Exploring sensory plasticity in locomotion: effects of perturbation-based training on recovery from proprioceptive loss

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Alessandro Santuz
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology ; Experimental Models for the Understanding of Nervous System Diseases
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 571928459

Our ability to walk freely in everyday life depends on continuous sensory feedback. Proprioception, or the sense of body position and movement, is vital for regulating motor output and maintaining stability: without it, movement becomes unstable or even impossible. While the nervous system is known to adapt to certain types of sensory disruption, such as changes in vision or touch, its response to the loss of proprioceptive input remains unclear. This project investigates how the nervous systems of mice adapt to proprioceptive loss, and whether targeted training can restore function by recruiting alternative sensory pathways, such as touch. To this end, we use genetically engineered mouse models in which proprioceptors (specialised sensors located in muscles and tendons) can be selectively eliminated. We combine high-resolution behavioural analysis with anatomical and molecular techniques to assess changes in movement control, neural structure, and sensory cell identity. We place particular emphasis on “perturbation-based training”, a locomotor training approach involving unpredictable challenges that force rapid postural responses. Although this approach is already used in human rehabilitation, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This project will test whether such training can promote sensory reweighting (the process by which the nervous system adjusts its reliance on different sensory inputs) to compensate for proprioceptive loss. The findings may inform new rehabilitation strategies following sensory damage or disuse due to injury, disease, ageing, or space travel.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants