How we control our movements
Over the last decade, impressive advances have been made in our understanding of locomotion and the control of movement. Our work explores this issue by activating dopamine pathways to the brainstem areas that control locomotor activity. One of the key unanswered questions is how animals execute locomotor behaviours. Here we explore this issue by examining how activation of a region of the brain can control whether an animal escapes an aversive stimulus or conversely how it can lead to the animal exploring its environment. We provide evidence that the level of dopaminergic or GABAergic drive to the cuneiform nucleus influences the choice to approach or avoid a stimulus. We show that centres within the brain that contain dopamine are particularly effective in activating locomotor activity associated with escape. On the other hand, GABAergic input to the cuneiform nucleus inhibits escape behaviour and instead promotes a state of exploratory activity. This research area examines the anatomical, functional, and cellular basis for these phenomena. This raises the possibility that stimulation of these dopamine and GABA centres within the zona incerta could facilitate locomotion in patients with movement disorders.

Parkinson's disease - Improving Gait
The prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) has doubled since 1990. As the global population ages, the number of individuals afflicted with PD is poised to double once again by 2040, reaching 1.2 million affected individuals in North America. The early features of PD, characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor, are relatively well managed with medications; however, with disease progression gait, balance and cognition decline. Patients rate the progressive loss of functional gait as one of the most debilitating aspects of PD from both a psychological and physical perspective. Gait becomes affected in several ways, experienced as short shuffling steps, and difficulties in both initiating, and at times, stopping ambulation. This eventually leads to freezing of gait (FOG), often described as the sensation that one’s feet are glued to the floor, and falls. While levodopa (L-DOPA), deep brain stimulation (DBS), cognitive therapies, music and exercise can alleviate the slowness aspects, they still fail to improve the other features of balance, initiation and stride length. Overall, dysfunctional PD gait is extremely difficult to treat. Our work brings together engineers, clinicians, and basic scientists to create new approaches to activate dopaminergic areas of the brain with the goal of restoring function.