Faculty Profile

Matt Malcolm

August 2009

Imagine the challenge that one would feel after the losing their ability to move as they once did. But thanks to the work of a CSU researcher, rehabilitation professionals are learning more about what therapies help recover the loss of movement caused by a stroke. Matt Malcolm, director of the university's NeuroRehabilitation Research Laboratory, is devoted to understanding what therapies are the most promising.

His recent research looks at using rhythm-based treatments to restore movement by requiring movement of a stroke-affected arm, for example, to a specific rhythm. This approach looks quite promising. Malcolm also seeks to understand some of the underlying processes of recovery from a stroke and is studying how the organization and excitability of the brain changes during typical learning of motor skills and during recovery from stroke. Another research project looks at magnetically stimulating the area of the brain that is damaged by a stroke. In conjunction with ten days of stimulation, the study participants undergo rigorous therapy to redevelop voluntary movement of a stroke-affected arm. The therapy involves restraining the individual's unaffected arm, encouraging them to use their stroke-affected arm.

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Although nearly 5 million people in this country survive from a stroke, it still remains the leading cause of disability.

Malcolm's laboratory is in the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Human Sciences.