Professor and Chair
School of Applied Physiology, College of Sciences
The work in Richard Nichols' laboratory is focused on mechanisms underlying motor coordination in mammalian systems. These mechanisms are to be found in the structure and dynamic properties of the musculoskeletal system as well as in the organization of neuronal circuits in the central nervous system. The work concerns the interactions between the musculoskeletal system and spinal cord that give rise to normal and abnormal movement and posture, and in the manner in which central pattern-generating networks are modified for specific motor tasks. Studies have applications in several movement disorders, including spinal cord injury. The experimental approaches span a number of levels, from mechanical studies of isolated muscle cells to kinematic measurements of natural behavior in quadrupeds.