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CRAWFORD LAB RESEARCH DESCRIPTION 

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   What is Visual-motor Neuroscience, and how does one study it?
   
It is sometimes said that the biological purpose of the brain is to generate behaviour.  On the other hand, about half of the cerebral cortex is devoted to vision-related functions.  It follows that the neural processes that transform vision into commands for behaviour are central to brain function.  It also follows that studying these visual-motor processes is essential for understanding what goes wrong in neurology and neuropsychology patients.  I am particularly interested in the spatial aspects of visual-motor control, i.e., how the brain represents visual space and then transforms this into the patterns of muscular contraction required for accurate movements in 3-D space. 

My lab is currently engaged in three major research projects:

• Eye-Hand Coordination (cortical mechanisms for visually guided arm movements)
  
• 3-D Gaze Control (neural mechanisms that rotate the eyes and head toward visual targets)
  
• Trans-saccadic Integration (piecing together perceptions across different gaze fixations).

To study these topics, we use rigorous computational models, visual psychophysics and 3-D motion analysis, direct neurophysiological recordings of brain activity, high resolution brain imaging (fMRI), and clinical patient studies.  I have found that the multi-disciplinary interplay between these approaches promotes an exciting, collaborative research environment.  Moreover, this approach seems to be bringing us closer to our ultimate goal: to understand how the brain works.

For more details, click on the headings above to see some of our publications, or go to "People & Projects".