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Atlanta, GA | Posted: October 22, 2019
Renay San Miguel
Communications Officer
Georgia Tech College of Sciences
404-894-5209
Summary Sentence:
ScienceMatters Season 3 Episode 6: Lewis Wheaton's research into the brain and traumatic injuries
Full Summary:
School of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Lewis Wheaton uses his Cognitive Motor Control Lab to research the neurological processes involved when people cope with the loss of a limb, a stroke, or a traumatic brain injury that can impact motor skills.
Lewis Wheaton, associate professor, School of Biological Sciences 
Lewis Wheaton is also director of the Cognitive Motor Control Lab. 
Olivia Cox (left) participates in a Cognitive Motor Control Lab eye tracking study while Kristina Giddens looks on (Photo by Renay San Miguel.) 
Study participant Olivia Cox is prepared for eye-tracking research (Photo by Renay San Miguel.)
3rd year student Kristina Giddens tests eye tracking (Photo by Renay San Miguel.)Despite advances in understanding the human body and the design of artificial limbs, one thing hasn’t changed: Those who suffer the loss of a limb must still adapt.
Lewis Wheaton, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, wants to know more about how people adjust to major changes in their motor skills. If he learns more about the mind-body connection, he could make it easier to adapt and maybe make better artificial limbs along the way.
Wheaton's work with his research team in the Cognitive Motor Control Lab, which he directs, is the subject of ScienceMatters Season 3, Episode 6.
Whether loss of limb is due to traumatic injuries or strokes, Wheaton aims to better understand the neurological processes involved in adapting to loss of motor ability, so that people who have lost limbs can win back their independence.
He’s also learning more about what happens in our brains when we intend to do something and what happens when we act on those intentions.
Each ScienceMatters episode includes a quiz that refers to facts mentioned in each podcast. A winner will be chosen randomly from all who submit correct answers. Winners will receive special College of Sciences gifts.
The Episode 6 quiz question:
What is the type of brain injury when a person knows how to perform a task but can’t do it?
The winner will be announced in the following week.
Submit your answer here: https://forms.cos.gatech.edu/sciencematters-season-3-episode-6-quiz
ScienceMatters podcasts are available for subscription at Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud.
