The study will examine the effects of a 10-week resistance training program, with or without creatine monohydrate supplementation, on changes in body composition, physical function, cancer-related fatigue, quality of life, and symptom burden in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. All participants will undergo screening that includes completion of questionnaires, exercise testing and physical function assessments before and after the treatment period as well as at a 10-week follow up evaluation. We hypothesize that group that completes resistance training with creatine monohydrate supplementation will achieve greater improvements in body composition, physical function, cancer-related fatigue, quality of life, and symptom burden when compared to the group that completes resistance training alone.

This study will include 2 groups of participants with subjective cognitive complaints (1) individuals diagnosed with Ehlos Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and older adults without EDS. Participants will complete a 6-week cognitive + occupational therapy tele-rehabilitation program (first 4 weeks: 2 sessions per week, last 2 weeks: 1 session per week), for a total of 10 treatment visits. This study integrates cognitive training with an evidence based OT-led tele-rehabilitation program. We will complete a comprehensive battery of cognitive assessments as well as participant reported outcome measures at the pre and post visits to characterize subjective cognitive difficulties and test the feasibility and initial effect of this personalized intervention.

Feeding requires babies to coordinate sucking and swallowing, which depends on healthy brain development. Some newborns who experience brain injury or serious illness cannot safely practice feeding by mouth, which disrupts the development of these important brain circuits. As a result, many of these infants require a feeding tube placed in the stomach (called a G-tube) when they leave the hospital. Unfortunately, long-term feeding tube dependence is linked to poorer growth, delayed development, and breathing problems. Despite how common and serious these feeding difficulties are, there are currently no effective therapies for infants with the most severe swallowing problems. This study will test a non-invasive therapy called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which gently stimulates a nerve in the ear that connects to the brain. When paired with structured oral motor exercises, this approach may help strengthen the brain circuits needed for feeding. We will study 12 infants with severe feeding impairments to evaluate whether this therapy is safe, feasible, and shows early signs of benefit. This project will provide early evidence about whether a targeted brain-based therapy can improve feeding outcomes during a key window of early development.

Newborns who are born premature or infants who suffer brain injury are at risk for motor problems. The common motor skills of reaching and grasping that infants have to learn can be weaker on one side of the body, depending on the site of the brain injury. These skills are routinely practiced with an occupational therapist once or twice a week, to help the infant strengthen these skills. A high intensity therapy program of constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) may be available for the infant, but it takes from 40-120 hours total treatment time for most infants to improve their motor skills.
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) stimulates a branch of a major nerve by the ear, called the vagus nerve, that may help improve your child's ability to learn motor skills. CIMT involves placing a soft mitt constraint on the stronger arm and hand while encouraging your child to use the weaker arm and hand during intensive therapy sessions. By using both CIMT and the nerve stimulation together, we hope your child's movement skills will improve more than with therapy alone.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of taVNS to improve motor skills when paired with the minimal amount of CIMT and whether a measure of the strength of the brain circuit to the arm and hand muscles can tell us how well a child may respond to this therapy.

The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of a brain stimulation training to improve the function of brain-spinal cord- muscle connections.Because brain-to-muscle pathways are very important in our movement control, restoring function of these pathways may improve movement problems after injuries. Spinal cord injury causes damage to the brain-to-muscle connection. However, when the injury is "incomplete", there is a possibility that some of the brain-to-muscle pathways are still connected and may be trained to improve movement function. For examining brain-to-muscle pathways, we use a transcranial magnetic stimulator. We hope that the results of this research study will help us develop new treatments for people who have movement disabilities. This study will require about 42 visits over the first 14 weeks, and another 6 visits over an additional 3 months. Each visit will take about 1 ½ hours.

Individuals with chronic cervical spinal cord injury will complete a 10-week training protocol where they receive non-invasive brain stimulation and feedback on the size of the corresponding muscle response (wrist extensor). We will assess the impact of the brain stimulation training on 1) the brain-to-spinal cord-to-muscle connection and 2) motor functions of the arm and hand. Also, brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging will be collected before and after the training. The imaging measurements will tell us about how spinal damage, brain function, and brain structure relate to motor presentation and the response to the training.

Stroke survivors routinely report disabling emotional health challenges and inability to find emotional wellness support. This project will increase emotional support within a stroke rehabilitation occupational therapy (OT) and/or speech therapy (ST) rehabilitation program. OT and/or ST provided via telerehabilitation will be enhanced with a type of emotional wellness therapy that teaches stroke survivors various strategies to better address anxiety, worry and dread.

We will determine if aerobic exercise (AEx) and/or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are effective in treating symptoms of depression following stroke. This project is based on the idea that depression negatively affects the brain so that it doesn't change in the same way following treatment, the result being less effective recovery. We believe that effective treatment for depression will help improve how the brain in people with depression responds to other types of treatment. That is, effectively treating depression will enable individuals to better recover other forms of function following their stroke.

Adherence to home exercise is important to achieve upper limb recovery after stroke. However, adherence is typically low. Therefore, a new home exercise program with an Apple Watch and iPhone app was created to improve adherence to upper limb exercises for stroke survivors at home. Participants will come to our lab to experience the new home exercise program. Participants who opt for home use will bring the device home to try the new home exercise program at home. The purpose of this study is for researchers to examine usability and feasibility of participants using the new home exercise program.

The purpose of this study is to develop and test if upper limb task practice and muscle activity training improve upper limb function in stroke survivors. Participants will be asked to come to the laboratory 3 times a week for 6 weeks to receive upper limb task practice and/or muscle activity training. Participants will also come to the laboratory for additional 3 visits for assessments of upper extremity function. The total duration of the study will be 2.5 months.