Eye-hand Lab, U of O

Research in the Eye-Hand Lab is designed to gain a better understanding of how the human brain transforms sensory signals into appropriate motor output and how different perceptual and attentional factors influence this transformation. We address this issue using several different types of movement including oculomotor smooth pursuit, saccades, and manual pointing.

To better define the contribution of different cortical areas to the sensorimotor transformation process we use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS allows one to briefly disrupt the activity in selected regions of the brain while a subject is producing a particular response. By characterizing how TMS perturbs performance we can make inferences about the specific contribution of the cortical area being stimulated to the task under investigation. In addition, we are making use of the fMRI facilities at the Lewis Center for Neuroimaging on campus to gain further insight into the brain mechanisms underlying sensorimotor control during functional recovery following stroke and concussion. 

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

Spatial and Temporal Attentional Deficits in Concussion (2005 World Congress on Brain Injury)

Cortical Plasticity and Handedness (2005 Society for Neuroscience)

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Lee, J.-H., & van Donkelaar, P. (2006). The human dorsal premotor cortex generates on-line error corrections during sensorimotor adaptation. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 3330-3334.

McIntire, A., Halterman, C., Drew, A.S., Langan, J., Osternig, L.R., Chou, L.-S. & van Donkelaar, P. (2006). The temporal distribution of attention following mild traumatic brain injury. Experimental Brain Research, epub.

van Donkelaar, P., Osternig, L.R., & Chou, L.-S. (2006). Attentional and biomechanical deficits interact following mild traumatic brain injury. Exercise & Sport Science Reviews, 34, 77-82.

Halterman, C.I., Langan, J., Drew, A., Rodriguez, R., Osternig, L.R., Chou, L.S., van Donkelaar, P. (2005). Tracking the recovery of visuospatial attention deficits in mild traumatic brain injury. Brain, 129: 747-753.

van Donkelaar, P., Langan, J., Rodriguez, E., Drew, A.S., Halterman, C., Osternig, L.R., & Chou, L.-S. (2005). Attentional deficits in concussion. Brain Injury, 19(12):1031-9.

Parker, T.M., Osternig, LR., Lee, H.-J., van Donkelaar, P., & Chou, L.-S. (2005). The effect of divided attention on gait stability following concussion. Clinical Biomechanics, 20, 389-395.

van Donkelaar, P., & Adams, J. (2005). Gaze-dependent deviations in pointing induced by TMS over the human posterior parietal cortex. Journal of Motor Behavior, 37, 157-163.

van Donkelaar, P. (2005). On the virtues of virtal lesions. Cortex, 41, 85-86.

van Donkelaar, P., & Dassonville, P.R. (2004). Further evidence for, and some against, the planning-control dissociation. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 27, 52-53.

van Donkelaar, P., Siu, K.-C., & Walterschied, J. (2004). Saccadic output is influenced by limb kinetics during eye-hand coordination. Journal of Motor Behavior, 36, 245-252.

van Donkelaar, P., & Drew, A.S. (2002). The role of attention during smooth pursuit eye movements. The Brain's Eyes: Neurobiological and Clinical Aspects of Oculomotor Research. J. Hyönä, D. Munoz, W. Heide, & R. Radach (Eds), 140: 267-277.

van Donkelaar, P., Lee, J.-H., & Drew, A.S. (2002). Cortical frames of reference for eye-hand coordination. The Brain's Eyes: Neurobiological and Clinical Aspects of Oculomotor Research. J. Hyönä, D. Munoz, W. Heide, & R. Radach (Eds), 140: 301-310.

van Donkelaar, P., Lee, J.-H., & Drew, A.S. (2002). Eye-hand interactions differ in the premotor and parietal cortices. Human Movement Science, 21, 65-74.

van Donkelaar, P., & Müri, R. (2002). Craniotopic updating of visual space across saccades in the human posterior parietal cortex. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 269, 735-739.

Lee, J.-H., & van Donkelaar, P. (2002). Dorsal and ventral visual stream contributions to perception-action interactions during pointing movements. Experimental Brain Research, 143: 440-446.


 

CURRENT GRANT SUPPORT

2004-2007: American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid - " Cortical correlates of functional recovery following stroke rehabilitation" Role: Principal Investigator.

2002-2006: Centers for Disease Control Research Grant - "Biomechanical/sensory motor functions after concussion" Role: Co-Principle Investigator.

2003-2008: NIH R01 Research Grant - "Dynamic balance in children with cerebral palsy" Role: Co-Investigator.

2005-2009: NIH R01 Research Grant - "Age related changes in posture and movement" Role: Co-Investigator.