Differentiating between Paediatric Ataxia and Developmental Coordination Disorder using video- based movement quantification with deep neural networks

Researcher: Wei Tang, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2025 Other promotors: Dr. Peter van Ooijen (DASH, Radiotherapy, UMCG), Dr. D.A. Sival (Pediatric Neurology, UMCG) Funding: Chinese Scholarship Council “Ataxia” refers to the impairment of the expected smooth performance of targeted directional movements, leading to impaired coordination, such as instability when walking, limbs shaking, slow […]

Use it or Lose it? An interdisciplinary approach to understanding the adaptation of the ageing brain to a fast-changing world

Researcher: Celina Putz, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2023 Other promotors: Prof. dr. Monicque Lorist (first promotor), Prof. dr. Martien Kas (second promotor) Funding: UMCG The past two decades have been marked by a major growth in technology being incorporated into society and public services. At the same time, we are faced with an […]

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for monitoring cerebral autoregulation: fundamental insights and clinical applications

Researcher: Nick Eleveld, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2023 Other promotors: Dr. Jan Willem Elting, MD, PhD (Neurology, UMCG), Dr. Gea Drost, MD, PhD (Neurology, UMCG), Prof. dr. Tony Absalom (Anesthesiology, UMCG) Funding: UMCG Maintenance of adequate cerebral perfusion is crucial for normal brain function. One of the main mechanisms securing adequate cerebral perfusion […]

The role of arm swing in human gait: a study in healthy participants and Parkinson patients

Researcher: Joyce Weersink, MSc (MD/PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2021 Copromotor: Dr. Bauke de Jong, MD, PhD (Neurology, UMCG) Collaborators: Prof. dr. Teus van Laar, MD, PhD (Neurology, UMCG) Funding: UMCG Locomotion of quadrupeds, with abrupt switches between e.g. trot and gallop, obviously requires coordinated action of four limbs. Bipedal gait in human similarly exhibits […]

Long-term outcome after mild Traumatic Brain Injury in elderly (ReCONNECT study)

Researcher: Mayra Bittencourt Villalpando, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2022 Second promotor: Prof. dr. Joukje van der Naalt Funding: BCN-BRAIN Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in adults. Mild TBI (mTBI) accounts for 85% of cases and 15-20% of those patients suffer from persistent complaints that […]

Quantification of symptoms of movement disorders – towards home-based assessments

Researcher: Zeus Tlaltecutli Dominguez Vega, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2021 Copromotor: Dr. Jan Willem Elting Funding: Conacyt Topics of interest in this project are the automatic detection of tremor and myoclonus in inertial measurement unit recordings, as well as the use of machine learning methods to classify different movement disorders on the basis of features […]

Long-term outcome after mild traumatic brain injury in elderly and its relation with changes in brain network connectivity and cognitive ageing (ReCONNECT study)

Researcher: Sebastian Balart Sanchez, MSc (PhD student) Expected thesis defense: 2022 Second promotor: Prof. dr. Joukje van der Naalt Funding: Conacyt – Baha Sur Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in adults. Mild TBI (mTBI) accounts for 85% of cases and 15-20% of those patients suffer from […]

Anosognosia and neuroimaging predictors of cognitive decline in dementia

Researcher: Jaime Mondragon Uribe, MSc (PhD student) Thesis defense date: September 15, 2021 First promotor: Prof. dr. Peter-Paul De Deyn Funding: Conacyt This Ph.D. thesis titled, Anosognosia of memory deficits in dementia: biomarkers, connectivity, and clinical aspects, is an effort to shed light on a neuropsychiatric phenomenon that has both academic research, as well as […]