Ce séminaire se déroulera dans l'auditoire COUB11 de 12h30 à 13h30 à Louvain-La-Neuve et s'inscrit dans le cadre du cycle de conférences organisé par le pôle COSY 
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ABSTRACT : motor actions are a fundamental mode of interaction between the human body and the external world. The mechanisms that underlie movement control are commonly described in terms of internal inverse and forward models. Inverse models invert the dynamics of the limb in order to map a desired trajectory onto a motor command, whereas forward models predict the sensory consequences of a motor command. The modulation of grasping forces with self-induced loads is an example of predictive control mechanisms based on forward models. When the object is held in a precision grip, i.e. between the thumb and the index finger, the grip force (GF) is synchronously modulated with variations in tangential constraints due to the sum of the object’s weight and inertial forces (LF, load force). In this case, the absence of a delay in the response of GF to changes in LF is the signature of a predictive mechanism that is conceptualized as a forward model. Adaptation of motor control in general can be seen as an acquisition of appropriate internal models. In this talk, I will demonstrate that altered gravity is a major source of information for better understanding the neural control of both rhythmic and discrete movements. The key is a systematic comparison of the behavior of human subjects in normal, hyper- and micro-gravity. In particular, I will focus on the adaptation processes that are present in parabolic flight data.
Philippe Lefèvre, ICTEAM/INMA and IoNS/COSY