Investigating the mechanisms related to motor adaptation

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How we learn to control our movements and predict the consequences of our actions to novel situations is of great interest. For example, when we interact with objects in a standing position, because upright standing is inherently unstable, the brain must predict the consequences of the motor action to ascertain balance control. As a example, lifting up a teapot lying on a table, requires a good prediction of the weight of the teapot to accurately predict the consequences of the motor action. For instance, if the brain predicts that it is full but in reality it is empty, lift-off will take place earlier than predicted and the mechanical consequences will be different and likely lead to body sway. Consequently, a key question is to understand how the brain uses different sensory information to adapt its motor commands to unfamiliar contexts. Skilled motor behavior relies on accurate predictive models of both our own body and the tools we interact with. The main goal of this research program is to shed some lights on the mechanisms that govern motor adaptation.