This three-year award for U.S.-France cooperative research on human control of body posture involves the research groups of Thomas A. Stoffregen at the University of Cincinnati and Reinoud Bootsma at the Universite de la Mediteranee in Marseille, France. The award provides travel support to Professor Stoffregen and his graduate students. The objective of the research is to study the relationship between vision and posture and between posture and simultaneous, `supra-postural' behaviors, such as looking or reaching. The proposed experiments are developed from a theory that argues that postural control will be strongly influenced by the goals of simultaneous, supra-postural behavior. These experiments take advantage of unique approaches using a videographic projection system developed by the Marseille group and a moving room developed by the Cincinnati group. The research will advance fundamental understanding of neurological equilibrium or posture deficits.
