Mark Rochon Distinguished Lecture Series: Brain Reorganization and Neural Plasticity in Paralympic Athletes
Speaker: Dr. Kimitaka Nakazawa
18 September 2023
12:00 - 13:00 PM
In Person and Virtual
TRI-UC - 2nd floor Auditorium, 550 University Avenue
Abstract
Use-dependent and impairment-specific brain plasticity are hypothesized to interact and enhance neural reorganization in the central nervous system (CNS) of athletes with physical impairments. Paralympic brain studies are helpful in achieving a fundamental understanding of the underlying neural mechanism related to CNS reorganization after physical therapy or athletic training. Information learned from these individuals also provides new insights into sports- and rehabilitation-related neuroscience.
Dr. Nakazawa’s current research focuses on the plastic changes in human central nervous system induced by neurorehabilitation interventions or physical training for Paralympic athletes. His series of studies for Paralympic athletes discovered that in some world class athletes with amputee the lower limb muscles that control prostheses are innervated with both contralateral and ipsilateral corticospinal tracts. His team revealed also that upperlimb motor function in persons with complete spinal cord injuries is markedly superior than healthy individuals, which suggests that after complete loss of both motor and sensory functions in lower limbs the upper limb functions develop considerably due to compensatory and plastic changes after the damages in the CNS.
Biography
Dr. Kimitaka Nakazawa is a Professor in the Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, at The University of Tokyo. He is also the Director of the University of Tokyo Sports Science Initiative, at The University of Tokyo. He is the past Chief researcher, Director of the Department of Motor Dysfunction, Research Institute, at the National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled, Tokorozawa, Japan. For more information about Dr. Nakazawa’s research please visit: Brain Reorganization and Neural Plasticity in Elite Athletes... : Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews (lww.com)