Rajal G Cohen
What fundamental systems and principles underlie cognitive control of action? How are posture and motor performance influenced by psychological factors such as body schema, habit, and inhibitory control? How can all this knowledge be used to help people with pain or dysfunction? These are the kinds of questions that drive my research.
I believe that studying action and posture can yield important insights about cognition, and that cognitive factors are important for understanding how action and posture are controlled.
My work is translational, in that a better understanding of the role of the mind in action may lead to novel treatments for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and also for cognitive deficits such as those associated with aging. It is also interdisciplinary, connecting psychology with neurology, physical therapy, exercise science, engineering, and neuroscience.
Supervisors: Fay Horak, David Rosenbaum, and Dagmar Sternad
Phone: 208-885-4102 (work)
Address: Psychology & Communication Studies - University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS 3043
Moscow, Idaho 83844-3043
I believe that studying action and posture can yield important insights about cognition, and that cognitive factors are important for understanding how action and posture are controlled.
My work is translational, in that a better understanding of the role of the mind in action may lead to novel treatments for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and also for cognitive deficits such as those associated with aging. It is also interdisciplinary, connecting psychology with neurology, physical therapy, exercise science, engineering, and neuroscience.
Supervisors: Fay Horak, David Rosenbaum, and Dagmar Sternad
Phone: 208-885-4102 (work)
Address: Psychology & Communication Studies - University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS 3043
Moscow, Idaho 83844-3043
less
InterestsView All (15)
Uploads
Papers
Postural deviations such as forward head posture (FHP) are associated with adverse health effects. The causes of these deviations are poorly understood. We hypothesized that anticipating target-directed movement could cause the head to get “ahead of” the body, interfering with optimal head/neck posture, and that the effect may be exacerbated by task difficulty and/or poor inhibitory control.
Method
We assessed posture in 45 healthy young adults standing quietly and when they anticipated walking to place a tray: in a simple condition and in conditions requiring that they bend low or balance an object on the tray. We defined FHP as neck angle relative to torso; we also measured head angle relative to neck and total neck length. We assessed inhibitory control using a Go/No-Go task, Stroop task, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS).
Results
FHP increased when participants anticipated movement, particularly for more difficult movements. Worse Stroop performance and lower MAAS scores correlated with higher FHP. False alarms on the Go/No-Go task correlated with a more extended head relative to the neck and with shortening of the neck when anticipating movement.
Conclusions
Maintaining neutral posture may require inhibition of an impulse to put the head forward of the body when anticipating target-directed movement.
pain and to assess changes in self-efficacy, posture, and neck muscle activity as potential mechanisms for pain reduction.
Design: A single-group, multiple-baseline design, with two pre-tests to control for regression toward the mean, a post-test immediately after the intervention, and another post-test five weeks later to examine retention of benefits. Participants were predominately middle-aged; all had experienced neck pain for at least six months. Intervention: Participants attended ten one-hour group classes in AT, an embodied mindful approach that may reduce habitual overactivation of muscles, including superficial neck muscles, over five weeks.
Outcome measures: (1) self-reports: Northwick Park Questionnaire (to assess neck pain and associated disability) and Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire; (2) superficial neck flexor activation and fatigue (assessed by electro- myography and power spectral analysis) during the cranio-cervical flexion test; (3) posture during a video game task.
Results: There were no significant changes in outcomes between pre-tests. All participants completed the in- tervention. After the intervention: (1) participants reported significantly reduced neck pain; (2) fatigue of the superficial neck flexors during the cranio-cervical flexion test was substantially lower; (3) posture was mar- ginally more upright, as compared to the second pre-intervention values. Changes in pain, self-efficacy, and neck muscle fatigue were retained at the second post-test and tended to be correlated with one another. Conclusions: Group AT classes may provide a cost-effective approach to reducing neck pain by teaching parti- cipants to decrease excessive habitual muscle contraction during everyday activity.
Freezing of gait in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) is likely related to attentional control (ie, ability to divide and switch attention). However, the neural pathophysiology of altered attentional control in individuals with PD who freeze is unknown. Structural connectivity of the pedunculopontine nucleus has been related to freezing and may play a role in altered attentional control; however, this relationship has not been investigated. We measured whether dual-task interference, defined as the reduction in gait performance during dual-task walking, is more pronounced in individuals with PD who freeze, and whether dual-task interference is associated with structural connectivity and/or executive function in this population.
METHODS:
We measured stride length in 13 people with PD with and 12 without freezing of gait during normal and dual-task walking. We also assessed asymmetry of pedunculopontine nucleus structural connectivity via diffusion tensor imaging and performance on cognitive tests assessing inhibition and set-shifting, cognitive domains related to freezing.
RESULTS:
Although stride length was not different across groups, change in stride length between normal and dual-task gait (ie, dual-task interference) was more pronounced in people with PD who freeze compared to non-freezers. Further, in people with PD who freeze, dual-task interference was correlated with asymmetry of pedunculopontine nucleus structural connectivity, Go-NoGo target accuracy (ability to release a response) and simple reaction time.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results support the hypothesis that freezing is related to altered attentional control during gait, and suggest that differences in pedunculopontine nucleus connectivity contribute to poorer attentional control in people with PD who freeze.
Postural deviations such as forward head posture (FHP) are associated with adverse health effects. The causes of these deviations are poorly understood. We hypothesized that anticipating target-directed movement could cause the head to get “ahead of” the body, interfering with optimal head/neck posture, and that the effect may be exacerbated by task difficulty and/or poor inhibitory control.
Method
We assessed posture in 45 healthy young adults standing quietly and when they anticipated walking to place a tray: in a simple condition and in conditions requiring that they bend low or balance an object on the tray. We defined FHP as neck angle relative to torso; we also measured head angle relative to neck and total neck length. We assessed inhibitory control using a Go/No-Go task, Stroop task, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS).
Results
FHP increased when participants anticipated movement, particularly for more difficult movements. Worse Stroop performance and lower MAAS scores correlated with higher FHP. False alarms on the Go/No-Go task correlated with a more extended head relative to the neck and with shortening of the neck when anticipating movement.
Conclusions
Maintaining neutral posture may require inhibition of an impulse to put the head forward of the body when anticipating target-directed movement.
pain and to assess changes in self-efficacy, posture, and neck muscle activity as potential mechanisms for pain reduction.
Design: A single-group, multiple-baseline design, with two pre-tests to control for regression toward the mean, a post-test immediately after the intervention, and another post-test five weeks later to examine retention of benefits. Participants were predominately middle-aged; all had experienced neck pain for at least six months. Intervention: Participants attended ten one-hour group classes in AT, an embodied mindful approach that may reduce habitual overactivation of muscles, including superficial neck muscles, over five weeks.
Outcome measures: (1) self-reports: Northwick Park Questionnaire (to assess neck pain and associated disability) and Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire; (2) superficial neck flexor activation and fatigue (assessed by electro- myography and power spectral analysis) during the cranio-cervical flexion test; (3) posture during a video game task.
Results: There were no significant changes in outcomes between pre-tests. All participants completed the in- tervention. After the intervention: (1) participants reported significantly reduced neck pain; (2) fatigue of the superficial neck flexors during the cranio-cervical flexion test was substantially lower; (3) posture was mar- ginally more upright, as compared to the second pre-intervention values. Changes in pain, self-efficacy, and neck muscle fatigue were retained at the second post-test and tended to be correlated with one another. Conclusions: Group AT classes may provide a cost-effective approach to reducing neck pain by teaching parti- cipants to decrease excessive habitual muscle contraction during everyday activity.
Freezing of gait in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) is likely related to attentional control (ie, ability to divide and switch attention). However, the neural pathophysiology of altered attentional control in individuals with PD who freeze is unknown. Structural connectivity of the pedunculopontine nucleus has been related to freezing and may play a role in altered attentional control; however, this relationship has not been investigated. We measured whether dual-task interference, defined as the reduction in gait performance during dual-task walking, is more pronounced in individuals with PD who freeze, and whether dual-task interference is associated with structural connectivity and/or executive function in this population.
METHODS:
We measured stride length in 13 people with PD with and 12 without freezing of gait during normal and dual-task walking. We also assessed asymmetry of pedunculopontine nucleus structural connectivity via diffusion tensor imaging and performance on cognitive tests assessing inhibition and set-shifting, cognitive domains related to freezing.
RESULTS:
Although stride length was not different across groups, change in stride length between normal and dual-task gait (ie, dual-task interference) was more pronounced in people with PD who freeze compared to non-freezers. Further, in people with PD who freeze, dual-task interference was correlated with asymmetry of pedunculopontine nucleus structural connectivity, Go-NoGo target accuracy (ability to release a response) and simple reaction time.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results support the hypothesis that freezing is related to altered attentional control during gait, and suggest that differences in pedunculopontine nucleus connectivity contribute to poorer attentional control in people with PD who freeze.