Object-Tool-Actor Interaction: Object Information Drives Intended Action.

Tool use is typically explored via actor-tool interactions. However, the target-object (that which is being acted on) may influence perceived action possibilities and thereby guide action. Three different tool-target-object pairings were tested (Experiment 1).

How the mode of action affects evidence of planning and movement kinematics in aging: End-state comfort in older adults.

Motor deficits are commonly observed with age; however, it has been argued that older adults are more adept when acting in natural tasks and do not differ from young adults in these contexts. This study assessed end-state comfort and movement kinematics in a familiar task to examine this further. Left- and right-handed older adults picked up a glass (upright or overturned) as if to pour water in four modes of action (pantomime, pantomime with image/cup as a guide, actual grasping).

Evaluation of a portable markerless finger position capture device: accuracy of the Leap Motion controller in healthy adults.

Although motion analysis is frequently employed in upper limb motor assessment (e.g. visually-guided reaching), they are resource-intensive and limited to laboratory settings.

Handedness throughout the lifespan: cross-sectional view on sex differences as asymmetries change.

Manual asymmetries has been studied by many researchers, however contradictory findings still exist as to whether preferred manual asymmetries increases with age or do we become more ambidextrous. Recently it was shown that perhaps there is a third option, that there is no increase or decrease in laterality but rather preferred manual asymmetries remains consistent throughout adulthood. Another related finding is that females appear to have an advantage in some handedness tasks, such as the Grooved Pegboard.

Binocular advantage for prehension movements performed in visually enriched environments requiring visual search.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of binocular vision during a prehension task performed in a visually enriched environment where the target object was surrounded by distractors/obstacles. Fifteen adults reached and grasped for a cylindrical peg while eye movements and upper limb kinematics were recorded. The complexity of the visual environment was manipulated by varying the number of distractors and by varying the saliency of the target.