14th European Conference on Eye Movements
19-23 August 2007 in Potsdam, Germany

Invited Speaker

Hans-Otto Karnath

University of Tübingen, Germany

Research

Our research is focused on human spatial orientation and object recognition. Studies of both healthy and brain-damaged subjects are carried out using functional imaging (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and recordings of eye and hand movements. These studies explore the mechanisms underlying the perception of body orientation, processes of attention and spatial exploration, and visuomotor coordination processes involved in pointing and reaching. The overarching question of the section's research is how organisms accomplish successful sensorimotor coordination. In order to generate meaningful motor actions, such as reaching and grasping or movements required to explore or orient oneself in space, a wide range of sensorimotor information must be used and integrated; in addition the information which needs to be integrated may be changing constantly and is provided in different coordinate systems. The brain's ability to perform this integration task constitutes a central research question in the field of cognitive neuroscience. The results of this research not only allow us to understand the underlying mechanisms, but also provide a basis for developing new strategies to treat stroke patients who suffer from cognitive disorders.

Selected publications

Rorden C, Karnath H-O (2004). Using human brain lesions to infer function: a relic from a past era in the fMRI age? Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5: 813-819.

Karnath H-O, Dieterich M (2006). Spatial neglect - a vestibular disorder? Brain 129: 293-305.

Karnath H-O (2007). Pusher syndrome - a frequent but little-known disturbance of body orientation perception. Journal of Neurology: in press.

Page last updated on 26 February 2007