Lieke Peper
Dr. C.E. (Lieke) Peper
Faculty of Human Movement Sciences
Van der Boechorststraat 9
1081 BT Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (20) 59 88539
Room: D-632
Email: l.peper@vu.nl
My main research interests reside in the field of movement coordination. Over the years my focus has shifted from the coordination of interceptive actions to the dynamics of rhythmic movements. In the latter context, I am particularly interested in the interlimb interactions that contribute to the stability of bimanual performance. More recently I have extended my research to the clinical field, in collaboration with the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, the Leiden University Medical Center, the Rehabilitation Center Amsterdam, and Rehabilitation Center Tolbrug (Den Bosch).
I am member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Journal of Motor Behavior , and Human Movement Science .
Keywords
Motor control, interlimb interactions, rhythmic coordination
Current Projects
Changes in interlimb interactions
Our limbs do not move independently of each other, but interact. Due to these interactions a limited number of coordination patterns can be performed in a stable fashion. The stability of coordination is affected by, e.g., movement frequency and amplitude, attention, and learning. This PhD project examines how changes in coordinative stability results from changes in particular (functionally defined) interlimb interaction sources.
Collaborator: Peter Beek
PhD student: Betteco de Boer
Upper limb training after stroke (ULTRA)
After 6 months only a third of all stroke patients regain some dexterity using conventional rehabilitation programs. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims at assessing the effects of two more recently developed intervention programs [Bilateral Arm Training with Rhythmic Auditory Cueing (BATRAC) and Constrained Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)] in subacute stroke patients with an upper limb deficit. To this end not only clinimetric measures will be evaluated, but also changes in sensorimotor functioning related to mechanisms underlying stroke recovery (viz. peripheral stiffness, interlimb interactions, and cortical inter- and intrahemispheric networks). The RCT is conducted at the Rehabilitation Center Amsterdam .
Collaborators:Peter Beek
Gert Kwakkel
PhD student: Lex van Delden
Quantification of motor and sensory aspects of tonic dystonia in CRPS
Dystonia is the most frequently encountered movement disorder after peripheral trauma and frequently occurs in the context of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). This project aims at enhancing our understanding of tonic dystonia by quantification of the motor and sensory characteristics of the condition, and the relationship between these parameters. To this end, both intentional and unintentional sensorimotor integration is examined.
This project is part of the Trend consortium
Collaborators: Bob van Hilten (Leiden University Medical Center)
Han Marinus (Leiden University Medical Center)
Peter Beek
PhD student: Linda Bank (Leiden University Medical Center)
Decoupling in children with cerebral palsy
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have difficulties to move their hands independently. Using insights from the field of motor control we are currently devising computer games to help them decouple the movements of their arms/hands. The effectiveness of these games as part of the rehabilitation program is currently being tested.
Collaborators: Annet van Kuijk (Rehabilitation Center Tolbrug, Den Bosch)
Nicolette van den Dikkenberg (Rehabilitation Center Amsterdam)
Master student: Edwin van Loon
Selected publications
De Boer B. J., Peper C. E., & Beek P. J. (2011). Frequency-induced changes in interlimb interactions: Increasing manifestations of closed-loop control. Behavioral Brain Research, 220, 202-214.
De Poel, H. J., Peper, C. E., & Beek, P. J. (2009). Disentangling the effects of attentional and amplitude asymmetries on relative phase dynamics. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 762-777.
Peper, C. E., De Boer, B. J., De Poel, H. J., & Beek, P. J. (2008). Interlimb coupling strength scales with movement amplitude. Neuroscience Letters, 437, 10-14.
Ridderikhoff, A., Peper, C. E., & Beek, P. J. (2008). Attentional loads associated with interlimb interactions underlying rhythmic bimanual coordination. Cognition, 109, 372-388.
Ridderikhoff, A., Peper, C. E., & Beek, P. J. (2005). Unraveling interlimb interactions during bimanual coordination. Journal of Neurophysiology, 94, 3112–3125.
Dessing, J. C., Peper, C. E., Bullock, D., & Beek, P. J. (2005). How position, velocity and temporal information combine in prospective control of catching: Data and model. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 668-686.
Beek, P. J., Dessing, J. C., Peper, C. E., & Bullock, D. (2003). Modelling the control of interceptive actions. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences. Proceedings of the Royal Society, 358, 1511-1523.
Haken, H., Peper, C. E., Beek, P. J., & Daffertshofer, A. (1996). A model for phase transitions in human hand movements during multifrequency tapping. Physica D, 90, 179-196; 92, 260 (erratum).
Peper, C. E., Beek, P. J., & Van Wieringen, P. C. W. (1995). Multifrequency coordination in bimanual tapping: Asymmetrical coupling and signs of supercriticality. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21, 1117-1138.
Peper, C. E., Beek, P. J., & Van Wieringen, P. C. W. (1995). Frequency-induced transitions in bimanual tapping. Biological Cybernetics, 73, 301-309.
Peper, C. E., Bootsma R. J., Mestre, D. R., & Bakker, F. C. (1994). Catching balls: How to get the hand to the right place at the right time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 20, 591-612.