Event:

Motor behavior is inherently variable. Rather than reflecting noise or imprecision, this variability can serve as a hallmark of stable and adaptive control in complex biological systems. Changes in the structure of movement variability are shaped by organismic, task, and environmental constraints and often signal alterations in system complexity, for example due to aging, pathology, or learning. Importantly, attentional processes are also known to modulate motor control, yet their influence on the structure of motor variability remains incompletely understood.
In this talk, I will introduce key theoretical perspectives on movement variability and review commonly used analytical approaches to quantify its complex structure. I will then present empirical findings from grasping and walking tasks demonstrating how attentional manipulations alter variability patterns across different populations. Finally, I will discuss how these results inform our understanding of the role of attention in motor control and adaptation, and consider their implications for promoting stable and flexible motor behavior in aging and clinical populations.