Motion capture

We use motion capture to record movement kinematics of actions

Action production

Our experiments are designed to identify how different intentions are encoded in movement

Action observation

Our experiments use psychophysical techniques to study how observers’ judgements are shaped by the kinematics of actions

Neuroimaging and brain stimulation

Using techniques like fMRI, TMS, and high density electromyography (hdEMG), we explore the neural foundations of motor cognition

Developmental motor cognition

Using 4D ultrasound recordings, we are developing tools for studying movement and kinematics of foetuses in utero in order to understand the early origins of movement

Computational neuroscience

Using computational models, we can quantify exactly how much information is encoded in movements and how this is interpreted by observers

Our Research

Our research combines advanced kinematic, psychophysic, and neuroscience methods, including fMRI, TMS, and high density electromyography (hdEMG), with computational approaches to investigate how information encoded in complex movement patterns is transmitted and communicated.

On this page we give a brief overview of our main research themes

Information transmission in naturalistic behaviours

Traditional cognitive neuroscience often reduces behaviour to simplified responses like button presses. We study how structured movement patterns reflect decision processes, intentions, expectations, and confidence. Leveraging state-of-the-art motion tracking techniques and computational modelling, we quantify kinematic encoding–how information about cognitive states is encoded in complex movement patterns–and kinematic readout–how this information is extracted by observers. Intersecting encoding and readout, we derive models of how information is transmitted in the context of social interaction.

Neurodevelopment of kinematic coding

The ability to extract and transmit information through movement is shaped by development and can be disrupted in neurological and psychiatric conditions. We investigate how kinematic coding mechanisms emerge over the lifespan and how they are altered in disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. By combining kinematic methods with computational modelling, we aim to dissect the computations underlying encoding and readout alternatives, and to develop predictive models of impaired action planning and prediction.

Communication

Social information exchange can be incidental, where information gleaned from another individual is used to plan your own actions, or ostensive and deliberate, such as when demonstrating an action. Our laboratory investigates the coding mechanisms by which communication modulates information transmission: how individuals intentionally alter their movement kinematics to enhance (or reduce) information readout and how these alterations influence the social transmission of information

Human-machine interactions

As research and technologies in artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality continue to advance, these technologies increasingly mediate our social interactions. Using a range of approaches, we study the behaviour of artificial intelligence systems and their interactions with humans