di Torino, Italy; Francois Meyer, Ph.D., University of Colorado; Shuji Suzuki, Ph.D., Waseda University, Japan; William Klingensmith, M.D., University of Colorado at Denver.

Back row (L to R): Mark Jesunathadas, Jeff Gould, Jamie Justice, Mike Pascoe, Matt Holmes Middle row: Adam Maerz, Thorsten Rudroff, Joel Enoka, Stéphane Baudry (with Virgile) Front row: Nicole Gordon, Lauren Pierpoint

Opportunities for Undergraduates

• The requirements for undergraduate students who want a research experience in our Laboratory are:
• A major in integrative physiology
• Either have completed or be concurrently enrolled in IPHY 4720 (Neurophysiology)
• Obtain UROP funding or enroll in independent study (IPHY 4860) for 8-10 hours/week for at least one semester.


• For more information, contact Mark Jesunathadas (mark.jesunathadas@colorado.edu)

Recent Publications

• Barry BK, Pascoe MA, Riek S, Carson RG, Enoka RM. Common input to different regions of biceps brachii long head. Experimental Brain Research 193: 351-359, 2009.


• Baudry S, Enoka RM. Influence of load type on presynaptic modulation of Ia afferent input onto two synergist muscles. Experimental Brain Research 199: 83-88, 2009.


• Baudry S, Jordan K, Enoka RM. Heteronymous reflex responses in a hand muscle when maintaining constant finger force or position at different contraction intensities. Clinical Neurophysiology 120: 210-217, 2009.


• Baudry S, Rudroff T, Pierpoint LA, Enoka RM. Load type influences motor unit recruitment in biceps brachii during a sustained contraction. Journal of Neurophysiology 102: 1725-1735, 2009.


• Duchateau J, Enoka RM. Neural control of shortening and lengthening contractions: influence of task constraints. Journal of Physiology 24: 5853-5864, 2008.


• Enoka RM, Duchateau J. Muscle fatigue: what, why and how it influences muscle function. Journal of Physiology 586: 11-23, 2008.


• Farina D, Holobar A, Gazzoni M, Zazula D, Merletti R, Enoka RM. Adjustments differ among low-threshold motor units during intermittent, isometric contractions. Journal of Neurophysiology 101: 350-359, 2009.


• Staudenmann D, Rudroff T, Enoka RM. Pronation-supination torque and associated electromyographic activity varies during a sustained elbow flexor contraction but does not influence the time to task failure. Muscle & Nerve 40: 231-239, 2009.