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PH.D. Monash University |
What role does the cerebellum play in contributing to accuracy in normal arm movements? I study the role of the cerebellum in the timing and coordination of multi-joint movements in three dimensions. This requires determining the relationships between the joints in skilled movements such as overarm throwing, first in normal people, and then in patients with cerebellar lesions. One recent finding is that inaccuracy in throwing is due, not to variability in rotations at shoulder, elbow and wrist joints, but to variability in timing of finger opening. Disordered throwing accuracy in cerebellar patients appears to be primarily due to disordered timing of finger opening, together with disordered hand trajectories.
Jegede E, Watts S, Stitt L, Hore J. Timing of ball release in overarm throws affects ball speed in unskilled but not skilled individuals. J Sports Sci. 2005 Aug;23(8):805-16. Hore J, O'Brien M, Watts S. Control of joint rotations in overarm throws of different speeds made by dominant and nondominant arms. J Neurophysiol. 2005 Dec;94(6):3975-86. Epub 2005 Aug 24. Hore J, Watts S. Timing finger opening in overarm throwing based on a spatial representation of hand path. J Neurophysiol. 2005 Jun;93(6):3189-99. Hore J, Debicki DB, Watts S. Braking of elbow extension in fast overarm throws made by skilled and unskilled subjects. Exp Brain Res. 2005 Jul;164(3):365-75. Epub 2005 May 10. Watts S, Pessotto I, Hore J. A simple rule for controlling overarm throws to different targets. Exp Brain Res. 2004 Dec;159(3):329-39. Epub 2004 Jun 30.
