Guest lecture by Lior Shmuelof (Ben-Gurion University, Israel)


Start date: 29/06/2016
Start time: 05:15 pm
End time: 06:45 pm
Organizer: BrainLinks-BrainTools
Location: SR 0.006, Zentrum für Neurowissenschaften, Albertstr. 23

BrainLinks-BrainTools is inviting all members, colleagues and friends to a guest lecture given by Dr. Lior Shmuelof from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Scheva, Israel:

Investigation of motor planning processes during the preparation of curved trajectories

Abstract: To what extent the trajectory of a movement is planned before movement initiation? In the first part of the talk I will describe a study where we used the Timed Response task to enforce subjects to initiate movements prematurely. Fifteen subjects performed obstacle avoidance movements to 1 of 4 targets that was presented 25 or 350 ms before the 'go' cue, imposing short and long preparation times, respectively. While the trajectories that were performed after short preparation times were more variable, and showed a larger target-relative angular deviation, they were still accurate and their duration was comparable to the duration of the movements in the long preparation time condition. These results point to the time-consuming goal and trajectory planning processes of curved trajectories. In order to study the neural basis of trajectory planning, subjects were scanned in an fMRI scanner while performing curved trajectories in a delayed reaction time task. Multivariate analyses revealed a network of parietal and premotor areas that show trajectory-selectivity during the planning phase. Interestingly, representation patterns changed between the planning and execution phases, suggesting a shift in functionality.

Bio: Lior Shmuelof did his PhD in Neurobiology with Prof. Ehud Zohary at the Hebrew University, Israel. He did his postdoctoral training with Prof. John Krakauer and Prof. Pietro Mazzoni at Columbia University, and with Prof. Tamar Flash from the Weizmann Institute, Israel. Since 2013 Lior is a researcher in the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. Lior studies motor control and motor learning in humans using functional imaging and behavioral techniques

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