Multisensory-motor integration: the impact of sight and sound on reaching movements

总的来说，我的研究集中在如何从不同的感官信息（例如，视觉，声音）影响我们如何准备和执行运动技能。在许多日常情况下，人类有必要对环境中的物体进行精确和有效的运动。有许多经典的和最近的例子，视觉信息的影响的效率和准确性的运动规划和执行。 然而，到目前为止，视听多感官的研究一直局限于知觉的决定和简单的运动反应，如按下键。多感觉-运动整合的原理需要系统的探索，因为记录的视觉信息是如何处理知觉与运动任务的差异，以及改善运动学习和表现的潜力，为任何人谁是学习运动技能。因此，我的研究计划旨在开发一个模型来解释健康的年轻人如何整合视觉，听觉和本体感受信息来执行达到运动。我将进行一系列的实验，在这些实验中，知觉信息和任务要求被系统地操纵。将使用三维运动分析（Optotrak 3D Investigator，北方数字公司，滑铁卢，安大略）。性能指标的分析，如反应时间，运动时间和运动精度，结合详细的轨迹分析，将提供重要的见解多传感器-电机集成的基本过程。我的研究将有助于确定听觉刺激在动作准备中的确切作用，以及典型感觉系统（即，视觉、本体感觉）影响反馈的替代源（诸如听觉刺激）的使用。从拟议的工作线的结果是需要制定一个全面的理解的作用，多感官刺激的运动性能。研究结果将改善个人如何在广泛的环境中学习执行复杂任务，并提高患有神经损伤或疾病的患者重新学习运动的能力。

Overall my research focuses on how information from different senses (e.g., sight, sound) impacts how we prepare and perform motor skills. In many everyday situations it is necessary for humans to perform precise and efficient movements to objects in the environment. There are many classic and recent examples of the influence of visual information on the efficiency and accuracy of movement planning and execution. However, to date audio-visual multisensory research has been limited to perceptual decisions and simple motor responses such as a key press. A systematic exploration of the principles for multisensory-motor integration is needed because of the documented differences in how visual information is processed for perceptual versus motor tasks as well as the potential to improve motor learning and performance for anyone who is learning a motor skill. Thus, my research program seeks to develop a model to explain how healthy young adults integrate visual, auditory and proprioceptive information to perform reaching movements. I will conduct a series of experiments in which the perceptual information and the task demands are manipulated systematically. Detailed analyses of how the movements are performed will be measured using three-dimensional motion analysis (Optotrak 3D Investigator, Northern Digital Inc., Waterloo, Ontario). Analysis of performance measures, such as reaction time, movement time and movement accuracy, in conjunction with detailed trajectory analyses, will provide crucial insights into the underlying processes for multisensory-motor integration. My research will help determine the precise role auditory stimuli play in action preparation, and how changes in the accuracy of the typical sensory systems (i.e., vision, proprioception) impact the use of alternative sources of feedback, such as auditory stimuli. The findings from the proposed line of work are needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the role of multisensory stimuli for motor performance. The results will improve how individuals learn to perform complex tasks in a wide range of contexts and enhance how patients with a neurological injury or disease re-learn movements.