| The general object of this research is the sensory-motor interaction between organisms and their surroundings and the cellular mechanisms that underlie this interaction. The interaction between sensory and motor systems is essential to such coordinated activities as posture, locomotion and manipulation. Auditory, visual and vestibular information are of prime importance in this regard. How the auditory information reaches the cortex is investigated at the cellular level. This information is being relayed via synapses and the regulation of the strength of these synapses is studied in animal models. Eye movements are investigated as an elementary model of sensory-motor interaction. Eye movements are vital to vision, and reflect a direct interaction between the acquisition and use of visual information. For instance, binocular viewing requires precise coordination of the movements of the two eyes and has, therefore, a distinct motor aspect. Eye movements thus constitute a 'microcosm' of sensory and motor function and dysfunction. Their quantitative measurement and analysis can contribute significantly to the insight in neural functioning and learning. In contrast with the eyes, limbs are generally used to interact with the environment. When reaching for an object, physical properties such as its size, shape, weight and surface texture determine the way an object can be manipulated. Three-dimensional spatial perception is therefore essential in many types of motor control. Various cues (e.g. binocular disparity, perspective) are combined for this. Moreover, information from different modalities (e.g. vision and proprioception) has to be combined to adequately manipulate objects. Hand movements are investigated to unravel the way information is obtained and processed by the brain. Sensory-motor functions are not fixed or rigid; they adapt to changes in the demands imposed by changes in the behavior or in the organism that occur inevitably in the course of a lifetime. Therefore, the adaptation of (oculo)motor control to altered conditions is an important topic in our research. For instance the influence of motor coordination on chronic pain and vice versa is studied in patients with whiplash associated disease or repetitive strain injury. Animal models (transgenic mice) and patient groups with well defined deficits (both genetic deficits such as Williams' syndrome and paraneoplastic deficits such as anti-mGluR1 related ataxia) are studied to unravel the neural mechanisms underlying this plasticity. |
