Institute of Neuroscience Faculty
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Physiology
B.P.E., 1987
M.P.E., 1990, University of British Columbia
Ph.D., 1994, University of Calgary
Research Interests
Cortical mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration.
Research in our lab is designed to gain a better understanding of how the human brain transforms sensory signals into appropriate motor output and how different perceptual and attentional factors influence this transformation. We address this issue using several different types of movement including oculomotor smooth pursuit, saccades, and manual pointing.
To better define the contribution of different cortical areas to the sensorimotor integration process we have recently undertaken studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS allows one to briefly disrupt the activity in selected regions of the brain while a subject is producing a particular response. By characterizing how TMS perturbs performance we can make inferences about the specific contribution of the cortical area being stimulated to the task under investigation.
Representative Publications
See UO Eye-Hand Lab for a more complete list of Publications.
- van Donkelaar P, Siu KC, Walterschied J. (2004) Saccadic output is influenced by limb kinetics during eye-hand coordination. J Mot Behav. 36(3): 245-52.
- Lee, J.H. and van Donkelaar, P. (2002) Dorsal and ventral visual stream contributions to perception-action interactions during pointing. Exp. Brain Res. 143: 440-446.
- van Donkelaar, P. and Drew, A.S. (2002) The allocation of attention during smooth pursuit eye movements. Prog. Brain Res. 140: 267-277.
- van Donkelaar, P., Lee, J.H., and Drew, A.S. (2002) Cortical frames of reference for eye-hand coordination. Prog. Brain Res. 140: 301-310.
- van Donkelaar, P., Lee, J.H., and Drew, A.S. (2002) Eye-hand interactions differ in the human premotor and parietal cortices. Hum. Mov. Sci. 21: 377-386.
- van Donkelaar, P. and Muri, R. (2002) Craniotopic updating of visual space across saccades in the human posterior parietal cortex. Proc. R Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 269: 735-739.
- Ingram, H., van Donkelaar, P., Cole, J., Vercher, J.-L., Gauthier, G.M., and Miall, R.C. (2000) The role of proprioception and attention in a visuo-motor adaptation task. Exp. Brain Res. 132: 114-126.
- van Donkelaar, P., Lee, J.-H., and Drew, A.S. (2000) Transcranial magnetic stimulation disrupts eye-hand interactions in the posterior parietal cortex. J. Neurophysiol. 84: 1677-1680.
- van Donkelaar, P., Miall, R.C., and Stein, J.F. (2000) Changes in motion perception following oculomotor smooth pursuit adaptation. Percept. Psychophys. 62: 378-385.
- van Donkelaar, P. and Staub, J.A. (2000) Eye-hand coordination to visual versus remembered targets. Exp. Brain Res. 133: 414-418.
- van Donkelaar, P., Stein, J.F., Passingham, R.E., and Miall, R.C. (2000) Temporary inactivation of the primate motor thalamus during visually-triggered and internally-generated limb movements. J. Neurophysiol. 83: 2780-2790.
- van Donkelaar, P., Stein, J.F., Passingham, R.E., and Miall, R.C. (1999) Neuronal activity in the primate motor thalamus during visually-triggered and internally-generated limb movements. J. Neurophysiol., 82: 934-945
- van Donkelaar, P. (1999) Spatiotemporal modulation of attention during smooth pursuit eye movements. NeuroReport 10: 2523-2526.
- van Donkelaar, P. (1999) Pointing movements are affected by size-contrast illusions. Exp. Brain Res. 125: 517-520.
- van Donkelaar, P. (1998) Saccade amplitude influences pointing movement kinematics. NeuroReport 9: 2015-2018.
- van Donkelaar P., Gauthier, G.M., Blouin, J., and Vercher, J.-L. (1997) The role of ocular proprioception during modifications to smooth pursuit output. Vision Res. 37: 769-774.
- van Donkelaar P. and Lee, R.G. (1994) Interactions between the eye and hand motor systems: Disruptions due to cerebellar dysfunction. J. Neurophysiol. 72: 1674-1685.