Real-time use of vision and proprioception during the different online control phases of voluntary actions

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Limb movements bring about changes in the activity of our sensory systems. When lifting a carton of milk, receptors in the muscles help determine if the carton is as full as expected. Subsequently, moving the milk carton to pour the milk arguably relies more on vision. As such, most reaching movements can be segregated into phases. The research programme led by Dr. Tremblay will assess the extent to which the brain relies on the different senses to control the different phases of voluntary movements. In three series of studies, information provided to the eyes and muscles will be manipulated during different portions of the movement. The limb trajectories and endpoints will be analysed to determine the contribution of both sensory modalities. In another set of studies, participants will be asked to make perceptual judgments about their endpoint accuracy, after trials where information provided to the eyes and muscles will be perturbed. Because the manipulations and perturbations will be provided at different portions of the trajectory, it will be possible to assess the contribution of sensory information from the eyes and muscles to control the different phases of voluntary movements. Knowing how humans rely on sensory information from the eyes and the muscles during the different portions of voluntary movements is critical to build efficient training programs (e.g., sports). Establishing this fundamental knowledge is imperative before making informed decisions about the design of training and rehabilitation programs. For example, a growing proportion of the Canadian population needs sensorimotor therapy. As the case for coaching sports, rehabilitation is not always effective. In the case of unsuccessful rehabilitation, ineffective protocols incur additional health care costs, starting with caregiving services for activities of daily living. While many other practical reasons can be given to justify this research program (e.g., designing human machine interfaces), it remains rather puzzling that we know how to send a man on the moon but yet don’t know how we push the launch button.