Uros Marusic, PhD
Title: Age and Inactivity-related Changes in Human Locomotion: Current Evidence and Perspectives for Cognitive Countermeasures

Bio: Uros Marusic graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia, EU), department of Biomedical Engineering/Cybernetics in medicine (2011) and acquired a Ph.D. in Applied Kinesiology at the University of Primorska (Slovenia, EU) in 2015. Under the mentorship of Dr. Rado Pisot and co-mentorship of Dr. Voyko Kavcic, he specialized in the field of neurophysiology and in the course of his doctoral dissertation examined the effect of cognitive training during bed rest in elderly on their cognitive functioning, mobility control and brain electrocortical activity. During the course of his doctoral studies, Dr. Marusic was actively involved in the work of the research group of Dr. Romain Meeusen at the Department of human physiology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium, EU).

Abstract: In addition to physical training, different forms of mental training have been shown to positively influence motor performance and motor learning also in the older age. This talk will introduce different forms of mental training such as (computerized) cognitive training, motor imagery, and movement observation. Recent studies have demonstrated that cognitive training alone can lead to improved mobility performance in different populations (e.g. healthy elderly or patients with Parkinson’s disease) due to a close link between enhanced cognition and motor control. To illustrate this close link, the talk will present the current behavioral adaptations in gait control as well as neural adaptations of the brain assessed by existing neuroimaging technology (multichannel EEG, fMRI). The potential usage of cognition-based approaches in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities will also be presented with an emphasis on the development of modern prosthesis that are controlled by psychophysiological measures.