When a professor needed achilles surgery that required no weight-bearing in his right leg during recovery, it provided the perfect opportunity to find out.

The comprehensive data set—still being collected—includes:

• Daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data on pain, affect, and other lifestyle factors;

• Daily low-density EEG (resting state, visual evoked potentials)

• Biweekly brain measures

  • Structural MRI (T1, IHMT)

  • Functional MRI (resting state, movie)

  • Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (to look at GABA in motor cortex)

Schedule

Dr. Peelle’s surgery was September 25, 2025. MRI, EMA, and HD-EEG data collection began August 25, 2025, although some minor alterations to protocols occurred over the first 1-2 weeks.

Research team

The principal investigators are all faculty at the Northeastern Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health and include:

• Josh Curtiss

• Laurel Gabard-Durnam

• Tim Morris

• Stephanie Noble

• Jonathan Peelle

• Lauren Raine

• Dave Sherman