Research Foci
Experimenting, methodology, modelling, development of theories
Evolution and development of the brain (and the body)
I search for basic answers to why… the brain has a folded ("walnut") shape, the forebrain has a contralateral organization, the heart and inner organs develop so asymmetrically
Evolution and Paleontology of echinoderms
Echinoderms (sea lilies, sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, echinoids) are a fascinating group of marine animals. They are closely related to vertebrates (such as ourselves). They come in an astonishing variety of forms and have an extremely rich fossil record. I am developing a new theory, i.e., that their pentamerous shape (and radial symmetry) is derived from a hexamery.
Motor Control, Vision and Pain
The first project in this theme was eye-hand control (PhD thesis). I still work on biological motion perception and the interaction with motor control. Also I am involved with modeling efforts.
Biomechanics
I started with biomechanics of fish feeding and biarticular muscles. Whereas neuroscience tends to ignore biomechanics, biomechanics ignores motor control and perception. Doing both opens fascinating perspectives.
CV
Academic Education
Positions
- Technical Employee, Movement Science Sportwissenschaft, Westf. Wilhelms-Universität Münster
- Leader of Motionlab "OpenLab", Sport Science, University of Münster
- PostDoc, Prof. Dr. M. Lappe, Experimental Psychology, University of Münster
- PostDoc am BMBF-Projekt "Chronic Back Pain", Experimental Psychology, University of Münster
- PostDoc, PD. Dr. M. Lappe, Neurobiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
- Graduate student with Dr. J.B.J. Smeets & Dr. E. Brenner, Physiology, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Grant (VSB) biarticular muscles, with Prof. R.McN. Alexander, Biology, University of Leeds (UK)
- Guest lecturer with Prof. D.A. Rosenbaum, Psychology, PennState University
External Functions
Projects
- Evolution and Movement ()
Own Resources Project - Chronic back pain and sensory-motor control: towards a model based diagnostic toolbox – Chronic back pain ()
Participation in Federally Funded Joint Project: Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt | Project Number: 01EC1003A - Contralateral organization of the forebrain and the axial twist hypothesis of the vertebrate body – AxialTwist ()
Own Resources Project - Evolution and development of the brain – VerteBrain ()
Own Resources Project - Evolution, Development and Anatomy of Echinoderms – EchinodermHexamery ()
Own Resources Project
Publications
Selection
- Soehnel, Katja, Rode, Christian, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H. E., Wagner, Heiko, Fischer, Martin S., and and, Andrada Emanuel. . “Limb dynamics in agility jumps of beginner and advanced dogs.” Journal of Experimental Biology 223. doi: 10.1242/jeb.202119.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière, and Marc, HE. . “Opposite asymmetries of face and trunk and of kissing and hugging, as predicted by the axial twist hypothesis.” PeerJ 7 (e7096). doi: 10.7717/peerj.7096.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Comment on ‘Cortical folding scales universally with surface area and thickness, not number of neurons’.” Science 351 (6275): 825–a.. doi: 10.1126/science.aad0127.
- Theusner, S, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Lappe, M. . “Action recognition by motion detection in posture space.” Journal of Neuroscience 34 (3): 909–921. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.2900-13.2014.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, and Osse, JW M. . “An ancestral axial twist explains the contralateral forebrain and the optic chiasm in vertebrates.” Animal Biology 62 (2): 193–216. doi: 10.1163/157075611X617102.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, Behrendt, F, Puta, C, Weiss, T, Lappe, M, Schulte, TL, and Wagner, H. . “A body-part-specific impairment in the visual recognition of actions in chronic pain patients.” Pain 153 (7): 1459–1466. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.04.002.
- de, Lussanet M H E. . “A hexamer origin of the echinoderms’ five rays.” Evolution & Development 13 (2): 228–238. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2011.00472.x.
- Wilmer, A., de Lussanet, M.H. E., and Lappe, M. . “A method for the estimation of functional brain connectivity from time-series data.” Cognitive Neurodynamics 4 (2): 133–149. doi: 10.1007/s11571-010-9107-z.
- de, Lussanet M H E, and Muller, M. . “The smaller your mouth, the longer your snout: predicting the snout length of Syngnathus acus, Centriscus scutatus and other pipette feeders.” Interface 4 (14): 561–573. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2006.0201.
Complete List
Articles
Research Articles (Journals)
- Anvari, T., Lappe, M., and de Lussanet, and M., H.E. . “Anvari,T., Lappe, M. and de Lussanet, M. H. E. (2025) Where Does Gaze Lead? Integrating Gaze and Motion for Enhanced 3D Pose Estimation, 2025 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), Saint Malo, France, 2025, pp. 76-83, doi: 10.1109/VRW66409.2025.00025, S. 1-8.” Virtual Reality 76: 1–8.
- Natrup, Jens, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H. E., Boström, Kim Joris, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Angular velocity around the longitudinal axis in combination with head movements of springboard divers during twisted somersaults.” Sports Biomechanics -. doi: 10.1080/14763141.2022.2032297.
- Hagenfeld, Lena, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H E, Boström, Kim J, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Planning catching movements: advantages of expertise, visibility and self-throwing.” Journal of Motor Behavior 2022: 1–10. doi: 10.1080/00222895.2021.2022591.
- Wagner, Heiko; Boström, Kim Joris; de Lussanet, Marc HE; de Graaf, Myriam Lauren; Puta, Christian; Mochizuki, Luis. . “Optimization reduces knee-joint forces during walking and squatting: Validating the inverse dynamics approach for full body movements on instrumented knee prostheses.” Motor Control 27 (2): 161–178. doi: 10.1123/mc.2021-0110.
- Zschorlich, Volker R. and Behrendt Frank and de Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H. E. . “Multimodal sensorimotor integration of visual and kinaesthetic afferents modulates motor circuits in humans.” Brain Sci. 2021: 429002.. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11020187.
- Natrup, Jens, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H.E., Boström, Kim Joris, Lappe, Markus, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Gaze, head and eye movements during somersaults with full twists.” Human Movement Science 75. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2020.102740.
- Söhnel, Katja, Andrada, Emanuel, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H. E., Wagner, Heiko, Fischer, Martin S., and Rode, Christian. . “Single limb dynamics of jumping turns in dogs.” Research in Veterinary Science 140: 69–78. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.08.003.
- Soehnel, Katja, Rode, Christian, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H. E., Wagner, Heiko, Fischer, Martin S., and and, Andrada Emanuel. . “Limb dynamics in agility jumps of beginner and advanced dogs.” Journal of Experimental Biology 223. doi: 10.1242/jeb.202119.
- Natrup, Jens, Bramme, Jana, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H.E., Boström, Kim Joris, Lappe, Markus, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Gaze behavior of trampoline gymnasts during a back tuck somersault.” Human Movement Science 70. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2020.102589.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière, and Marc, HE. . “Opposite asymmetries of face and trunk and of kissing and hugging, as predicted by the axial twist hypothesis.” PeerJ 7 (e7096). doi: 10.7717/peerj.7096.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière, Marc, HE, Frank, Behrendt, and Volker, RZschorlich. . “The mirror system and postural control confirmed. Comment on Lehner et al. (2017): dynamic control rather than pain representation.” Research Gate 2019: 1–3. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10119.34728.
- Mühlbeier, Andreas, Boström, Kim Joris, Kalthoff, Wolfram, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière, Marc, HE, Kraaijenbrink, Cassandra, Hagenfeld, Lena, Castro, William, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Neck muscle responses of driver and front seat passenger during frontal-oblique collisions.” PloS one 13 (12): 1–20. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209753.
- Slupinski, Lena, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Wagner, Heiko. . “Analyzing the kinematics of hand movements in catching tasks—An online correction analysis of movement toward the target’s trajectory.” Behavior Research Methods 2018 (50): 2316–2324. doi: 10.3758/s13428-017-0995-2.
- Eils, E, Cañal-Bruland, R, Sieverding, L, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Zentgraf, K. . “Vision adds to haptics when dyads perform a whole-body joint balance task.” Experimental Brain Research 235: 1–14. doi: 10.1007/s00221-017-4952-1.
- Dirksen, T, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, Zentgraf, K, Slupinski, L, and Wagner, H. . “Increased throwing accuracy improves children’s catching performance in a ball-catching task from the movement assessment battery (MABC-2).” Frontiers in Psychology 7 (1122). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01122.
- Schücker, L, Fleddermann, MT, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, Elischer, J, Böhmer, C, and Zentgraf, K. . “Focusing attention on circular pedaling reduces movement economy in cycling.” Psychology of Sport and Exercise 27: 9–17. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.07.002.
- Behrendt, F, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, Zentgraf, K, and Zschorlich, V. . “Motor-evoked potentials in the lower back are modulated by visual perception of lifted weight.” PloS one 11 (6:e0157811): 1–13. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157811.
- Querfurth, S, Schücker, L, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Zentgraf, K. . “An internal focus leads to longer quiet eye durations in novice dart players.” Frontiers in Psychology 7: 1–11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00633.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Comment on ‘Cortical folding scales universally with surface area and thickness, not number of neurons’.” Science 351 (6275): 825–a.. doi: 10.1126/science.aad0127.
- Bolte, B, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Lappe, M. . “Virtual reality system for the enhancement of mobility in patients with chronic back pain. In: Pareto, L., Sharkey, P.M., and Merrick, J. (Eds.) Technology, Rehabilitation and Empowerment of People with Special Needs - Proc. 10th Intl Conf. Disability, Virtual Reality & Associated Technologies, Gothenburg, Sweden. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA. pp.47-60.” Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA. pp.47-60. 1: 47–60.
- Lappe, M, Wittinghofer, K, and de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Perception of biological motion from size-invariant body representations.” Front. Integr. Neurosci. 9 (24): 1–8. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2015.00024.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Boström, KJ. . “Novel explanation for the scaling of volume and surface of the mammalian cerebrum.” PeerJ PrePrints 3: e1518.. doi: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.239v2.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Osse, JWM. . “Decussation as an axial twist: A comment on Kinsbourne (2013).” Neuropsychology 29 (5): 713–714. doi: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.432v2.
- Boström, KJ, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, Weiss, T, Puta, C, and Wagner, H. . “A computational model unifies apparently contradictory findings concerning phantom pain.” Scientific Reports 4. doi: 10.1038/srep05298.
- Behrendt, F, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Wagner, H. . “Observing a movement correction during walking affects evoked responses but not unperturbed walking.” PloS one 9 (8): e104981.. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104981.
- Theusner, S, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, and Lappe, M. . “Action recognition by motion detection in posture space.” Journal of Neuroscience 34 (3): 909–921. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.2900-13.2014.
- Behrendt, F, Wagner, H, and de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Phase-dependent reflex modulation in tibialis anterior during passive viewing of walking.” Acta Psychologica 142 (3): 343–348. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.01.001.
- Boström, Kim Joris, Wagner, Heiko, Prieske, Markus, and de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H E. . “Model for a flexible motor memory based on a self-active recurrent neural network.” Human Movement Science 32 (5): 880–898. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2013.07.003.
- Liebetrau, A, Puta, C, Anders, C, de, Lussanet de la Sabloniere MHE, and Wagner, H. . “Influence of delayed muscle reflexes on spinal stability. Model-based predictions allow alternative interpretations of experimental data.” Human Movement Science 32 (5): 954–970. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2013.03.006.
- Ritter, A, Weiss, T, Franz, M, and de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Brain activity for visual judgment of lifted weight.” Human Movement Science 32 (5): 924–937. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2013.06.001.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE, Behrendt, F, Puta, C, Schulte, TL, Lappe, M, Weiss, T, and Wagner, H. . “Impaired visual perception of hurtful actions in patients with chronic low back pain.” Human Movement Science 32 (5): 938–953. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2013.05.002.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H E. . “The human and mammalian cerebrum scale by computational power and information resistance.” arXiv q-bio.NC.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, and Osse, JW M. . “An ancestral axial twist explains the contralateral forebrain and the optic chiasm in vertebrates.” Animal Biology 62 (2): 193–216. doi: 10.1163/157075611X617102.
- Wilmer, A, de, Lussanet M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Time-delayed mutual information of the phase as a measure of functional connectivity.” PloS one 7 (9): e44633.. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044633.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, Behrendt, F, Puta, C, Weiss, T, Lappe, M, Schulte, TL, and Wagner, H. . “A body-part-specific impairment in the visual recognition of actions in chronic pain patients.” Pain 153 (7): 1459–1466. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.04.002.
- Wagner, Heiko, Liebetrau, Anne, Schinowski, David, Wulf, Thomas, and de, Lussanet de la Sablonière Marc H E. . “Spinal lordosis optimizes the requirements for a stable erect posture.” Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling 9 (13). doi: 10.1186/1742-4682-9-13.
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Depth perception from point-light biological motion displays.” Journal of Vision 2012 (12/11/14): "1"–"12".
- Wittinghofer, K, de, Lussanet de la Sablonière M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Local-to-global form interference in biological motion perception.” Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 74 (4): 730–738. doi: 10.3758/s13414-011-0262-z.
- Theusner, S, de, Lussanet M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Adaptation to biological motion leads to a motion and a form aftereffect.” Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics 73: 1843–1855.
- de, Lussanet M H E. . “A hexamer origin of the echinoderms’ five rays.” Evolution & Development 13 (2): 228–238. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2011.00472.x.
- Wittinghofer, K, de, Lussanet M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Category-specific interference of object recognition with biological motion perception.” Journal of Vision 10 (13:16): 1–11. doi: 10.1167/10.13.16..
- Wilmer, A., de Lussanet, M.H. E., and Lappe, M. . “A method for the estimation of functional brain connectivity from time-series data.” Cognitive Neurodynamics 4 (2): 133–149. doi: 10.1007/s11571-010-9107-z.
- Kuhlmann, S, de, Lussanet M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Perception of limited-lifetime biological motion from different viewpoints.” Journal of Vision 9 (10:11): 1–14. doi: 10.1167/9.10.11..
- Lange, J, de, Lussanet M H E, Kuhlmann, S, Zimmermann, A, Lappe, M, Zwitserlood, P, and Dobel, C. . “Impairment of biological motion perception in congenital prosopagnosia.” PloS one 4 (10): e7414. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007414.
- de, Lussanet M H E, Fadiga, L, Michels, L, Seitz, RJ, Kleiser, R, and Lappe, M. . “Interaction of visual hemifield and body view in biological motion perception.” European Journal of Neuroscience 27: 514–522. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.06009.x.
- de, Lussanet M H E, and Muller, M. . “The smaller your mouth, the longer your snout: predicting the snout length of Syngnathus acus, Centriscus scutatus and other pipette feeders.” Interface 4 (14): 561–573. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2006.0201.
- de, Lussanet M H E, Smeets, JB J, and Brenner, E. . “The quantitative use of velocity information in fast interception.” Experimental Brain Research 157 (2): 181–196. doi: 10.1007/s00221-004-1832-2.
- Brenner, E, de, Lussanet M H E, and Smeets, JB J. . “Independent control of acceleration and direction of the hand when hitting moving targets.” Spatial Vision 15 (2): 129–140. doi: 10.1.1.23.2612.
- de, Lussanet M H E, Smeets, JB J, and Brenner, E. . “Relative damping improves linear mass-spring models of goal-directed movements.” Human Movement Science 21 (1): 85–100.
- De, Lussanet M H E, Smeets, JB J, and Brenner, E. . “The relation between task history and movement strategy.” Behavioural Brain Research 129 (1-2): 51–59.
- de, Lussanet M H E, Smeets, JB J, and Brenner, E. . “The effect of expectations on hitting moving targets: Influence of the preceding target's speed.” Experimental Brain Research 137 (2): 246–248. doi: 10.1007/s002210000607.
- Brenner, E, Smeets, JB J, and de, Lussanet M H E. . “Hitting moving targets. Continuous control of the acceleration of the hand on the basis of the target's velocity.” Experimental Brain Research 122 (4): 467–474.
- de, Lussanet M H E, and Alexander, RM. . “A simple model for fast planar arm movements; Optimising mechanical activation and moment-arms of uniarticular and biarticular arm muscles.” Journal of Theoretical Biology 184 (2): 187–201. doi: 10.1006/jtbi.1996.0278.
Research Article in Edited Proceeding (Conference)
- de, Lussanet M H E, and Muller, M. . “Why do pipefishes have a long snout?” in Biona Reports, 13, edited by R Blickhan. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag.
Research Article (Book Contributions)
- de Lussanet de la Sablonière, MHE. . “The hexamer hypothesis explains apparent irregularities in the plating of early and extant crinoids.” in Progress in Echinoderm Palaeobiology, Spain, edited by S Zamora, Rábano and I.. Madrid: Selbstverlag / Eigenverlag.
- de, Lussanet M H E, and Lappe, M. . “Bistable alternation of point-light biological motion.” in Advances in Cognitive Neurodynamics, edited by R Wang and F Gu. Springer VDI Verlag. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9695-1_66.
- Smeets, JB J, Brenner, E, de, Lussanet, and M, HE. . “Visuomotor delays when hitting running spiders.” in EWEP 5 - Advances in perception-action coupling., edited by B Bril, A Ledebt, G Ditrich and A Roby-Brami. Paris: Éditions EDK.
Entry in an Encyclopedia (Book Contribution)
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière MHE. . “Kontralateralität des Vorderhirns.” in de, edited by Wikipedia.
AbstractThesis (Doctoral or Postdoctoral)
- de, Lussanet M H E. . “The control of interceptive arm movements.” Dissertation thesis, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
Other Scientific Publication
- de, Lussanet de la Sablonière, and Marc, HE. . Periodic Mean Subtraction For Hum Noise GitHub.
Supervised Doctoral Studies
- Tolentino-Castro, José Walter (): Movement recognition and motor behavior of persons with intellectual disabilities
- Further Supervisor
- Wagner, Heiko
- Behrendt, Frank (): Sensomotorische Interaktionen mit der Wahrnehmung menschlicher Bewegung: Wie chronischer Rückenschmerz die Wahrnehmung von Rückenbewegungen stört und die Kontrolle von Reflexen beeinflusst
- Wittinghofer, Karin (): Interference and Invariance in Biological Motion Processing