Erin Cressman
Telephone: (613) 562-5800 ext. 4264
Fax: (613) 562-5497
E-Mail Address: Erin.Cressman@uottawa.ca
Office (building, room number): MNT 360
Rank
- Assistant Professor
Biography
I received my PhD in motor control from the University of British Columbia in 2007. Following my PhD, I went to York University and completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Vision Research. In general, my research examines how the brain processes sensory information for goal-directed action.
We are constantly performing goal-directed actions. For example, in the last few minutes, I have picked up my cup of tea, used a computer mouse to scroll through a document on my computer and typed these words on my keyboard. Now, most of us would consider these simple acts and perform them without too great an effort or too much thought. However, while these actions may seem simple, in order for them to be carried out correctly, the brain must perform a complex series of sensory to motor transformations. Specifically, in order for me to pick up my cup of tea without spilling, my brain must determine where the cup is with respect to my hand and body, how full it is and then integrate all of this information to plan an appropriate reaching movement.
University Degrees
| Year | Degree | Specialty | Institution |
| 2007 | Ph D. | Motor Control | University of British Columbia |
| 2002 | B.Sc.H | Mathematics and Chemistry | Queen's University |
| 2001 | B.P.H.E. | Physical Education | Queen's University |
Research Interests
In order to determine how the brain processes sensory information for motor output, my research focuses on:
- visuomotor control in the absence of conscious awareness – Can our actions be guided by visual stimuli that we never experience at a conscious level?
- sensory integration – How are different sources of sensory information (i.e. visual information and the sense of body position) integrated to form a coherent estimate of where one’s limb is in space?
- Action vs perception
Useful links
Sensorimotor Control Lab: http://www.health.uottawa.ca/cressman
