Zimbelman, Janice, P.T., Ph.D.

Research Statement

My research interests are in the area of brain plasticity. In particular, I use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the neural mechanisms of motor function, how these mechanisms differ from normal in patients with neurologic disease or injury (e.g. stroke, head injury), and how rehabilitation interventions may be more effectively targeted to facilitate brain plasticity.

Professional Affiliations

• Investigator, Cleveland FES Center
• Research Health Scientist, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
• Assistant Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Publications (Selected)

• Zimbelman JL, Paulsen JS, Mikos A, Reynolds NC, Hoffmann RG, Rao SM. fMRI detection of early neural dysfunction in preclinical Huntington's disease. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2007 Sep;13(5):758-69. PubMed PMID: 17697407.
• Suminski AJ, Zimbelman JL, Scheidt RA. Design and validation of a MR-compatible pneumatic manipulandum. J Neurosci Methods. 2007 Jul 30;163(2):255-66. Epub 2007 Mar 30. PubMed PMID: 17498811; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2040106.
• Hinton SC, Paulsen JS, Hoffmann RG, Reynolds NC, Zimbelman JL, Rao SM. Motor timing variability increases in preclinical Huntington's disease patients as estimated onset of motor symptoms approaches. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2007 May;13(3):539-43. PubMed PMID: 17445303.
• Paulsen JS, Zimbelman JL, Hinton SC, Langbehn DR, Leveroni CL, Benjamin ML, Reynolds NC, Rao SM. fMRI biomarker of early neuronal dysfunction in presymptomatic Huntington's Disease. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2004 Nov-Dec;25(10):1715-21. PubMed PMID: 15569736.
• Elsinger CL, Rao SM, Zimbelman JL, Reynolds NC, Blindauer KA, Hoffmann RG. Neural basis for impaired time reproduction in Parkinson's disease: an fMRI study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2003 Nov;9(7):1088-98. PubMed PMID: 14738289.

Research Programs

• Neural Mechanisms Underlying Recovery of Coordinated Movement in Stroke; Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation, Research and Development Service
• Brain changes induced by motor learning rehabilitation following stroke

Contact Information