Alexander Nowicky

Academic qualifications

Senior Lecturer and Programme leader MSc Neurorehabilitation.

• Bachelors Arts and Sciences (Chemistry), Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois USA.
• PhD (Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience), Kent State University, Kent, Ohio USA.
• PGCHE Post graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Middlesex University, Enfield, UK.

Committee responsibilities

Teaching responsibilities

• Module leader ( M level):
• HH55018 Functional Neuroscience for Rehabilitation
• HH55017 Neurophysiological Basis for Rehabilitation of Movement-
• HH55022 Research Design

Other contributed teaching:

• HH5577 Research Methods (M level)
• HH2100 Neurology (Physiotherapy)

Msc dissertation supervision

Dissertation coordinator for MSc Neurorehabilitation

Laboratory based MSc Neurorehabilitation dissertation projects utilizing noninvasive brain stimulation techniques and electromyography to study voluntary control of movement in health and disease.

PhD supervision

Ongoing-

James Ashworth Beaumont (Brunel Isambard Scholar) –  Modifying the trajectory of motor skill acquisition and retention with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation.

Rachel Sumner - Can differences in hemispheric lateralisation predict prognosis in HIV-1?

Research interests

My primary research area is in the use of noninvasive brain stimulation techniques to study human voluntary control of movement and neuroplasticity. Noninvasive brain stimulation involves either the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and direct current electrical stimulation (tDCS) and are used to examine motor learning and plasticity. These techniques are combined with the use of surface electromyography and are deployed to study changes in movement control in health and disease. Such stimulation techniques are applied over the scalp to activate underlying cortical areas. As these techniques are safe, noninvasive, and painless, these techniques are making important contributions to study of human motor neuroplasticity and cognitive function. Applications are far reaching and include possible use in neurorehabilitation following brain insult or injury, where together with conventional therapies they may enhance recovery of function. 

Current research projects include the application of these techniques in:

• Perception of effort changes in acute and chronic fatigue
• Short and long term adaptations to whole body vibration for training and rehabilitation
• Aging related changes in motor control system
• Enhancing motor skill performance in healthy and incomplete spinal cord injury
• Pain relief in spinal cord injury

Coordinator - Motor control laboratory (Mary Seacole Building 006) – this is a state of the art equipped facility including:

• Single, paired and repetitive TMS devices
• Direct current electrical stimulators
• PC based data acquisition systems
• Signal conditioners
• Force transducers
• Multi-channel surface electromyography system

Collaborations:

• Dr. Adrian Williams- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Psychology, Brunel University
• Mr. Maurizio Belci – National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury UK
• Dr. Emma Ross- Univ. Brighton

Previous PhD Supervision:

• Sofia Lampropoulou (2010) The Relationship between Perception of Effort and Physiological Responses to an Acute Fatiguing Task of the Elbow Flexors. Evaluation of a New Rating Scale of Perception of Effort.
• Emma Hawkes (2005) Changes in excitability of human inspiratory muscles following acute loaded and non-loaded inspiratory manoeuvres studied using magnetic stimulation techniques

Research centres

• Brunel Institute for Ageing Studies (BIAS)
• Centre for Infection, Immunity and Disease Mechanisms (CIIDM)
• CCentre for Research in Rehabilitation (CRR)

Membership and affiliation

• UK Physiological Society
• Society for Neuroscience (USA)
• British Neuroscience Association
• Higher Education Academy (UK)
• International Brain Research Organization

Publications

Journal Papers

(2013) Ashworth-Beaumont, J. and Nowicky, AV., A New Method for Tracking of Motor Skill Learning Through Practical Application of Fitts’ Law, Journal of Motor Behavior 45 (3) : 181- 193 Download publication

(2012) Lampropoulou, SI., Nowicky, AV. and Marston, L., Magnetic versus electrical stimulation in the interpolation twitch technique of elbow flexors, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 11 (4) : 709- 718

(2011) Sumner, RC., Parton, A., Nowicky, AV., Kishore, U. and Gidron, Y., Hemispheric lateralisation and immune function: A systematic review of human research, Journal of Neuroimmunology 240-241 1- 12

(2011) Lampropoulou, S. and Nowicky, AV., Perceived effort changes reported on the 0–10 NRS following submaximal isometric fatiguing exercise of elbow flexors, Neuroscience Letters 500 (Supplement 1) : e40- e40

(2011) Lampropoulou, S. and Nowicky, AV., Evaluation of the Numeric Rating Scale for Perception of Effort during Isometric Elbow Flexion Exercise, European Journal of Applied Physiology 112 1167- 1175

(2008) Katikaneni, K. and Nowicky, A., A study to explore the predictive validity of performance-orientated assessment of mobility (POAM) for falls in older people, Agility 2 (Winter) : 5- 9

(2008) Kalyviotis, M., Nowicky, A., Lepoura, A. and Kapetan-Theologou, E., Effect of low frequency somatosensory rTMS on motor cortical excitability following mirror drawing practice (Abstract), Brain Stimulation 1 (3) : 242-

(2007) Ross, EZ., Nowicky, AV. and McConnell, AK., Influence of acute inspiratory loading upon diaphragm motor-evoked potentials in healthy humans, Journal of Applied Physiology 102 (5) : 1883- 1890

(2007) Hawkes, EZ., Nowicky, AV. and McConnell, AK., Diaphragm and intercostal surface EMG and muscle performance after acute inspiratory muscle loading, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology 155 (3) : 213- 219

(2007) Ross, EZ., Middleton, N., Shave, R., George, K. and Nowicky, A., Corticomotor excitability contributes to neuromuscular fatigue following marathon running in man, Experimental Physiology 92 (2) : 417- 426

(2007) O'Connell, NE., Maskill, DW., Cossar, J. and Nowicky, AV., Mapping the cortical representation of the lumbar paravertebral muscles, Clinical Neurophysiology 118 (11) : 2451- 2455 Download publication

(2006) Hawkes, EZ., Nowicky, A. and McConnell, A., Does the Intensity of Prior Inspiratory Effort Affect Subsequent Inspiratory Muscle Function in a Dose-Dependent Manner?, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE 38 (5) : S38- S38

(2005) Hawkes, EZ., Nowicky, A. and McConnell, A., Inspiratory Mouth Pressures And Motor Evoked Potentials Following Non-fatiguing Inspiratory Loading, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE 37 S333- S333

(2004) Davey, NJ., Rawlinson, SR., Nowicky, AV., McGregor, AH., Dubois, K., Strutton, PH. and Schroter, RC., Human corticospinal excitability in microgravity and hypergravity during parabolic flight, Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 75 (4) : 359- 363

(2003) Davey, NJ., Puri, BK., Catley, M., Main, J., Nowicky, AV. and Zaman, R., Deficit in motor performance correlates with changed corticospinal excitability in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, International Journal of Clinical Practice 57 (4) : 262- 264

(2002) Cariga, P., Catley, M., Nowicky, AV., Savic, G., Ellaway, PH. and Davey, NJ., Segmental recording of cortical motor evoked potentials from thoracic paravertebral myotomes in complete spinal cord injury, Spine 27 (13) : 1438- 1443

(2002) Davey, NJ., Lisle, RM., Loxton-Edwards, B., Nowicky, AV. and McGregor, AH., Activation of back muscles during voluntary abduction of the contralateral arm in humans, Spine 27 (12) : 1355- 1360

(2001) Zaman, R., Puri, BK., Main, J., Nowicky, AV. and Davey, NJ., Corticospinal inhibition appears normal in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, Experimental Physiology 86 (5) : 547- 550

(2001) Nowicky, AV., McGregor, AH. and Davey, NJ., Corticospinal control of human erector spinae muscles., Motor Control 5 (3) : 270- 280 Download publication

(2001) Parkin, S., Nowicky, AV., Rutherford, OM. and McGregor, AH., Do oarsmen have asymmetries in the strength of their back and leg muscles?, Journal of Sports Sciences 19 (7) : 521- 526

(2001) Tunstill, SA., Wynn-Davies, AC., Nowicky, AV., McGregor, AH. and Davey, NJ., Corticospinal facilitation studied during voluntary contraction of human abdominal muscles, EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY 86 (1) : 131- 136

(2001) Nowicky, A., Davey, NJ. and Zaman, R., Somatotopy of perceptual threshold to cutaneous electrical stimulation in man, Experimental Physiology 86 (1) : 127- 130

(2001) Davey, NJ., Puri, BK., Nowicky, AV., Main, J. and Zaman, R., Voluntary motor function in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH 50 (1) : 17- 20

(2000) Nowicky, AV., Cariga, P. and Davey, NJ., Corticospinal input to paraspinal muscles innervated from the thoracic spinal cord in man, JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON 523 287P- 288P

Conference Papers

(2011) Ashworth-Beaumont, J. and Nowicky, AV., Choose the main course: defining a practical menu of single pulse TMS outcome measures for clinical research., British Neuroscience Association Biennial Meeting

(2002) Nowicky, AV., Strutton, PH., Catley, M. and Davey, NJ., Post-exercise depression of corticospinal excitability is lateralised in human leg muscles, Conference of the Physiological-Society, JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON (543) : 89P- 89P