Professor
Neuroscience, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Dr. Heckman’s work on spinal motoneurons began with his PhD at the University of Washington and continued through his post-doc at NIH. At Northwestern, the Heckman lab has continued these studies for over 25 years, with a particular focus their neuromodulatory control both via descending systems and by external electrical stimulation. Techniques span multiple levels of analysis, from single cells to neural circuits to intact preparations to human subjects. Highly realistic computer simulations of spinal neurons are used to synthesize cellular and circuit information into a coherent framework to provide a basis for understanding the output of motoneurons in humans in both normal and diseases states.