Todd Laboratory

Studies in human and animal models have shown that the organisation of the cerebral cortex is plastic, that is, the cortex is capable of rapid and long-lasting reorganisation in response to both normal experience and to abnormal experiences such as disease processes. In the primary motor cortex of humans, reorganisations are manifest as a change in the excitability and/or topography of the cortical areas that control specific muscles (the so-called cortical muscle map). For example, under the appropriate circumstances, the small area of motor cortex that normally controls one set of muscles can be switched so that it now controls a different group of muscles.

The focus of my research is to induce persistent changes in the excitability of human motor cortex in a manner that will improve motor function and motor learning in normal subjects, and in subjects with damaged brains. My work will determine whether non-invasive, repetitive magnetic brain stimulation induces changes in the motor cortex that translate to improved movement performance. This will provide the basis for developing interventions that could optimise the cortical environment for movement and motor learning.