Shelly Levy-Tzedek, PhD

Education

B.S. in Bioengineering, Summa Cum Laude, University of California, Berkeley , 2002
M.S. in Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004
Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008

Research interests

Movement control with sensory substitution devices Sensory substitution devices (SSDs) convey information usually conveyed by one sense (e.g., vision) using another sense (e.g., audition). With Dr. Amir Amedi, I have been studying movements made to targets presented by auditory signals. We compare these to movements made to visual targets. We found that participants made fast and accurate movements using the SSD, similar to movements made when visual feedback was available. The ultimate goal is to design aides for the Blind and the visually impaired, to assist in their perception and interaction with their environment.
Rhythmic movement in healthy individuals I have been studying rhythmic movements generated by healthy adults, and found evidence for at least two distinct sub-types of rhythmic movement: one that is of a more discrete nature, and one that is of a more harmonic nature. With Prof. Amir Karniel, I am currently studying the potential sources for the choice made by the human motor control system to employ one movement type vs. the other.
Rhythmic movement in Parkinson's disease patients In studying rhythmic movements generated by individuals with Parkinson's disease, I have described a fascinating mitigatory effect that removing visual feedback has on bradykinesia (slowness of movement; a hallmark of the disease). This finding opens the door to potential new approaches to physical therapy for PD patients, as a complement to existing ones.
Handshake movements in healthy individuals and individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP) As part of the "Handhshake team" at the CMCL, and in collaboration with Dr. Simona Bar-Haim, we have been studying the rhythmic nature of the human handshake, and the variations in movement parameters with CP. Turing-like Handshake Test website. See what the folks at "Improbable research" have to say about the Turing-like handshake test.

Publications

Journal articles
- Fast, Accurate Reaching Movements with a Visual-to-Auditory Sensory Substitution Device
  Levy-Tzedek S., Hanassy S., Abboud S., Maidenbaum s., Amedi A. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience (in press 2012)
- Rhythmic movements are larger, faster but with the same frequency upon removal of visual feedback
  Levy-Tzedek S., Ben Tov M. and Karniel A. J Neurophysiol. 106(5); 2120-2126 (2011) [pdf]
- Rhythmic movement in Parkinson’s disease: effects of visual feedback and medication state
  Levy-Tzedek et al. Exp Brain Res. 211(2); 277-286 (2011) [pdf]
- Early switching between movement types: indication of predictive control?
  Levy-Tzedek S., Ben Tov M. and Karniel A. Brain Research Bulletin 85(5); 283-288 (2011) [pdf]
- Non-monotonicity on a spatio-temporally defined cyclic task:evidence of two movement types?
  Levy-Tzedek et al. Exp Brain Res. 202(4); 733-46 (2010) [pdf]
- One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence
  Karniel A., Avraham G., Peles B.C., Levy-Tzedek S., and Nisky I. J Vis Exp. 46; p.2492 (2010) [pdf]
- A Paradigm-Shift: Rehabilitation Robotics
  IEEE EMB. 24(7); 61-70 (2008)
- Parkinson’s Disease: A Motor Control Study Using a Wrist Robot
  Levy-Tzedek et al. Advanced Robotics. 21(10); 1201-1213 (2007)[pdf]
Peer-reviewed conference paper
- A Turing-like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence.
  Karniel A., Nisky I., Avraham G., Peles B., Levy-Tzedek S. Eurohaptics, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 2010 [pdf]
Selected conference abstracts
- Tactile Interfaces Assisting Navigation for the Visually Impaired. Abboud, S., Levy-Tzedek, S., Halavi S., Amedi A. The 7th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Israel (2011).
- Shapes from the Depths - Shape Recognition Using Distance Information. Maidenbaum, S., Levy-Tzedek, S., Arbel R., Hanassy, S., Amedi A. The 7th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Israel (2011).
- Reduced Frequency Variability in Handshake Movements of Individuals with Cerebral Palsy. Avraham G., Levy-Tzedek, S., Peles B.C., Bar-Haim S., Karniel A. The 6th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Israel (2010).
- The role of frequency in rhythmic arm movement. Ben Tov M., Levy-Tzedek, S., Karniel A. The 6th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Israel (2010).
- The Turing-like Handshake Test and the Rhythmic Nature of the Handshake Movement. Avraham G., Levy-Tzedek, S., Karniel A. Neural Control of Movement, Naples, Florida (2010).
- Rhythmicity as a Function of Movement Frequency. Levy-Tzedek, S., Ben Tov M., Karniel A. The 5th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Ben Gurion University, Israel (2009).
- Exploring the Rhythmic Nature of Handshake Movement and a Turing-like test. Avraham G., Levy-Tzedek, S., Karniel A. The 5th Computational Motor Control Workshop, Ben Gurion University, Israel (2009).
- Dopamine-replacement therapy acts to alleviate hypokinesia in Parkinson’s disease but fails to normalize coordinative aspects of movement when performing a rhythmic task. Levy-Tzedek et al. Neuroscience 2007, San Diego, CA.
- Effects of brain stimulation on motor performance. Levy-Tzedek et al. The Movement Disorders Society's (MDS) 10th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, (2006) Kyoto, Japan.
- Does procedural learning and motor control differentiate between Parkinson’s Disease and other forms of parkinsonism? Apetauerova et al. The Movement Disorders Society's (MDS) 10th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, (2006) Kyoto, Japan.
- Why do wrist rotations appear curved? Charles et al. Neuroscience 2006, Atlanta, GA.
- Clinical score improves while motor performance deteriorates in a parkinsonian patient with deep-brain stimulation. Levy-Tzedek et al. 2006 ACRM-ASNR Joint Conference, Boston, MA.
- Impaired visual perception in a patient with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease with otherwise intact cognitive function. Apetauerova et al. 2006 ACRM-ASNR Joint Conference, Boston, MA.
- Effects of Brain Stimulation on Motor Performance & Learning: A Systematic Exploration. Levy-Tzedek et al. The 2nd Computational Motor Control Workshop (2006), Ben Gurion University, Israel.

Supervised theses

Mor Ben Tov, M.S. thesis (2011) The Role of Frequency in Forearm Movements - Prediction, Learning and Control

Contact information: shelly bgu ac il