Virginia Penhune Ph.D.

The work in our laboratory is focused on understanding the plastic changes that occur in the human brain during motor learning and performance.  We explore the way children and adults learn motor skills and how musical training affects the ability to learn.  The lab also studies changes in motor skills that occur as adults age.  The techniques used include behavioral studies as well as neuroimaging studies of brain structure and function (functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI and positron emission tomography or PET).  The lab also uses 3D motion capture to study changes in movement kinematics during learning.  An exciting new line of research examines behavioral and neuronal changes during learning of abstract rules.