Brain, Action, and Skill (BAS) Laboratory

Research

Topics of particular interest to the lab include understanding how we learn and automate movements through extensive practice, addressing the adverse effects of ageing and stroke on movement control, and learning how imagining actions, and observing the actions of others, affects our movement system. We address these questions using a multidisciplinary combination of behavioral experiments (reaction and movement time measurements using computer and motion tracking apparatus), meta-analytic approaches (with particular emphasis on the meta-analysis of brain imaging data using the Activation likelihood Estimation approach), non-invasive brain stimulation (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), and neuroimaging techniques (functional and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Research in the lab has been supported by grants from the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the FSR, The European Research Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship scheme, The Society for the Neural Control of Movement, and the Wellcome Trust.

Principal Investigator

HARDWICK Robert

Postdoctoral Fellows:

PhD Students

Several projects are conducted with international collaborators in:

the USA (Johns Hopkins),
the UK (University of Birmingham)
Germany (Forschungszentrum Julich)
Through local collaborations within Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven).

Validating Accelerometry as a tool for measuring the effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Cognitive Interactions in Motor Imagery
Inhibitory control during Action Simulation

Inhibition, Shifting and Updating: inter and intra-domain commonalities and differences from an Executive Functions activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Rodríguez-Nieto G*, Seer C*, Sidlauskaite J, Vleugels L, Van Roy A, Hardwick RM#, Swinnen S# (equal contributions: * Co-first authors, # Co-senior authors). NeuroImage (2022), 264, 119665, 1-17.
Age-related increases in reaction time result from slower preparation, not delayed initiation. Hardwick RM, Forrence AD, Costello MG, Zachowski K, Haith AM. Journal of Neurophysiology (2022), 128: 582–592.
Consistent Under-reporting of Task Details in Motor Imagery Research. Van Caenegem EE, Hamoline G, Waltzing BM, Hardwick RM. Neuropsychologia, (2022), 177, 108425, 1-6
Skill Acquisition is Enhanced by Reducing Trial-to-Trial Repetition. Vleugels LWE, Swinnen SP, Hardwick RM. Journal of Neurophysiology (2020), 123(4), 1460-1471.
Time-Dependent Competition Between Goal-Directed and Habitual Response Preparation. Hardwick RM, Forrence AD, Krakauer JW, Haith AH. Nature Human Behaviour (2019), 3, 1252-1262.

Publications

2025
- Journal article
  
  Orban de Xivry, Jean-Jacques ; Hardwick, Robert M.. A control policy can be adapted to task demands during both motor execution and motor planning. In: Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 133, no.1, p. 232-244 (2025). doi:10.1152/jn.00410.2023.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303177
- Van Malderen, Shanti ; Hehl, Melina ; Nuyts, Marten ; Verstraelen, Stefanie ; Heemels, Robin E. ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Swinnen, Stephan P. ; Cuypers, Koen. Age-related differences in task-related modulation of cerebellar brain inhibition. In: Neurobiology of Aging, Vol. 150, no.1, p. 53-68 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.02.009.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303178
- Moreno-Verdú, Marcos ; McAteer, Siobhán M. ; Waltzing, Baptiste M. ; Van Caenegem, Elise E. ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Development and validation of an open-source hand laterality judgement task for in-person and online studies. In: Neuroscience, Vol. 572, p. 93-107 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.02.056.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303179
- McAteer, Siobhan M. ; Waltzing, Baptiste M. ; Van Caenegem, Elise E. ; Hamoline, Gautier ; Denys, Andrea ; Moreno-Verdú, Marcos ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Effects of physical practice on the duration of motor imagery. In: Behavioural Brain Research, Vol. 479, no.1, p. 115354 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115354.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303175
- Moreno-Verdú, Marcos ; Waltzing, Baptiste M. ; McAteer, Siobhán M. ; Van Caenegem, Elise E. ; Hamoline, Gautier ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Information processing in the Hand Laterality Judgement Task: Fundamental differences between dorsal and palmar views revealed by a “forced response” paradigm. In: Cortex, Vol. 189, no.1, p. 226-241 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2025.06.002.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303182
2024
- Journal article
  
  Hamoline, Gautier ; Van Caenegem, Elise ; Waltzing, Baptiste ; Duque, Julie ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Accelerometry as a tool for measuring the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation, collab. Vassiliadis, Pierre ; Derosiere, Gerard. In: Journal of neuroscience methods, Vol. 405, p. 110107 [1-7] (2024). doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110107.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/289328
- Wright, David J. ; Scott, Matthew W. ; Kraeutner, Sarah N. ; Barhoun, Pamela ; Bertollo, Maurizio ; Campbell, Mark J. ; Waltzing, Baptiste M. ; Dahm, Stephan F. ; Esselaar, Maaike ; Frank, Cornelia ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Fuelscher, Ian ; Marshall, Ben ; Hodges, Nicola J. ; Hyde, Christian ; Holmes, Paul S.. An international estimate of the prevalence of differing visual imagery abilities. In: Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 15 (2024). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1454107.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303173
- Moreno Verdu, Marcos ; Hamoline, Gautier ; Van Caenegem, Elise ; Waltzing, Baptiste ; Forest, Sébastien ; Valappil, Ashika C. ; Khan, Adam H. ; Chye, Samantha ; Esselaar, Maaike ; Campbell, Mark J. ; McAllister, Craig J. ; Kraeutner, Sarah N. ; Poliakoff, Ellen ; Frank, Cornelia ; Eaves, Daniel L. ; Wakefield, Caroline ; Boe, Shaun G. ; Holmes, Paul S. ; Bruton, Adam M. ; Vogt, Stefan ; Wright, David J. ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Guidelines for reporting action simulation studies (GRASS): Proposals to improve reporting of research in motor imagery and action observation. In: Neuropsychologia, Vol. 192, p. 108733 (2024). doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108733.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/289333
- Van Caenegem, Elise ; Moreno Verdu, Marcos ; Waltzing, Baptiste ; Hamoline, Gautier ; Mc Ateer, Siobhan ; Frahm, Lennart ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Multisensory approach in Mental Imagery: ALE meta-analyses comparing Motor, Visual and Auditory Imagery. In: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, Vol. 167, p. 105902 [1-11] (2024). doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105902.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/303174
2023
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M.. Commentary on Frank et al., (2023): where does learning through motor imagery lie on the perceptual–motor continuum?. In: Psychological Research, (2023). doi:10.1007/s00426-023-01910-z.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/289330
2022
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Forrence, Alexander D. ; Costello, M. Gabriela ; Zackowski, Kathy ; Haith, Adrian M.. Age-related increases in reaction time result from slower preparation, not delayed initiation. In: Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 128, no.3, p. 582-592 (2022). doi:10.1152/jn.00072.2022.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/270041
- Van Caenegem, Elise ; Hamoline, Gautier ; Waltzing, Baptiste ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Consistent under-reporting of task details in motor imagery research. In: Neuropsychologia, Vol. 177, no. 1, p. 108425 [1-6] (2022). doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108425.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/270039
- Rodríguez-Nieto, Geraldine ; Seer, Caroline ; Sidlauskaite, Justina ; Vleugels, Lore ; Van Roy, Anke ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Swinnen, Stephan. Inhibition, Shifting and Updating: Inter and intra-domain commonalities and differences from an executive functions activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. In: NeuroImage, Vol. 264, no. 1, p. 119665 [1-17] (2022). doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119665.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/270044
2021
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Therrien, Amanda S. ; Lesage, Elise. Non-invasive stimulation of the motor cerebellum has potential cognitive confounds. In: Brain Stimulation, Vol. 14, no.4, p. 922-923 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.brs.2021.05.011.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/248173
2020
- Journal article
  
  Dijkstra, Bauke W. ; Bekkers, Esther M.J. ; Gilat, Moran ; de Rond, Veerle ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Nieuwboer, Alice. Functional neuroimaging of human postural control: a systematic review with meta-analysis. In: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, (2020). doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.04.028 (Accepté/Sous presse).
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230951
- Vleugels, Lore ; Swinnen, Stephan P ; Hardwick, Robert M.. Skill Acquisition is Enhanced by Reducing Trial-To-Trial Repetition. In: Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 123, no. 4, p. 60-65 (2020). doi:10.1152/jn.00741.2019.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/225525
2019
- Journal article
  
  Rajan, Vikram A. ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Celnik, Pablo A.. Reciprocal intralimb transfer of skilled isometric force production. In: Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 122, no. 1, p. 60-65 (2019). doi:10.1152/jn.00840.2018.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230948
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Forrence, Alexander D ; Krakauer, John W ; Haith, Adrian M. Time-dependent competition between goal-directed and habitual response preparation.. In: Nature human behaviour, Vol. 3, no. 12, p. 1252-1262 (2019). doi:10.1038/s41562-019-0725-0.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230944
2018
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Caspers, Svenja ; Eickhoff, Simon ; Swinnen, Stephan. Neural correlates of action: Comparing meta-analyses of imagery, observation, and execution. In: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 94, no.1, p. 31-44 (2018). doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.08.003.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230862
2017
- Journal article
  
  Gallego, Juan Alvaro ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Oby, Emily R.. Highlights from the 2017 meeting of the Society for Neural Control of Movement (Dublin, Ireland). In: European Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 46, no. 6, p. 2141-2148 (2017). doi:10.1111/ejn.13670.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230949
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Rajan, Vikram A ; Bastian, Amy J ; Krakauer, John W ; Celnik, Pablo A. Motor Learning in Stroke: Trained Patients Are Not Equal to Untrained Patients With Less Impairment. In: Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, Vol. 31, no. 2, p. 178-189 (2017). doi:10.1177/1545968316675432.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230941
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Celnik, Pablo. The carrot and the stick seem to enhance motor learning in patients with stroke. In: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, Vol. 88, no.9, p. 715-715 (2017). doi:10.1136/jnnp-2017-315767.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/231607
2016
- Journal article
  
  Hartwright, Charlotte E ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Apperly, Ian A ; Hansen, Peter C. Resting state morphology predicts the effect of theta burst stimulation in false belief reasoning.. In: Human brain mapping, Vol. 37, no. 10, p. 3502-3514 (2016). doi:10.1002/hbm.23255.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230945
2015
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Lesage, Elise ; Eickhoff, Claudia R ; Clos, Mareike ; Fox, Peter ; Eickhoff, Simon B. Multimodal connectivity of motor learning-related dorsal premotor cortex.. In: NeuroImage, Vol. 123, p. 114-128 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.024.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230942
2014
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Celnik, Pablo. Cerebellar direct current stimulation enhances motor learning in older adults. In: Neurobiology of Aging, Vol. 35, no.10, p. 2217-2221 (2014). doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.03.030.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230866
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Lesage, Elise ; Miall, R Chris. Cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation: the role of coil geometry and tissue depth. In: Brain Stimulation : basic, translational and clinical research in neuroscience, Vol. 7, no.5, p. 643-649 (2014). doi:10.1016/j.brs.2014.04.009.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230918
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Celnik, Pablo A.. Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In: Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports, Vol. 2, no. 4, p. 300-309 (2014). doi:10.1007/s40141-014-0060-3.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230947
- Wollenweber, Frank A ; Halfter, Sarah ; Brügmann, Elisabeth ; Weinberg, Christina ; Cieslik, Edna C ; Müller, Veronika I ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Eickhoff, Simon B. Subtle cognitive deficits in severe alcohol addicts--do they show a specific profile?. In: Journal of neuropsychology, Vol. 8, no. 1, p. 147-153 (2014). doi:10.1111/jnp.12001.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230943
- Crabtree, Daniel ; Chambers, Edward ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Blannin, Andrew. The effects of high-intensity exercise on neural responses to images of food. In: The American journal of clinical nutrition, Vol. 99, no. 2, p. 258-267 (2013). doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.071381.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230920
2013
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Rottschy, Claudia ; Miall, R Chris ; Eickhoff, Simon. A quantitative meta-analysis and review of motor learning in the human brain. In: NeuroImage, Vol. 67, no.15, p. 283-297 (2013). doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.11.020.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230858
- Book chapter
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Dagioglou, Maria ; Miall, R Chris. State estimation and the cerebellum. In: Manto, M., Gruol, D.L., Schmahmann, J., Koibuchi, N., Rossi, F., Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders, 2013. 978-94-007-1404-5.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230946
2012
- Journal article
  
  Hardwick, Robert M. ; Edwards, Martin. Motor interference and facilitation arising from observed movement kinematics. In: The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 65, no. 5, p. 840-847 (2012). doi:10.1080/17470218.2012.672995.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078/120691
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; McAllister, Craig J ; Holmes, Paul S ; Edwards, Martin. Transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals modulation of corticospinal excitability when observing actions with the intention to imitate. In: European Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 35, no. 9, p. 1475-1480 (2012). doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08046.x.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/111929
2011
- Journal article
  
  Loporto, Michela ; McAllister, Craig ; Williams, Jacqueline ; Hardwick, Robert M. ; Holmes, Paul. Investigating central mechanisms underlying the effects of action observation and imagery through transcranial magnetic stimulation.. In: Journal of motor behavior, Vol. 43, no.5, p. 361-73 (2011). doi:10.1080/00222895.2011.604655.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/231608
- Hardwick, Robert M. ; Edwards, Martin. Observed reach trajectory influences executed reach kinematics in prehension. In: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, Vol. 64, no. 6, p. 1082-1093 (2011). doi:10.1080/17470218.2010.538068.
  
  http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/109426

Menu