Fields of Research

Sensory processes, perception and performance
Motor control
Neurosciences
Psychology of ageing
Central nervous system
Cognitive neuroscience
Behavioural neuroscience
Decision making
Geriatrics and gerontology
Cellular nervous system
Psychological methodology, design and analysis
Gender psychology
Psychophysiology
Cognition
Neurology and neuromuscular diseases
Sensory systems
Physiotherapy
Computational neuroscience (incl. mathematical neuroscience and theoretical neuroscience)
Aged health care

Research Objectives

Health related to ageing
Expanding knowledge in psychology
Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
Clinical health
Other health
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions
Expanding knowledge in the biomedical and clinical sciences
Women's and maternal health
Treatment of human diseases and conditions
Prevention of human diseases and conditions
Allied health therapies (excl. mental health services)
Injury prevention and control

Career Best Publications

Absence of cross-limb transfer of performance gains following ballistic motor practice in older adults; Journal of Applied Physiology
Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability and inhibition during coordination of upper and lower limbs; Neurobiology of Aging
Interhemispheric connectivity between distinct motor regions as a window into bimanual coordination
The ipsilateral motor cortex contributes to cross-limb transfer of performance gains after ballistic motor practice; Journal of Physiology

Research Publications

Absence of cross-limb transfer of performance gains following ballistic motor practice in older adults; Journal of Applied Physiology
Age-related Differences in Corticomotor Excitability and Inhibitory Processes during a Visuomotor RT Task; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability and inhibition during coordination of upper and lower limbs; Neurobiology of Aging
Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability and inhibitory processes during a Go/NoGo reaction time task; 14th European Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology and 4th International Conference on Transcranial Magnetic and Direct Current Stimulation
Age-specific effects of mirror-muscle activity on cross-limb adaptations under mirror and non-mirror visual feedback conditions; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Cognitive inhibition tasks interfere with dual-task walking and increase prefrontal cortical activity more than working memory tasks in young and older adults; Gait and Posture
Construction and evaluation of rodent-specific rTMS coils; Frontiers in Neural Circuits
Construction and evaluation of rodent-specific TMS coils; 1st International Brain Stimulation Conference
Data-driven selection of conference speakers based on scientific impact to achieve gender parity; PLoS ONE
Delayed plastic responses to anodal tDCS in older adults; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Distinct modulation of interhemispheric inhibitory mechanisms during movement preparation reveals the influence of cognition on action control; Cortex
Duration-dependent effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on anodal tDCS induced motor cortex plasticity in older adults: a group and individual perspective; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Equally Flexible and Optimal Response Bias in Older Compared to Younger Adults; Psychology and Aging
Facilitatory non-invasive brain stimulation in older adults: the effect of stimulation type and duration on the induction of motor cortex plasticity; Experimental Brain Research
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy reveals the compensatory potential of pre-frontal cortical activity for standing balance in young and older adults; Neuroscience
Functional role of left PMd and left M1 during preparation and execution of left hand movements in older adults; Journal of Neurophysiology
How is somatosensory information used to adapt to changes in the mechanical environment?; Computational Neuroscience: Theoretical Insights into Brain Function
Influence of cognitive functioning on age-related performance declines in visuospatial sequence learning; Frontiers in Psychology
Influence of tDCS over right inferior frontal gyrus and pre-supplementary motor area on perceptual decision-making and response inhibition: A healthy ageing perspective; Neurobiology of Aging
Inter- and intra-individual variability following intermittent theta burst stimulation: implications for rehabilitation and recovery; Brain Stimulation
Inter-limb transfer of ballistic motor skill following non-dominant limb training in young and older adults; Experimental Brain Research
Interhemispheric connectivity between distinct motor regions as a window into bimanual coordination
Investigating schemes for control of human movement; Physiology News
Investigating the mechanisms of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation using motor learning paradigms and in vivo 2 photon imaging; 1st International Brain Stimulation Conference
Investigating the role of contextual cues and interhemispheric inhibitory mechanisms in response-selective stopping: a TMS study; Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Long-Lasting Contralateral Motor Cortex Excitability is Increased by Unilateral Hand Movement That Triggers Electrical Stimulation of Opposite Homologous Muscles; Neurorehabilitation and Neuro Repair
Low intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation modulates skilled motor learning in adult mice; Scientific Reports
Modulating functional connectivity with non-invasive brain stimulation for the investigation and alleviation of age-associated declines in response inhibition: A narrative review
Motor learning and cross-limb transfer rely upon distinct neural adaptation processes; Journal of Neurophysiology
Non-invasive brain stimulation can elucidate and interact with the mechanisms underlying motor learning and retention: implications for rehabilitation
Novel strategies in feedforward adaptation to a position-dependent perturbation; Experimental Brain Research
OSARI, an Open-Source Anticipated Response Inhibition Task; Behavior Research Methods
Position information but not force information is used in adapting to changes in environmental dynamics; Journal of Neurophysiology
Preconditioning tDCS facilitates subsequent tDCS effect on skill acquisition in older adults; Neurobiology of Aging
Premotor-Motor Interhemispheric Inhibition is Released during Movement Initiation in Older but Not Young Adults; PL o S One
Primary motor cortex involvement in initial learning during visuomotor adaptation; Neuropsychologia: An International Journal in Behavioural Neuroscience
Rapid adaptation to scaled changes of the mechanical environment; Journal of Neurophysiology
Real-time error detection but not error correction drives automatic visuomotor adaptation ; Experimental Brain Research
Response bias reveals the role of interhemispheric inhibitory networks in movement preparation and execution; Neuropsychologia
Response to “Response to Hoy, ‘Gender imbalance and brain stimulation conferences: We have a problem and it is everyone’s problem’”; Brain Stimulation
Response: “Commentary: Duration-dependent effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on anodal tDCS induced motor cortex plasticity in older adults: a group and individual perspective”; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Reversed effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation following motor training that vary as a function of training-induced changes in corticospinal excitability; Neural Plasticity
Safety of low-intensity repetitive transcranial magneTic brAin stimUlation foR people living with mUltiple Sclerosis (TAURUS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial; Trials
Significant cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease exacerbates the reliance on visual feedback during upper limb reaches; Neuropsychologia
Slow and steady is not as easy as it sounds: interlimb coordination at slow speed is associated with elevated attentional demand especially in older adults; Experimental Brain Research
Subthreshold repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation drives structural synaptic plasticity in the young and aged motor cortex; Brain Stimulation
The case for an internal dynamics model versus equilibrium point control in human movement; Journal of Physiology
The contribution of visual feedback to visuomotor adaptation: How much and when?; Brain Research
The effect of ballistic thumb contractions on the excitability of the ipsilateral motor cortex; Experimental Brain Research
The efficacy of colour cues in facilitating adaptation to opposing visuomotor rotations; Experimental Brain Research
The influence of mirror-visual feedback on training-induced motor performance gains in the untrained hand; PLoS One
The interference effects of non-rotated versus counter-rotated trials in visuomotor adaptation; Experimental Brain Research
The ipsilateral motor cortex contributes to cross-limb transfer of performance gains after ballistic motor practice; Journal of Physiology
The neural correlates of ballistic motor learning and cross-limb transfer in young and older adults; 14th European Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology and 4th International Conference on Transcranial Magnetic and Direct Current Stimulation
The Synergistic Organization of Muscle Recruitment Constrains Visuomotor Adaptation; Journal of Neurophysiology
The TAS Test project: a prospective longitudinal validation of new online motor-cognitive tests to detect preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and estimate 5-year risks of cognitive decline and dementia; BMC Neurology
Timing-specific effects of single-session M1 anodal tDCS on motor sequence retention in healthy older adults; Neuroimage
Transfer of ballistic motor skill between bilateral and unilateral context in young and older adults: neural adaptations and behavioural implications; Journal of Neurophysiology
Unilateral contractions modulate interhemispheric inhibition most strongly and most adaptively in the homologous muscle of the contralateral limb; Experimental Brain Research
Upregulation of cortico-cerebellar functional connectivity after motor learning; NeuroImage
Visual feedback-related changes in ipsilateral cortical excitability during unimanual movement: Implications for mirror therapy; Neuropsychological Rehabilitation

Research Projects

2012: Neural Control of Movement and Magtism Nueroscience conferences, Venice and Oxford.; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
A Translational Approach to Understanding the Effects of Brain Stimulation; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Brain Connectivity During Movement Planning and Execution in Young and Older Adults; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Clinical safety assessment of rTMS application for the treatment of MS; Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation (RHHRF)
European Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology 21 to 25 June 2011 Italy (May 2011); University of Tasmania (UTAS)
How do we cancel or modify movements?; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Rapid motor responses in young and older adults; Australian Research Council (ARC)
The Ageing Brain: Plasticity and Training; Australian Research Council (ARC)
The mechanisms of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: A translational approach; National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Research Candidate Supervision

Brain connectivity during unimanual and bimanual movement planning and execution in healthy young and older adults
The use of feedback to facilitate motor learning in older adults