DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF PADUA - ITALY

Mission

Under the direction of Professor Umberto Castiello, The Neuroscience of Movement Laboratory (NeMo) uses theoretical and experimental studies to investigate the neural bases and the psychological principles underlying skilled motor behaviour. The focus is on the control of the hand and arm as a model system. Research projects cover diverse areas of motor control. Experiments incorporate a combination of behavioural, perceptual and cognitive tasks with both healthy participants and neurological patient populations. Neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and non-invasive brain stimulation such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are used. Novel experimental approaches including the co-registration of fMRI, electroencephalography (EEG) and kinematical recordings of movement are also part of the research programme. Furthermore, diffusion imaging methods (DTI) to define the complex pattern of neural connections that is the substrate for motor control are adopted. Work on the kinematics of prehensile actions in non-human primates living in totally unconstrained constrained conditions is also central to the activity of the laboratory.