Functional exploration of the vegetative nervous system in humans, in response to physical exercise

Department

Human Physiology Section of the DePT, Medical School, University of Milano

Main research activities/topics/projects

The project aims to study the influence of systemic cryotherapy on the increase of maximal load during physical exercise and to analyze the possible differential effects of this therapy on athletes of different sports categories and in patients affected by movement disorders. In detail, we want to: 1) measure the possible variation of maximal load after the application of systemic cryotherapy and associate it with the variations of sympathovagal balance observed at rest; 2) study the temporal trend of the effect of cryotherapy; 3) verify the effect of cryotherapy on muscle force in movement disorders.

Storniolo JL, Esposti R, Cavallari P. (2020) Heart Rate Kinetics and Sympatho-Vagal Balance Accompanying a Maximal Sprint Test. Front Psychol, 10:2950. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02950.

Storniolo JL, Cairo B, Porta A, Cavallari P. (2021) Symbolic Analysis of the Heart Rate Variability During the Plateau Phase Following Maximal Sprint Exercise. Front Physiol, 12:632883. Doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.632883. 

Storniolo JL, Esposti R, Cavallari P. (2023) A single session of whole‑body cryotherapy boosts maximal cycling performance and enhances vagal drive at rest. Exp Brain Res, 241(2):383-393. Doi: 10.1007/s00221-022-06528-y

Working language

English and  Italian

Special entry requirements

The researcher will 1) manage the setup for recording cardiac activity (EKG) and the administration and estimation of physical exercise on the cycle ergometer; 2) collaborate in guiding and controlling the execution of experimental tests, including the management of cryotherapy; 3) process the data; 4) participate in drafting the works

 Good knowledge of human neurophysiology; ability to use common databases; programming in Lab-Wiew and MathLab

Duration in months (min-max)

PhD sandwich: 12-12

Post Doc: 12-12