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- All Subjects: kinesiology
- All Subjects: speech science
- Creators: Daliri, Ayoub
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used in a variety of research settings, including speech neuroscience studies. However, one of the difficulties in using TMS for speech studies is the time that it takes to localize the lip motor cortex representation on the scalp. For my project, I used MATLAB to create a software package that facilitates the localization of the ‘hotspot’ for TMS studies in a systematic, reliable manner. The software sends TMS pulses at certain locations, collects electromyography (EMG) data, and extracts motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to help users visualize the resulting muscle activation. In this way, users can systematically find the subject’s hotspot for TMS stimulation of the motor cortex. The hotspot detection software was found to be an effective and efficient improvement on previous localization methods.
dexterous task was analyzed. An eye-tracking device was affixed to subjects during
sequences of null (salient center of mass) and weighted (non salient center of mass) trials
with unconstrained precision grasp. Subjects experienced both expected and unexpected
perturbations, with the task of minimizing object roll. Unexpected perturbations were
controlled by switching weights between trials, expected perturbations were controlled by
asking subjects to rotate the object themselves. In all cases subjects were able to
minimize the roll of the object within three trials. Eye fixations were correlated with
object weight for the initial context and for known shifts in center of mass. In subsequent
trials with unexpected weight shifts, subjects appeared to scan areas of interest from both
contexts even after learning present orientation.