1.
To gain insight into interlimb coordination and the coordination between limb movements and the environment using the formal concepts and analytical tools of dynamical systems theory. The adopted approach focuses on the stability properties of behavioral patterns and how they are affected by movement parameters (e.g., accuracy, frequency, amplitude, and force), cognitive influences and perception. If tractable, the observed properties and effects are explicitly modeled in terms of (stochastic) equations of motion to uncover the functional and operational design of motor control systems. The experimental tasks of interest range from basic laboratory tasks like rhythmic limb movements, tapping, isometric force production, reaching and pointing, to more complex behaviors like standing upright, locomotion, juggling, catching and hitting.

2.
To identify the neurophysiological and biomechanical (e.g., cortical, spinal, myographic and musculo-skeletal) underpinnings of the dynamical and stochastic principles governing discrete end cyclical movements. Although dynamical models are powerful means to describe and study salient coordination phenomena, their explanatory scope is limited. It is therefore deemed important to pinpoint, and if possible to explicitly model, the dynamical properties of the neural and musculo-skeletal subsystems over which a particular coordination dynamics is defined. Thus, insights are sought into the causal backgrounds of phenomena and principles identified at the behavioral level.

3.
To understand the changes observed in the acquisition of new movement patterns and their perceptual basis. The research aims at identifying the dynamical and stochastic principles that play a role during learning, and at uncovering the relation between changes in behavior and in its constituent processes. Expertise can be understood as an extreme adaptation to a specific set of task constraints requiring the nested integration of disparate subsystems (subserving, e.g., posture, manipulation, gaze, respiration, etc.). Elucidating how the relations among subsystems alter in a task-specific manner in the course of learning complex perceptual-motor tasks is deemed an important aspect of understanding skill learning.

4
To identify the theoretical challenges encountered in the multidisciplinary study of coordination, conceived as an activity requiring the combination of data and insights obtained at multiple levels of analysis, and charting the history of this endeavor.

5
To apply the principles of coordination dynamics to practical problems in sports and in the clinic. In the latter setting, coordination may be viewed as a level of study intermediate between classical clinical diagnosis (aimed at underlying causes of movement disorders) and the efforts of clinicians and therapists to improve motor functioning in everyday life. The fundamental study of movement from the perspective of coordination dynamics has led to several new methods for studying complex movement activities like standing and walking. Those methods may prove useful in a clinical setting, both for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, and in evaluating the effects of intervention techniques in rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Testing and exploring such new possibilities is a primary objective in the research line, to help develop a theory-based movement clinimetrics.