Control and Perception Laboratory

The Control and Perception research group is part of the Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science of the University of Fribourg. We investigate how humans perceive and control their movements.

Motion perception

The visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems provide us with information about our body orientation and movements relative to the environment. These systems contribute to our perception of the speed and amplitude of motion, notably allowing us to distinguish our own displacements in the world (self-motion perception) from movement of surrounding objects or individuals. Combining psychophysics methods and virtual reality technology, we investigate how the signals provided by these sensory systems are integrated.

Motor control

Moving the eyes, hands or whole body to act on / interact with the environment is something we do effortlessly in our everyday life. Yet, the nervous system has to deal with physical constraints acting on the body, and sometimes with unexpected perturbations such as an unforeseen slippery floor portion or a jostle while carrying a full glass. Our sensory organs not only allow us to perceive the surrounding world, but they are also crucial to control our movements and trigger motor adjustments when required. The interplay between sensory feedback information and planning strategies allows us to generate mechanically stable and highly-adaptive behaviors in different contexts. Through the analyses of movements at multiple levels (e.g., 3D kinematics, EMG or kinetic measurements, video-ocular recordings), we try to understand better how humans implement efficient motor strategies in normal situations or in reaction to unexpected perturbations / after injuries / in specific pathologies.