Perception and Action Team
We rarely find it difficult to reach for our coffee mug or to drive in dense traffic. The apparent ease of these tasks belies their computational complexity. One way to infer how the brain accomplishes tasks is to examine the problems faced by neurological patients (a technique known as neuropsychology). Further techniques involve examining the brain activity and response strategies of healthy adults.
Current Research
Members of our group are interested in the sensorimotor transformations associated with goal-directed body and eye movements. Damage to areas of the brain such as the posterior parietal cortex leads to disorders in the representation of space (e.g., hemispatial neglect) and impairments in the planning and control of goal-directed movements (e.g., ideomotor limb apraxia and optic ataxia). These are common symptoms following a stroke.
Understanding the nature of the sensorimotor transformations carried out in the brain is a fundamental problem for neuroscience and of considerable clinical importance in treating the consequences of stroke. A key part of this research is inclusion of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Structural brain imaging of stroke patients allows quantification of lesion site and volume. Brain activation involved in simple visuospatial and sensorimotor tasks can be measured using functional imaging allowing investigation of brain neuroplasticity and recovery processes following stroke.
Other activities of the group include investigation of the volitional control of action in children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome. This project involves examination of the relationship between neuroanatomy and function through the use of MRI scanning and diffusion tensor imaging. Functional imaging techniques are also being employed to further assess the neural correlates of the ‘urge to tic’ and tic suppression, with a particular focus on the role played by the basal ganglia in these behaviours.
Please follow the links below to find out about the research interests of individual members of staff.
People
Academic staff:
PhD students:
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Laura Condon
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Kirsten McKenzie
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Se-Ho Nam
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Åsa Pellijeff
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Catherine Preston
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Violet Yang
Tools
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ERP: By measuring the electrical activity of the brain, we can examine the brain activity of individuals as they complete simple tasks. The perception and action team uses a state of the art 128-channel EGI system .
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Eye Tracking: Human visual acuity is only sharp at the focus of our gaze - to see a scene clearly we need to move our eyes. Observing eye movements allows us to understand the perceptual and motor computations of the brain. The Perception and Action group uses several eye monitoring techniques, including EOG, video and infra red.
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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Brain Imaging and MEG: Our collaboration with the University's Physics department allows us to examine brain activity using a 1.5, 3 and 7 Tesla magnets as well as MEG.
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Neuropsychology: By working with stroke patients we can often infer brain function. We study the deficits, preserved skills and (often very rapid) recovery of neurological patients.
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Reach Tracking: We use sophisticated electromagnetic, video and optoelectonic motion tracking systems to precisely observe the kinematics of reaches.
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Manipulandum: We use a two degree-of-freedom robotic manipulandum (vBOT 2D). This allows us to investigate motor learning in both healthy volunteers and patients recovering from stroke.
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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: TMS allows us to safely disrupt the processing of visual and motor signals.
Opportunities
We are eager to recruit new members. A variety of School and Research Council funded PhD studentships are frequently available. All good candidates are actively encouraged to apply. Please contact individual members of the group in the first instance.