VISUO-OCULO-MANUAL CONTROL
 
Reaching and grasping responses require coordinated movements of the eye and hand. We normally take this coordination for granted in everyday life. However, damage to certain parts of the brain can result in difficulties in generating coordinated eye and hand movements and can lead to a significant reduction in the quality of life of the affected individuals.

Paul van Donkelaar is interested in how the brain processes visual information for the purposes of oculomotor and manual motor control. He tests this by exposing normal healthy subjects to visuo-oculo-manual tasks designed to allow an examination of the interaction amongst these processes. By comparing the movement kinematics and the patterns of errors across different conditions it is possible to infer the extent to which the visual and eye and hand motor systems interact. In addition, testing of patients with damage to the CNS allows insight into where within the brain these processes may be taking place.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

van Donkelaar, P., Miall, R.C., & Stein, J.F. (in press). Changes in motion perception following oculomotor smooth pursuit adaptation. Perception & Psychophysics.

van Donkelaar, P., Stein, J.F., Passingham, R.E., & Miall, R.C. (1999). Neuronal activity in the basal ganglia and cerebellar-receiving areas of the thalamus during visually-triggered and internally-generated limb movements. Journal of Neurophysiology, 82, 934-945 [Full text PDF]

van Donkelaar, P. (1999). Spatiotemporal modulation of attention during smooth pursuit eye movements. NeuroReport, 10, 2523-2526.

van Donkelaar, P. (1999). Pointing movements are affected by size-contrast illusions. Experimental Brain Research, 125, 517-520 [Full text PDF]

Franks I.M, Nagelkerke, P., Ketelaars, M., & van Donkelaar, P. (1998). Response preparation and control of movement sequences. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 52, 93-101 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar, P. (1998). Saccade amplitude influences pointing movement kinematics. NeuroReport, 9, 2015-2018 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P (1997) Eye-hand interactions during goal-directed pointing movements. NeuroReport 8: 2139-2142  [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P, Gauthier GM, Blouin J, Vercher J-L (1997) The role of ocular proprioception during modifications to smooth pursuit output. Vision Res 37: 769-774 [Medline Abstract]

Blouin J, Gauthier GM, van Donkelaar P, Vercher J-L (1995) Encoding the position of a flashed visual target after passive body rotations. Neuroreport 6: 1165-1168 [ Medline Abstract]

Lee RG, van Donkelaar P (1995) Mechanisms underlying functional recovery following stroke. Can J Neurol Sci 22: 257-263 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P, Fisher C, Lee RG (1994) Adaptive modification of oculomotor pursuit influences manual tracking movements. Neuroreport 5: 2233-2236 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P, Lee RG (1994) Interactions between the eye and hand motor systems: Disruptions due to cerebellar dysfunction. J Neurophysiol 72: 1674-1685 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P, Lee RG, Gellman RS (1994) The contribution of retinal and extraretinal signals to manual tracking movements. Exp Brain Res 99: 134-141 [Medline Abstract]

van Donkelaar P, Lee, R.G., & Gellman, R.S. (1992). Control strategies in directing the hand to moving targets. Exp Brain Res 91: 151-161 [Medline Abstract]
 

 

 
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