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Research

Michael J. Hammer

Ph.D., University of Kansas
Assistant Scientist, Department of Surgery/Otolaryngology
hammer@surgery.wisc.edu

Upper airway sensorimotor control in aging and neurological disease.

My primary areas of collaborative research interest surround (a) understanding the mechanisms of upper airway sensorimotor control underlying airway protection, breathing, speech, and voice and how these mechanisms change with aging and are disrupted in neurological disorders, and (b) incorporating measures of upper airway sensorimotor control into paradigms for neurorehabilitation.

Current research is focused on how processing of laryngeal sensory inputs are affected by different tasks and phases of respiratory/laryngeal movement including inhalation, exhalation, steady state phonation, cough, and onset/offset of phonation. In selecting and scaling movement parameters, the central nervous system possesses the ability to utilize important sensory information while disregarding or compensating for unexpected and potentially distracting sensory stimuli. This ability to filter sensory inputs is critical for maintaining the relatively smooth and seemingly effortless pattern of movement observed in the upper airway.

The timing and magnitude of a sensory event (e.g., somatosensory) with respect to the phase of movement is a critical component in sensorimotor integration in which the basal ganglia are thought to play a critical role. Sensorimotor integration changes rapidly during the course of development, and is negatively impacted during the course of advanced aging and in models of sensorimotor dysfunction such as Parkinson�s Disease. However, upper airway sensorimotor integration is poorly understood. Therefore, this line of research will examine how upper airway sensorimotor integration is affected in aging and Parkinson�s Disease. These studies will provide a foundation upon which neurorehabilitative research efforts can be further developed.

Representative Publications
Hammer, M.J. (In Press) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. In H.N. Jones, & J.C. Rosenbek (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Rare Conditions. San Diego: Plural Publishing.

Barlow, S.M., Hammer, M.J. (2008). Pallidotomy and Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson�s Disease: Effects on Speech and Voice. In M.R. McNeil (Ed.), Clinical Management of Sensorimotor Speech Disorders, 2nd Edition. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers.

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