The study, recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience, examined the inner workings of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), located towards the top and back of the skull. It acts as the brain’s game card for hand-eye coordination, playing a critical role in planning visually guided actions.

Above: Professor Doug Crawford performs computer-controlled tests to measure the accuracy of Pat Byrne's gaze and reach. Byrne, a postdoctoral Fellow working in 91ŃÇÉ«'s Centre for Vision Research, is hooked up to eye-tracking headgear.

“Football is a good example to illustrate our results. A quarterback trying to deke out the opposition would actually use separate parts of the posterior parietal cortex in rapid succession...to achieve this,” says principal investigator Doug Crawford, professor of psychology in 91ŃÇɫ’s Faculty of Health and Canada Research Chair in Visuomotor Neuroscience.

The findings suggest that within the PPC, the superior parietal occipital cortex (SPOC) specializes in encoding reach goals. “In the case of trying to fake a pass, SPOC would help you pick the real player you want to throw the ball to,” says Crawford. “The midposterior intraparietal sulcus (mIPS), would help you to look at the decoy player. Then the angular gyrus (AG) would compare your current hand position to the goal you’re aiming for in order to guide your throw."

Simply put, SPOC picks the goal, while mIPS and AG are involved more closely in planning the motor functions for both our view and our reach.

Scientists at 91ŃÇɫ’s Centre for Vision Research (CVR) used a non-invasive procedure called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to create activity in these three areas of the brain. TMS delivers mild, split-second electromagnetic pulses, with little to no side effects for participants.

Participants then performed computer-controlled tests to measure the accuracy of their view and reach, while hooked up to eye-tracking headgear. Both left and right hands were tested, as well as reaching with and without visual feedback. By observing differences between subjects tested both with and without TMS over different brain areas, Crawford and his colleagues were able to map the unique responsibilities of each area.

“Because mIPS and AG are involved in calculating both hand and eye movement, and SPOC is dedicated to encoding the reach goal, the whole assembly is likely important for hand-eye coordination,” says Crawford.

“It’s also a good reason to wear a helmet. You wouldn’t want a hard knock on the parietal cortex,” he says.

The study’s lead investigator was kinesiology PhD student Michael Vesia, currently a postdoctoral fellow with the Sunnybrook Research Institute Brain Sciences Research Program at the University of Waterloo. It was co-authored by CVR colleagues Steven Prime, a psychology PhD student, Xiaogang Yan, research associate, and Lauren Sergio, a kinesiology professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in 91ŃÇÉ«'s Faculty of Health.

The research was funded by the .

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Canadian universities appear to be in a retrospective mood. Several new histories have appeared recently and others are in the works, wrote James Pitsula, history professor at the University of Regina, in a review of 91ŃÇÉ«: The Way Must Be Tried for the ’s March edition. s 91ŃÇÉ« is the best of the lot, said Pitsula.

Scholarly, engaging, beautifully illustrated, remarkably comprehensive, steeped in affection, but not sentimental, it is a masterwork of the genre. The author’s voice is distinctive, but not obtrusive. We appreciate his wry asides, but the story is that of the University community as it sees itself, in all its diversity and multiplicity of perspective, not the community as filtered through the predilections of the author. Horn stands on the sidelines – bemused, entertained, heartened and inspired – and always with a sly smile on his face.

Horn’s audience is primarily 91ŃÇÉ« people. He makes very little effort to reach out to readers who do not have a direct connection with the University. The index is proper name only, so that scholars wishing to make thematic comparisons with other universities cannot readily do so. In focusing so entirely on 91ŃÇÉ«, Horn has missed an opportunity, since the 91ŃÇÉ« story is in some ways Canada's story.

Beneath the externalities, [91ŃÇÉ«] embodies the new Canada. Over the years, it has attracted significant numbers of students who were the first in their family to attend university. Today, the student body is multicultural, with more than a third of the students of visible minorities.

The photo on page 251 of Horn’s book tells it all, concluded Pitsula. It depicts the members of the Visuomotor Neuroscience Lab at 91ŃÇÉ«, the research team headed by Doug Crawford, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Visual-Motor Neuroscience. Their names are Florin Feloui, Gerald Keith, Michael Vesia, Alina Constantin, Matthias Niemeier, Jachin Ascensio-Monteon, Gunnar Blohm, Honying Wang, Farshad Farshadmanesh, Denise Henriques, Joe DeSouza, Aarlenne Khan, Jessica Klassen, Lei Ren, Saihong Sun and Xiaogang Yan – the new Canada.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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