CURRENT RESEARCH

This interdisciplinary program of research focuses on the interactions between cognitive and motor functions during walking in people after stroke, as well as healthy young and older adults.

Current research projects include:

1. Examining age-related changes in gait-related cognitive-motor interference during continuous walking.
2. Investigating the impact of cognitive-motor interference on community mobility and participation in community-dwelling individuals post stroke.
3. Studying the reacquisition of dual task walking ability in people recovering from stroke.
4. Developing and testing rehabilitation interventions to reduce dual task interference during walking in older adults and people with stroke.

Collaborators:

Lori J. P. Altmann, Ph.D.
Department of Speech Language and Hearing, University of Florida

Andrea L. Behrman, Ph.D.
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida

Dorit Hyndman, Ph.D.
University of Southampton, UK

Michael Marsiske, Ph.D.
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida

Meg E. Morris, Ph.D.
Melbourne Physiotherapy School, University of Melbourne, Australia

Bijan Najafi, Ph.D.
Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR), Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Raymond Villalobos, M.D.
New England Rehabilitation Hospital, Woburn, MA

Related publications:

1. Plummer-D’Amato P, Altmann LJP, Behrman AL, & Marsiske M.Dual task effects during swing and stance phases of gait after stroke: a pilot study. Proceedings of the 19th Conference of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. Bologna, Italy. June 21-25, 2009.
2. Rogalski Y, Altmann LJP, Plummer-D’Amato P, Behrman AL, & Marsiske M.Discourse coherence and cognition after stroke: a dual task study.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Chicago IL, USA. November 20-22, 2008.
3. Plummer-D’Amato P, Altmann LJP, Saracino D, Fox E, Behrman AL, & Marsiske M. Interactions between cognitive tasks and gait after stroke: a dual task study.  Gait & Posture.  2008;27:683-688.
4. Plummer-D’Amato P, Altmann L, Behrman AL, & Marsiske M. Cognitive-motor interference during walking after stroke.  18^th International Society for Posture and Gait Research Conference.  Burlington, Vermont, USA.  July 14-18, 2007.

People frequently walk and talk at the same time. Previous research has shown that spontaneous speech has a significant effect on walking in people after stroke. This research aims to disentangle the specific contributions of speech respiration and the cognitive demands of spontaneous speech on gait interference.

This research is investigating how cognitive-motor interference during walking changes over time in people undergoing rehabilitation after stroke.

SIRROWS is a multi-center international randomized clinical trial, sponsored by the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation. This research investigates the effects of daily reinforcement of walking speed via feedback and encouragement to patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke on walking speed recovery and length of stay.  This research also aims to establish the feasibility of uniting clinicians in an international network to conduct clinical trials in neurorehabilitation.  More than 15 sites are currently participating.

Principal Investigator:

Bruce H. Dobkin, M.D.
Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles

Co-investigators:

Prudence Plummer-D’Amato, Ph.D.
Department of Physical Therapy, Northeastern University

Valeriy Nenov, Ph.D.
Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Los Angeles

Robert M. Elashoff, Ph.D.
Department of Biomathmatics, University of California Los Angeles

SIRROWS site investigators and the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation

Related publications:

1. Plummer-D’Amato P, Dobkin BH, & SIRROWS Trialists. International Stroke Inpatient Rehabilitation Reinforcement of Walking Speed (SIRROWS). 2009 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine & American Society of Neurorehabilitation Joint Conference. Denver, CO, USA. October 7-11, 2009.
2. Plummer-D’Amato P, Dobkin BH, Nenov V, & the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation. Feasibility of collaborative multi-center trials in neurorehabilitation. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. 2008;22(5):627.
3. Plummer-D’Amato P, Nenov V, Dobkin BH, & the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation.  Establishing a network for conducting multi-center trials of neurorehabilitation interventions.  Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  2007;88(10):e23. 

Read recent SIRROWS Newsletters (Vol. 2.1, Vol. 2.2, and Vol. 2.3)

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