Department of Integrative Physiology
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0354
phone: 303-492-4965
fax: 303-492-6778
Research Interests
The neuromuscular mechanisms that mediate the acute adjustments and chronic adaptations experienced by humans in response to physical activity. Current projects address three main topics:
Muscle fatigue - the performance capabilities of persons with multiple sclerosis on two types of fatiguing contractions that differ in the demand on cortical structures.
Aging - changes in the spinal cord that diminish motor output and the functional capabilities of older adults.
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.
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.