Additional Program Details

Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education

The master’s and doctoral programs in Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science (MCRS) are designed to be flexible. Students have the flexibility to adjust their individual programs to line up with their future directions and career goals.

MCRS provides scientifically rigorous programs that prepare students for further education and important careers in related fields. We offer advanced multidisciplinary coursework and extensive opportunities to pursue innovative practical experiences and research.

Faculty members work closely with students to tailor an academic, practical and research program based on the interests of the students. This targeted coursework allows each student to lay a foundation for their future career’s professional, technical and practical aspects. Students can pursue a practical route (M.Ed.) focused on functional and applied coursework or a research-intensive route (M.S. or Ph.D.).

All organized graduate courses (i.e., not including Directed Research or Internship) must be taken for a letter grade. Courses taken outside of MCRS may be taken on a credit/no credit basis (with the adviser’s approval), as allowed by the Graduate School (i.e., no more than 6 credit hours, or 20% of the hours on the Program of Work). All doctoral students, except for students who are in candidacy, must enroll in KIN 197/397 MCRS Graduate Seminar every fall and spring semester.

Program Resources

The facilities of the graduate program in MCRS are state of the art. Our two core biomechanics labs are equipped with 3-dimensional force and motion capture systems and multichannel surface EMG equipment. One of the biomechanics labs features instrumented treadmills, a virtual reality surround, a metabolic cart, B-mode ultrasound units; the other features multiple force plates for assessing overground locomotion.

In addition,the Neuromuscular Control Laboratory is equipped to study selected non-locomotor motor control tasks with a variety of force and motion transducers and both surface and intramuscular EMG systems. The Sensorimotor Neuroplasticity Laboratory and the Freedberg Action, Learning and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory are outfitted with a cutting-edge closed-loop transcranial magnetic stimulation system that integrates electroencephalography with electromyography noninvasive brain stimulation. The laboratories are also equipped with a range of software and hardware resources for testing cognitive and motor function in healthy and clinical populations. Students and investigators in these labs also regularly use on-campus core resources for functional and structural neuroimaging.

Current interests in physical rehabilitation, aging, skill and memory acquisition, biomechanics, and cognitive and motor performance guide the research projects in these labs and afford natural bridges to students’ future careers and applications. These include

physical therapy
occupational therapy
neuropsychology
clinical gait analysis
biomechanical analysis and consulting
basic and applied research

By participating in cutting-edge research and coursework, students will be prepared for a variety of ways to be engaged in and to guide these specializations.

Please note, however, that before you begin working in a laboratory, you are required to perform the following:

Advising

Each student is advised by the professor whose research or expertise corresponds with the academic interests of the student. The role of the advisor or supervising faculty member is to provide advice about possible coursework for the degree, to approve the selection of specific courses within the student’s program, and to provide feedback about student progress. Students should contact an appropriate faculty member for more information on advising.

Central Research Themes

Our Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science graduate programs focus on studying biomechanical, cognitive, neural, and neuromuscular mechanisms of human movement with applications to development and aging, skill acquisition, and motor and cognitive rehabilitation following acute and chronic injuries and disorders. Some central aims addressed in our research laboratories include:

Mechanisms underlying the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of memory in healthy younger and older adults, and patients with memory deficits (Freedberg).
Cortical and subcortical mechanisms of voluntary movement and skill learning in the healthy and damaged brain (Hussain)
Revealing how body dimensions and muscle-tendon mechanics affect locomotion physiology and performance (Beck).
Neural control mechanisms during muscle fatigue and aging with single-motor unit recording, and electrical stimulation protocols for individuals with paralysis. (Griffin)
Mechanisms of biomechanical and neuromuscular control of normal and pathological movements, and interventions that improve functional movements such as walking (Hsiao)

Recommended Courses

Organized Courses in Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science

KIN 395 Biomechanics in Clinical Settings
KIN 395 Biomechanics of Sport
KIN 395 Central Questions in Biomechanics and Motor Control
KIN 395 Motor Control: Performance and Learning
KIN 395 Motor Control: Neuromuscular Bases
KIN 395 Neurological Rehabilitation
KIN 395 Neuromuscular Aspects of Fatigue and Training
KIN 395 Motor Control: Human Neuroplasticity
KIN 395 Rehabilitation of Human Memory Systems

Research Methods Course Options

KIN 386 Research Methods: Proposal Writing
KIN 386 Research Methods: Grant Writing
KIN 386 Research Methods: Applied Research Techniques
PSY 381G/ NEU 381G Grant Writing in the Behavioral and Biological Sciences

Laboratory Techniques Course

KIN 382 Biomechanics Laboratory Techniques

Sample Graduate Statistics Courses

BME 380J.5 Biostatistics
BME384J Intro to Neural Engineering
EDP 380E Fundamental Statistics
EDP 380P Measurement and Evaluation
EDP 482K Experimental Design and Statistical Inference
EDP 382K Correlation and Regression
EDP 382K Survey of Multivariate Methods
KIN 395 Statistical Methods in Education and Health
PSY 184R Data Analysis with R
SDS 380C Statistical Methods I
SDS 380D Statistical Methods II
SSC 382 Introduction to Probability and Statistics
SSC 385 Topics in Applied Statistics: Experimental Design
SSC 385 Topics in Applied Statistics: Applied Regression
SSC 385 Topics in Applied Statistics: Applied Multivariate Methods
EDP Statistics Course Sequence

Sample Non-department Courses

Movement and Cognitive Rehabilitation Science students may take a variety of non-departmental courses to complement their degree plans and programs of study.

ANT 392L Physical Anthropology: Morphology/Evolution
ANT 391L Analysis of Primate Anatomy
ANT 392L Biol Anthro: Morph/Evolution
ANT 391 Rsch & Grant Proposal Writing
BIO 365S Human Systems Physiology
BIO 382K Informatics/Data Analyses Life Science
ESL 389S Advanced Oral Communication
ESL 389W Advanced Academic Writing
M E 385J Rehabilitation Engineering
M E 385J Biosignal Analysis
N 382 Sociocultural Influences on Health
N 396C Advanced Pathophysiology
NEU 185D Responsible Conduct of Science
NEU 383C Functional Neuroanatomy
NEU 385L Neurobiology of Disease
NEU 482T Principles of Neuroscience I
NEU 383T Principles of Neuroscience II
NEU 394P Career Dev for Neuroscientists
NTR 390 Principles of Epidemiology in Nutritional Science
NEU 385P Pgm/Data Anlys Modern Neurosci
NEU 385L Analytical Skepticism
NEU 385L Fndmntls Instg Animal Behav
NTR 390 Molecular Nutritional Science
PGS 384T Advanced Epidemiology
PGS 386C Cellular/Systems Physiology I
PGS 384S Introduction to Epidemiology
PGS 386D Cellular/System Physiology II
PSY 394P Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience
SOC 389K Human Mortality
SOC 395L Race and the Body
SOC 395J Gender, Health, and Society

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