In: Sensors, 2017, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 14
Fall prevention is a human, economic and social issue. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is widely used to identify individuals with a high fall risk. However, this test has been criticized because its “diagnostic” is too dependent on the conditions in which it is performed and on the healthcare professionals running it. We used the Microsoft Kinect ambient sensor to automate this test in...
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In: NeuroImage, 2016, vol. 124, Part A, p. 869–875
The vestibular system constitutes the silent sixth sense: It automatically triggers a variety of vital reflexes to maintain postural and visual stability. Beyond their role in reflexive behavior, vestibular afferents contribute to several perceptual and cognitive functions and also support voluntary control of movements by complementing the other senses to accomplish the movement goal....
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In: Gait & Posture, 2015, vol. 42, no. 4, p. 419–423
Bioceramic fabrics have been claimed to improve blood circulation, thermoregulation and muscle relaxation, thereby also improving muscular activity. Here we tested whether bioceramic fabrics have an effect on postural control and contribute to improve postural stability. In Experiment 1, we tested whether bioceramic fabrics contribute to reduce body-sway when maintaining standard standing...
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In: Experimental Brain Research, 2015, vol. 233, no. 9, p. 2527–2538
Before initiating a saccade to a moving target, the brain must take into account the target’s eccentricity as well as its movement direction and speed. We tested how the kinematic characteristics of the target influence the time course of this oculomotor response. Participants performed a step-ramp task in which the target object stepped from a central to an eccentric position and moved at...
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In: Radiation Oncology, 2014, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 205
Purpose: Novel irradiation techniques are continuously introduced in radiotherapy to optimize the accuracy, the security and the clinical outcome of treatments. These changes could raise the question of discontinuity in dosimetric presentation and the subsequent need for practice adjustments in case of significant modifications. This study proposes a comprehensive approach to compare different...
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In: NeuroImage, 2014, vol. 84, p. 615–625
Seemingly effortless, we adjust our movements to continuously changing environments. After initiation of a goal-directed movement, the motor command is under constant control of sensory feedback loops. The main sensory signals contributing to movement control are vision and proprioception. Recent neuroimaging studies have focused mainly on identifying the parts of the posterior parietal cortex...
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In: PLoS ONE, 2013, vol. 8, no. 11, p. e80360
Although kinesthesia is known to largely depend on afferent inflow, recent data suggest that central signals originating from volitional control (efferent outflow) could also be involved and interact with the former to build up a coherent percept. Evidence derives from both clinical and experimental observations where vision, which is of primary importance in kinesthesia, was systematically...
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In: Experimental Brain Research, 2013, vol. 230, no. 3, p. 271–281
We investigate how smooth pursuit eye movements affect the latencies of task-switching saccades. Participants had to alternate their foveal vision between a continuous pursuit task in the display center and a discrete object discrimination task in the periphery. The pursuit task was either carried out by following the target with the eyes only (ocular) or by steering an on-screen cursor with a...
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In: eLife, 2012, vol. 1, p. e00031
Visual speed is believed to be underestimated at low contrast, which has been proposed as an explanation of excessive driving speed in fog. Combining psychophysics measurements and driving simulation, we confirm that speed is underestimated when contrast is reduced uniformly for all objects of the visual scene independently of their distance from the viewer. However, we show that when contrast is...
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In: PLoS ONE, 2012, vol. 7, no. 9, p. e45445
Recent studies provide evidence for task-specific influences on saccadic eye movements. For instance, saccades exhibit higher peak velocity when the task requires coordinating eye and hand movements. The current study shows that the need to process task-relevant visual information at the saccade endpoint can be, in itself, sufficient to cause such effects. In this study, participants performed a...
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