Wendy E. Huddleston, PT, OCS, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor 

Interests and Expertise
A common scenario such as crossing a busy intersection vividly illustrates the complex series of events involved in successfully negotiating one's environment. One must encode and perceive sensory information from multiple modalities, attend to the most valid stimulus based on task demands, select the correct sensorimotor association, prepare the motor response and finally - act. Dr. Wendy Huddleston has studied various aspects of how humans select and process sensory information for movement preparation. Her current research addresses the use of attention to spatial cues in the environment and/or attention to planned movements as an especially valuable physical therapy treatment technique in enhancing movement performance in both healthy populations and those with impairments. Dr. Huddleston uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysical testing to address questions regarding the cortical mechanisms involved in motor selection during visually-guided goal-directed behavior. Specifically, she is currently developing protocols to measure both eye and hand movements within the MRI environment to correlate movement accuracy with variations in cortical activity.

Recent Publications
Huddleston, WE (2005). The relationship between visuospatial attention and task performance in parietal and occipital cortices. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Medical College of Wisconsin.

Huddleston, WE and DeYoe, EA (2003). First- and Second-Order Spectral "Motion" Mechanisms in the Human Auditory System. Perception, 32(9), 1141-9.

Nogueron, MI, Porgilsson, B, Schneider, WE, Stucky, CL, Hillard, CJ (2001). Cannabinoid receptor agonists inhibit depolarization-induced calcium influx in cerebellar granule neurons. J. Neurochem., 79, 1-12.

Schneider, WE (1990). Contributions of sensory and motor system status to pinch force control in three age groups. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, USA.

Abstracts
Huddleston, WE & Logothetis, NK (2006).Adaptation lengthens stimulus suppression time during binocular rivalry. Program 309.7, Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, October

Huddleston, WE and DeYoe, EA (2005). Differences in spatially-specific attentional modulation between human parietal cortex and extrastriate visual areas. Program 129.1, Society for Neuroscience, Washington D.C., November.

Huddleston, WE and DeYoe, EA (2004). Behavioral modulation of visuospatial attention maps in human parietal cortex. Program 709.8, Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, October.

Huddleston, WE and DeYoe, EA (2004). Two task-related topographic maps of visuospatial attention in human parietal cortex. Abstract TH49, Organization of Human Brain Mapping Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungary, June.

DeYoe, EA, Brefczynski, JA, Datta, RB, Huddleston, WE (2004). The expression and control of attentional topography in human visual cortex. Abstract TH28, Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungary, June.

Schneider, WE, Phinney, RE, Lewis, JW and DeYoe, EA (2002). Attention-based apparent motion: An auditory analog of a visual phenomenon. Program 715.7, Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, October.

Schneider, WE, Besharse, JC and DeYoe, EA (2001). Multiple "motion" mechanisms in audition? Program 166.17, Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, November.

Schneider, WE and DeYoe, EA (2001). Second-order "motion" in the auditory system. Abstract 4pPP17, Acoustical Society of America, Chicago, June.

Schneider, WE, Hart, BA and Schot, PK (1998). Contributions of sensory and motor system status to pinch force control in three age groups (Abstract). J. Sport & Exercise Psych, 20, S71.

Speaker Topics 
Ergonomics
Spine Orthopedics
Systems Neuroscience

Education
Postdoctoral fellowship, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany, 2005 – 2006
Ph.D., Medical College of Wisconsin, Cell biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy, 2005
M.S., University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Motor Control / Biomechanics, 1997
B.S., University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, Physical Therapy, 1996