Friday Research Seminar Series: Restless Legs Syndrome and Cortical Excitability

TARGET AUDIENCE

Des Moines University faculty, staff, and students.

PURPOSE

Dr. Salas's independent research focus is on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying sleep disorders, particularly, Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and insomnia, which remain poorly understood. She has used methodology of non-invasive cortical stimulation techniques (i.e., transcranial magnetic stimulation) to further investigate sleep disorders. Her presentation will focus on her work on studying cortico-motor excitability in the primary motor cortex (M1), along with examining the relationship to the clinical aspects of RLS and sleep parameters. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).
• List the diagnostic clinical features of RLS.
• Describe cortical excitability changes associated with RLS.