Padraig Spillane

An excellent distraction from another rainy evening thesis writing, listening to @nedboulting.bsky.social talking tour memories, and Pete Kennaugh's hay bale revalation

ITV Bows Out YouTube video by Ned Boulting

Sit back and think of summer

(sign up, support, and re-post)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjFk...

🚨Preperint the first study from our Motor Units and Sex Hormones collaboration. Here we show modest modulations of MU firing patterns by E2 and P4 across the menstrual cycle.
This is a huge team effort to collect data from three sites, and there is more to come!
#neuro
@nuneurofunc.bsky.social

First of my PhD studies investigating cortical neurophysiology across the menstrual cycle. We found progesterone to increase the magnitude and duration of neuroplasticity post PAS.

Huge thanks to the team
@nuneurofunc.bsky.social
#neuro
#femalephysiology
journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1...

My university is offering scholarships for PhD students to visit Nantes (France) for 3 to 6 months. If you are interested in joining my lab to work on the neural control of the hand during artistic activities and translating these insights into robotic control please do not hesitate to get in touch!

In October, we welcomed @northumbriauni.bsky.social to the NHSA.

@northumbriauni.bsky.social undertakes a wealth of research dedicated to making a real and lasting impact on society, and we look forward to continuing to work with them and all our members into 2026.

The first of a few very cool papers to come from @padraig-spillane.bsky.social’s PhD.

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity is evident across the menstrual cycle, but potentiated in the luteal phase 🧠

Menstrual cycle phase alters corticospinal excitability and spike-timing-dependent plasticity in healthy females https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679456v1

Menstrual cycle phase alters corticospinal excitability and spike-timing-dependent plasticity in healthy females The known fluctuations in ovarian hormone concentrations across the eumenorrheic menstrual cycle contribute to modulations in cortical excitability and inhibition. However, how such changes affect spi...

Preprint is up for the first of my PhD studies on the menstrual cycle and its effects on cortical excitability and neuroplasticty. Feedback welcome!

@paul-ansdell.bsky.social @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social @stuart-goodall.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

On the right track: navigating hormonal crossroads in female neuromuscular ageing Click on the article title to read more.

Out now is our Journal Club article looking at O'Bryan et al. 2025 paper looking at neuromuscular ageing in females. Nice to collaborate on this with good colleagues @elisanedelec.bsky.social Sophie Jenz & Mollie O'Hanlon

@nuneurofunc.bsky.social

physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/...

The variation in response to pill cycles is super interesting to see. A very cool study design

A massive thank you from Lizzie, David, Pete (who'll be there if he can be) and me.

The response to this new venture has been overwhelming.

Please sign up here (entirely for free) to make your support known. Let's get this up and running.

neverstraysfar.com

What a week at @ecssofficial.bsky.social 2025 in Rimini!

I had the pleasure of delivering my oral presentation as part of the 'Neuromuscular function across the menstrual cycle' session.

Thanks to my colleagues @nuneurofunc.bsky.social for making this week such an enjoyable experience!

Had a brilliant week at @ecssofficial.bsky.social. Four talks from our group about our latest work 🧠🚴‍♀️💪

Also great to catch up with friends and colleagues from all over. Already looking forward to next year🇨🇭

@padraig-spillane.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social
@nuneurofunc.bsky.social

And now the final presentation from our group at @northumbriauni.bsky.social is @paul-ansdell.bsky.social presenting his work titled Hormone therapy attenuates menopause related impairments in cortical neuroplasticity at @ecssofficial.bsky.social in Rimini, Italy 🇮🇹

Penultimate presentation from our group at @northumbriauni.bsky.social is @elisanedelec.bsky.social presenting her work on knee extensior neuromuscular function across the menstrual cycle at @ecssofficial.bsky.social in Rimini, Italy 🇮🇹

Next up from our group at @northumbriauni.bsky.social is Dr Luca Angius givin a talk titled Non-invasive brain stimulation: Implications for exercise science research and application for physical and mental health at @ecssofficial.bsky.social in Rimini, Italy 🇮🇹

At our last meeting @jandrushko.bsky.social & Jason DeFreitas introduced the physiology & physics of #EMG & how to get optimal signals. They stressed the importance of:

* setting up a low-noise lab
* consistent electrode placement
* digital filtering
* amplitude normalisation

A really useful talk!

#ECSS2025

Second up from our group from @northumbriauni.bsky.social is @padraig-spillane.bsky.social presenting his work titled Contraction intensity-specific fluctuations in motor unit behaviour across the menstrual cycle at @ecssofficial.bsky.social in Rimini, Italy 🇮🇹

Excited to have presented some early data from our wider collaborative project @ecssofficial.bsky.social More to come! @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @northumbriauni.bsky.social

@padraig-spillane.bsky.social presenting his work examining the relationship between simple reaction time and intracortical facilitation across the menstrual cycle at the Women's Sport and Wellbeing Interdisciplinary Research Theme Conference at @NorthumbriaUni.bsky.social

Had a great time at the Women's Nutrition and Physiology symposium at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social today. Some fascinating talks and discussions througout the day. I also enjoyed presenting a poster of some data from my first PhD study on neurophysiology across the menstrual cycle

234 cleaned contractions later, phase one of my second PhD study is getting closer to completion

Still not over the doughnuts in Chicago nor the US love for them as a breakfast item