(Formerly IFCN-5)

[SMI Roster]

The Sensorimotor Integration [SMI] Study Section reviews applications concerned with the structure and function of motor, sensorimotor and vestibular systems. Emphasis is on integrative systems approaches to understanding neural substrates of sensorimotor integration, motor function and balance, as well as the effects of pathophysiological insults on the operation of these systems and recovery from such insults.

Specific areas covered by SMI:

• Motor systems; anatomy, physiology, transmitters/receptors, imaging, model systems, molecular biology, plasticity [adaptive and maladaptive], development [systems], locomotor pattern generators, proprioception, neurophysiology, motor control, pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems, basal ganglia, movement disorders, and computational models of motor systems; neural mechanisms underlying the formation of sounds.
  
  
• Sensorimotor integration; anatomy, physiology, transmitters/receptors, imaging, model systems, molecular biology, plasticity [adaptive and maladaptive], and development [systems]; integration of the sensory [e.g., vestibular, visual, auditory, somatosensory] and motor components of movement and balance control; their neural basis and function in behavioral control systems
  
  
• Vestibular systems: anatomy, physiology and biomechanics of the coordination of the motoric [as opposed to the perceptual and cognitive] aspects of balance and spatially directed motor performance; motoric aspects of the vestibulo-ocular, vestibulospinal, and postural control reflexes

SMI has the following shared interests within the IFCN IRG:

• With SCS, which is concerned with the role of sensory inputs in sensation and perception. SMI looks at their roles in motor control.
  
  
• Applications addressing vestibular components of neuro-otological disorders are reviewed in AUD.  When the question is vestibular-motor integration in balance the applications should be assigned to SMI.
  
  
• COG has shared interests with SMI in the area of neural coding and integration mechanisms. Studies intended to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognition are appropriate for COG. Studies intended to elucidate the mechanisms underlying motor, sensorimotor or balance functions are more appropriate for SMI.
  
  
• CVP reviews applications whose principal focus is on the role of visual and vestibular input in the control of eye movements, whereas SMI is appropriate for applications that utilize the vestibular-ocular reflex as a means to study vestibular mechanisms.

SMI has the following shared interests outside the IFCN IRG: 

• With the Biology of Development and Aging [BDA] IRG: Applications with a primary focus on aging studies of motor movement integration could be assigned to SMI.   Aging aspects of motor movement integration could be assigned to the BDA IRG when the studies transcend single organ systems or disciplines.
  
  
• With the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes [BBBP] IRG: In general, applications focusing primarily on development and control of motor behaviors, without in-depth concern with neurophysiological systems, are most appropriate for the BBBP IRG. Applications that rely on neurophysiological approaches to investigate neural substrates of motor behaviors and sensorimotor integration are best reviewed in SMI.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: Studies of neural control of normal biological motor function, particularly when the study is on neural structures, could be assigned to SMI.  When the primary focus is on the role of skeletal muscle force production, assignment may be to the MOSS IRG. If the application addresses rehabilitation, electromyography, or neural prostheses for restoration of body movement, then the MOSS IRG may also be appropriate.
  
  
• With the Respiratory Sciences [RES] IRG: Studies of respiratory rhythm generation are most appropriately assigned to RES IRG, but could also be assigned to SMI when the major emphasis is on basic neural mechanisms of central pattern generators versus respiratory rhythm generation. There may be shared interests in the control of airway muscle.
  
  
• With the Surgical Sciences, Biomedical Imaging, and Bioengineering [SBIB] IRG: Grant applications that focus on the application of computational neuroscience to sensorimotor integration may be referred to SMI.  When the focus is on the development and application of computational modeling and computational sciences to biomedical and clinical problems assignment may be to the SBIB IRG.
  
  
• With the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience [MDCN] IRG: (1) The MDCN IRG may be more appropriate for studies of signal transduction and related processes that occur within the context of a cell, with particular emphasis on cell electrophysiology, molecular biophysics, and neurochemical pathways. SMI may be more appropriate for studies in the context of integrated circuits, systems, and behavior. (2) The MDCN IRG reviews applications concerning regeneration of neural connectivity, however applications investigating regeneration of motor system components using neurophysiological approaches may be more appropriate for SMI.
  
  
• With the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience [BDCN] IRG: Applications reviewed in the BDCN IRG generally focus on diseases and pathological processes, with shared interests with SMI in the area of neural substrates and functional consequences of diseases involving motor systems.  Applications may be assigned to SMI if the focus is on understanding processes of motor control rather than a disease.