Bio
Dr. Therrien is interested in understanding the precise mechanisms through which damage to different brain areas disrupts sensorimotor function and motor learning. The main focus of her work is understanding mechanisms of sensory and motor impairment caused by damage to the cerebellum. Her goal is to apply this knowledge in the development of new rehabilitation therapies for individuals with sensory and movement disorders. Her research uses behavioral and computational methods to study upper extremity movement.
Dr. Therrien received her B.Sc. Honors in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) and her Ph.D. in Kinesiology, specializing in sensorimotor neuroscience, from McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). She completed her postdoctoral training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore, Maryland).
Research Interests
- Sensory-motor interactions contributing to the control of complex, upper extremity movement
- Cerebellar contributions to somatosensory and motor function
- Neuro-anatomical and behavioral predictors of motor learning capacity after cerebellar damage
- Mechanisms of hemiparesis after stroke
Selected Publications
Below are selected publications by Dr. Therrien. For a full list of her published research, click here.
2019
Uehara S, Mawase F, Therrien AS, Cherry-Allen KM, Celnik P (2019). Interactions between motor exploration and reinforcement learning. J Neurophysiol, 122: 797-808.
Therrien AS, Bastian AJ (2019). The cerebellum as a movement sensor. Neurosci Lett, 688: 37-40.
Therrien AS, Wolpert DM, Bastian AJ (2018). Increasing motor noise impairs reinforcement learning in healthy individuals. eNeuro, 10.1523/ENEURO.0050-18.2018
Weeks HM, Therrien AS, Bastian AJ. (2018). The cerebellum contributes to proprioception during motion. J Neurophysiol, 118: 693-702.
Weeks HM, Therrien AS, Bastian AJ. (2017). Proprioceptive localization deficits in people with cerebellar damage. Cerebellum, 16: 427-37.
Therrien AS, Wolpert DM, Bastian AJ. (2016). Effective reinforcement learning following cerebellar damage requires a balance between exploration and motor noise. Brain, 139: 101-14.
Therrien AS, Bastian AJ (2015). Cerebellar damage impairs internal predictions for sensory and motor function. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 33: 127-33.
Therrien AS, Lyons JL, Balasubamaniam R. (2013). Continuous theta-burst stimulation to primary motor cortex reveals asymmetric compensation for sensory attenuation in bimanual repetitive force production. J Neurophysiol, 110: 872-82.
Therrien AS, Lyons JL, Balasubramanaim, R. (2012). Sensory attenuation of self-produced feedback: The Lombard Effect revisited. PLoS ONE, 7: e49370.
Therrien AS, Richardson BA, Balasubramaniam, R. (2011), Continuous theta-burst stimulation to primary motor cortex reduces the over production of forces following removal of visual feedback. Neuropsychologia, 49: 2941-6.
Therrien AS, Lyons JL, Balasubramaniam R. (2010). Repetitive finger force production in predictable environments. Neurosi Lett, 489: 69-73.
Therrien AS, Balasubramaniam R. (2010). Timing and visual feedback constraints in repetitive finger force production. Exp Brain Res, 201: 673-79.