Myriam de Graaf
Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences

Horstmarer Landweg 62b
48149 Münster

T: +49 (0) 251/83 32300
F: +49 (0) 251/83-34862
spowiss@uni-muenster.de

Joined OCC in 2019

Research Project

My PhD project is focused on the application of artificial neural networks in the field of motor control. Everyday movements such as walking are so easy for most of us that we do them without thinking. However, often these activities actually represent highly complex tasks. Figuring out the mechanisms underlying, e.g. human locomotion, remains a prominent challenge in motor control. A deeper understanding of the involved neural circuitry and how these circuits processes incoming information (i.e. sensory input and descending motor planning) to produce the necessary outputs (i.e. muscle activation) can be beneficial in many applications; from robotics to rehabilitation. One way to tackle this challenge is by reducing the complexity of the human nervous system through mathematical modelling, for instance with artificial neural networks (ANNs). ANNs can be trained to perform behavior analogue to those of the biological neural networks they were inspired by. This allows us to study the principles underlying the biological networks.

PhD Committee

Prof. Dr. Heiko Wagner
Prof. Dr. Andreas Daffertshofer
Dr. Kim Boström

Publications

Brenner, E., de Graaf, M. L., Stam, M. J., Schonwetter, M., Smeets, J. B. J., & van Beers, R. J. (2020). When Is Moving a Cursor With a Computer Mouse Intuitive? Perception, (April), 030100662091515. https://doi.org/10.1177/0301006620915152

de Graaf, M. L., Hubert, J., Houdijk, H., & Bruijn, S. M. (2019). Influence of arm swing on cost of transport during walking. Biology Open, 8(6), bio039263. https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.039263

de Graaf, M. L., & Hubert, J. (2019). First person – Myriam de Graaf and Juul Hubert. Biology Open, 8(6), bio045138. https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.045138

CV