When grasping an object, the opening of the fingers is proportional to the size of the object. When an object changes in size, the fingertip opening has to be corrected. In this study I demonstrate that such a corrective movement does not seem to affect the perceived size of the object.
A new paper in collaboration with Guy Rens, Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry, and Marco Davare has been published. In it, we show that if one observes someone lifting an object with an asymmetric weight distribution, this modulates activity in the motor cortex. Results indicated that this motor resonance is drived by observed and planned digit positioning.
When grasping an object, the opening of the fingers is proportional to the size of the object. When an object changes in size, the fingertip opening has to be corrected. In this study I demonstrate that such a corrective movement does not seem to affect the perceived size of the object.
Now online is a new study in collaboration with Guy Rens, Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry and Marco Davare. We investigated whether the observation of lifting objects with an asymmetric weight distribution could aid in the motor planning of lifting these objects. This turned out to be partly true: the weight distribution information could be observed, but not completely used to skilfully lift the object yourself.
In this study I used TMS to investigate the role of two brain areas in the control of object lifting and the perception of object weight. The paper is now available in Journal of Neurophysiology.
The size of an object influences how heavy an object feels. Could an area in the parietal cortex play a role in this illusion? We investigated this and our latest preprint is now available.
A new experiment that I co-authored on the neural network involved in action observation is now published in Journal of Neuroscience. This work was performed by Guy Rens, in collaboration with Alessandro Botta, Mareike Gann, Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry and Marco Davare: article in Journal of Neuroscience.
Our conference paper for Eurohaptics has been accepted! In it, we show that when subjects have to estimate the density of objects, they are influenced by the object’s mass, and more so when objects are denser. This work was performed by my former master student, Lara Merken. I will present this research at the conference in September.
The preprint of the results of a new study is now online. In this study, I used TMS to investigate the role of two brain areas in the control of object lifting and the perception of object weight. You can find the preprint on BioRxiv.
The article on the size–weight illusion in virtual reality from earlier this year has now been published in Scientific Reports. As previously described, we demonstrate that size has much less influence on how heavy an object feels, if the size and weight are simultaneously changed after lifting the object. You can check a video of the experiment on my Twitter account.
Our latest preprint is now on bioRxiv. We demonstrate that size has much less influence on how heavy an object feels, if the size and weight are simultaneously changed after lifting the object.
One of my recent papers has now been published in Neuropsychologia. When lifting an object, force planning is based on previous experience. Here we show this information is acquired during the dynamic lifting of objects, not during the static holding phase.
I will present my results on the contribution of the motor cortex to force planning on Monday 25 February in Vancouver, Canada, during the 3rd International Brain Stimulation Conference. If you are there, come have a look!
Check our latest publication on multisensory integration in object lifting online! In this study we show that a visual delay influences the way you lift an object and how heavy it feels.
Recently, I have placed two preprints on bioRxiv, on sensory information in object lifting. The first article shows the importance of the dynamic phase in storing information of lifting experience. The second article is about the contribution of haptic and visual information in object lifting and weight perception. Both experiments were performed using our nice virtual reality setup!
Our motor control lab can be found at Flanders Science Day(Dag van de Wetenschap) again on 25 November, where we demonstrate various fun motor and perception tasks to the general public.
Today, you can see my work at the annual conference of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego (US). Here, we look at the effects of TMS on the anterial intraparietal area on how forces are controlled and how weight is perceived when lifting objects of different sizes.
How do you grasp a cup of coffee? Find out in a new paper on the effect of affordances on grasping that I co-authored with Elisabeth Rounis and Marco Davare, now published in Scientific Reports.
Fantastic news: the results of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) Postdoctoral Fellowship grants were announced today, and I was awarded one of them. That means I will be able to continue my research at KU Leuven for another three years. I look forward to working with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and discovering a lot more about how the interaction between the motor and perception system works!
A new paper on haptic perception (‘The role of connectedness in haptic object perception’) that I co-authored with Myrthe Plaisier and Astrid Kappers from VU Amsterdam has just been published in Scientific Reports.
Good news! I have recently been allocated a research grant by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) to cover my research equipment expenses in the next years.
My colleagues and I were to be found at the Flemish Science Day (Dag van de Wetenschap) 2016 in Leuven today. We had the opportunity to present our work to the interested public, and had several fun experiments available for the youngest generation of future scientists!