Karnath Lab

The Section for Neuropsychology focuses on the investigation of spatial cognition and object recognition in humans. The current issues of our work comprise the action control and sensorimotor coordination, object identification, perception of body orientation, spatial attention and exploration, grasping and pointing movements, and auditory localization in space.

The Division of Neuropsychology’s main areas of research are the study of spatial orientation and object perception in humans. By using techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), eye tracking, and the motion capture of hand and arm movements in both patients with brain-damage and healthy subjects, the mechanisms and processes of human perception of objects, attention, the exploration of space, as well as visuomotor coordination during pointing, grasping and object interaction/manipulation are examined.

However, the greater question driving the Division of Neuropsychology’s research is “how do organisms perform sensorimotor coordination processes?” For example, in order to generate successful motor actions (e. g. pointing or grasping movements) we must actively deal with the problem of spatial exploration and orientation. In order to do this it is necessary to process a multitude of sensorimotor information that are derived from constantly changing coordination systems. How the human brain accomplishes this task is a main focus of the Cognitive Neurosciences. The findings to our research questions not only allow us to have a better basic scientific understanding of these processes but will also aid us to develop new strategies for the treatment of patients with brain damage who show deficits in these areas.

Our current research in more detail  -> https://homepages.uni-tuebingen.de//karnath/Sektion.html