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Human Spinal Physiology Unit
Mary Kay Floeter, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Clinician
Dr. Floeter received her MD and PhD at Washington University in St. Louis and
completed residency training in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. After postdoctoral work at UCSF, she came to NIH as a senior staff fellow in the Laboratory of Neural Control to study mammalian spinal cord circuits controlling movement. She joined the EMG section as a clinical associate in Clinical Neurophysiology three years later and has served as Chief of the NINDS EMG Section since 1996 and as the NINDS Deputy Clinical Director since 2006. Dr. Floeter’s recent research is directed toward analyzing changes in motor neurons and spinal circuits in patients with disorders that
disrupt the corticospinal motor system.
Staff:
- Laura Danielian, M.S., Biomedical Engineer, 301-496-7428 danielil@ninds.nih.gov
- Nobue Iwata, M.D., Ph.D., Fellow, 301-496-7428 IwataN@ninds.nih.gov
- Justin Y Kwan, M.D., Senior Clinical Fellow, 301-496-7428 kwanjy@ninds.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The human spinal physiology unit studies how descending motor systems use spinal cord circuitry to produce simple movements, with a long-term vision of using spinal circuits to restore useful movements to patients with neurological disorders that disrupt corticospinal connections.
One goal is to understand how the chronic loss of corticospinal input affects the physiological properties of motor neurons and spinal interneurons to produce spasticity. Our current research focuses on patients with Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS). PLS is a particularly informative neurological disorder for exploring the role of the corticospinal system in movement; it is a rare, sporadic disorder of progressive spasticity that appears to be caused by selective degeneration of the corticospinal neurons or their axons.
The etiology of PLS, and its relationship to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron disorders is uncertain. A second goal of the current research is to determine through clinical, physiological, imaging, and pathological studies whether PLS and ALS represent different manifestations of a common disorder. The objective of these natural history studies is provide clues to guide future research into the etiology of PLS.
Clinical Protocols:
- Screening: Muscle Stiffness 01-N-0145
- Collection of Blood Samples for DNA analysis in Motor Neuron Disorders 06-N-0224
- Spasticity: Physiological Studies 01-N-0148
- Cortical function in Primary Lateral Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 06-N-0174
Selected Publications:
- Bai O, Lin P, Vorbach S, Floeter MK, Hattori N, Hallett M. (2008) A high performance sensorimotor beta rhythm-based brain-computer interface associated with human natural motor behavior., J Neural Eng. 5(1), 24-35.
- Lupu VD, Danielian L, Johnsen JA, Vasconcelos OM, Prokhorenko OA, Jabbari B, Campbell WW, Floeter MK. (2008) Physiology of the motor cortex in polio survivors., Muscle Nerve 37(2), 177-82.
- Bai O, Vorbach S, Hallett M, Floeter MK. (2006) Movement-related cortical potentials in primary lateral sclerosis, Ann Neurol 59, 682-690.
- Floeter MK, Zhai P, Saigal R, Kim Y, Statland J. (2005) Motor neuron firing dysfunction in spastic patients with primary lateral sclerosis., J Neurophysiology 94, 919-927. Full Text/Abstract
- Lin JZ, Floeter MK. (2004) Do F-wave measurements detect changes in motor neuron excitability?, Muscle Nerve 30, 289-94. Full Text/Abstract
- Perez M, Field-Fote E, Floeter MK (2003) Patterned sensory stimulation induces plasticity in reciprocal Ia inhibition in humans, J Neuroscience 23, 2014-8. Full Text/Abstract
- Zhai P, Pagan F, Statland J, Butman JA, Floeter MK (2003) Primary lateral sclerosis: a heterogeneous disorder composed of different subtypes? , Neurology 60, 1258-1265.
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Mary Kay Floeter
Human Spinal Physiology Unit
Medical Neurology Branch, NINDS
Building 10-CRC, Room 7-5680
10 Center Drive, MSC 1404
Bethesda, MD 20892-1404
Telephone: 301-496-7428 office,
301-496-7428 laboratory,
301-402-8796 fax
Email: FloeterM@ninds.nih.gov
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