User:Ycchung/sandbox

Assignment 7
Notable BKNPT Alumni

Michael A. Pagliarulo

Judith E. Deutsch

Jack D. Close

Assignment 6
=History=

1940 - 1950

The precursor of the Division Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, USC was established as an apprenticeship program at the Orthopedic Hospital in 1942. The physical therapy program was started by Dr. Charles Lowman, who was an orthopedic doctor trained at USC, and Susan Roen, who was the head physical therapist at the Orthopedic Hospital and a assistant instructor in the USC Physical Education Department. Their successful cooperation, especially in underwater therapy, drew international attention; President Franklin D. Roosevelt had also consulted with them before. One of the notables within the physical therapy profession, Catherine Worthingham, was graduated under their guidance.

Dr. Catherine Worthingham, PT, PhD, FAPTA, who contributed to the profession through education, practice, and research, advanced the physical therapy profession to a high level of influence in rehabilitation. To honor her contribution, the Catherine Worthingham Fellow designation (FAPTA) Award was established to inspire all physical therapists. Until now, we have six faculty members in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, USC, who have received this highest honor: Carolee Winstein (2003), James Gordon (2005) , Linda Fetters (2008) , Kornelia Kulig (2010)   , Christopher Powers (2011) , and Robert Landel (2012). .

The 1940s was an important period for occupational therapy and physical therapy education with an increased movement to evolve educational training from certificate programs to university-based baccalaureate programs. In 1942, Department of Occupational Therapy was founded at USC as one of the first programs in the U.S. Margaret S. Rood, the developer of the well-known “Rood techniques” for rehabilitation of central nervous system disorders, was the organizer and chairperson of the Occupational Therapy department from 1943 to 1952. In 1945, Physical Therapy department was established at USC’s University Park Campus with two programs offered: a certificate program for college graduates and a baccalaureate program. Charlotte W. Anderson, who had been a core faculty in the War Emergency Program, was the first chairperson of the Physical Therapy department. The Physical Therapy program at USC was accredited by American Medical Association (AMA) in 1946. The first class with Certificate in Physical Therapy graduated from USC at the same year while the first B.S. degree candidate graduated in 1947.

In order to prepare teachers for physical therapy schools, post-professional graduate M.A. program was established at USC in 1947 as the second program of its kind in the USA. The first M.A. candidate (Mary Dodge) graduated in 1950. While physical therapy was a fairly new professional field for men at that time, the first male students were admitted to the physical therapy program in 1950.

Assignment 5


My research interest is to use bradykinesia (i.e. movement slowness) in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a model to investigate the function of basal ganglia circuits in a well-learned movement such as reaching. The topic might fit well with the subsections of “neuroplasticity”, “capturing and analyzing human movement” and “improving sensorimotor performance.”

I would like to contribute to the subsection of neuroplasticity by writing a paragraph about the neuroplastic changes along with skill acquisition in non-disabled individuals. The paragraph will be elaborated to the potential impact of dopamine depletion on neuroplasticity and how motor learning and performance in people with PD may be influenced. In the subsection of capturing and analyzing human movement, the paragraph will be about the kinematic measurements commonly-used in motor control studies, such as peak velocity, peak acceleration and time to peak acceleration. A graph will be displayed as an example and include the movement amplitude, velocity and acceleration profile of a reaching movement. The paragraph will cover the representative meaning of these parameters in motor planning and control process. In the subsection of improving sensorimotor performance, I would like to focus on the up-to-date treatment program and strategies for individuals with PD.

Assignment 3
Search Topic: motor control Parkinson’s disease

With the search topic of “motor control Parkinson’s disease”, 4461 results are returned from Web of Knowledge. The number of publications steadily rises from 1990 every year with a 45% increase in 2010. The most cited article was investigating the long-term effect of bilateral deep brain stimulation in motor function of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and was published in 2003. Among the 10 most-cited articles, 6 are related to the medical treatment for PD and 4 are related to the role of basal ganglia in cognition and motor function.

Since I would like to focus my search on human studies, the search is then set to exclude animal studies, such as rat and mice models. After excluding rodent studies from the search, 3718 results are returned. Similarly, a steady rise in the number of publications is observed with a large increase in 2010. The percentage of human studies in the first returned result is 80-85% and remains stable across years. If the search is further narrowed down by adding “bradykinesia” in the search topic, there are 341 results left. The number of yearly publications is less than 10 before 1998 and is steadily increased, especially after 1998.

Assignment 2
Topic: TMS in kinesiology

Pages of interest: neuroplasticity, pyramidal tracts, neurorehabilitation, stroke recovery, stroke, Parkinson's disease, transcranial direct current stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, evoked potential, electromyography

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a method used to understand the brain-behavior relationships in both healthy and injured populations, as well as the neuroplastic changes following exercise training and injuries. Motor evoked potentials are measured with electromyography during rest or active muscle contraction. The amplitude and duration of motor evoked potentials could reflect the changes in excitatory or inhibitory cortical circuits. Applying TMS pulses repetitively could temporarily inhibit or facilitate a cortical region, allowing us to understand the cortical function through observing the motor behavioral changes. In addition, studies have been examining the possibility of using TMS as an adjunct therapy to enhance recovery and the effectiveness of rehabilitation for individuals with stroke and Parkinson’s disease.

Assignment 1
WWW: Writing, Wikipedia, and Wizardry in Scientific Communication is a course in the Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy PhD program at the University of Southern California. The goal of the course is to introduce students to fundamentals of scientific writing, in the practical context of developing scientific content for Wikipedia that enhances consolidation and accessibility of important results in the field of Kinesiology.

Introduction
The course is held every Tuesday/Thursday at 10:30am-12:00pm in CHP221. The course includes two parts: lecture and lab.

Methods
The course uses Wikipedia pages as a project for students to practice editing and writing skills.

Subject characteristics
The subjects include non-disable population, such as young/elderly adults and typically developing children.

Magnetic resonance imaging
MRI is a neuroimaging technique, usually as a tool to assess brain structural changes.

Results
Students will be evaluated based on the project, midterm, their participation and attendance to the course.

Conclusions
This is a great course.

Writing Assignment
My background is physical therapy, especially in the sub-field of neuro-rehabilitation. I am interested in understanding the principles of motor control in people with Parkinson's disease, especially the mechanisms of bradykinesia, and the involving neural circuits behind this phenomenon. My goals for the course is to improve my ability in scientific communication to professionals and general population, including writing as well as presentation skills.