Research Project Doctoral Candidate 08

Bridging variability and adaptability in older adults: a cornerstone for a better understanding and preventing the effects of aging in motor control

 

Fellow

Julia Jakubowska

 

Host Institution

Aix-Marseille University, Institute of Movement Science

 

Supervisors

Prof. Dr. Jean-Jacques Temprado

Dr. Rita Sleimen-Malkoun

 

Project description

This research adopts a complex systems approach to systematically investigate motor and physiological variability and its functional link to behavioural adaptability in varied populations (young, healthy older adults with different physical activity levels, patients). These issues will be addressed by studying bimanual coordination through both experimental paradigms and computational modelling. The project will contribute to the extension of existing models of systems dynamics to account for changes in magnitude and temporal structure of motor variability and in behavioural dynamics occurring in populations with impaired adaptive capacities.

The specific objectives of this project are: (1) map the changes in motor and physiological variability across the adult lifespan, (2) understand how fluctuation patterns and coordination dynamics are affected by physical activity, task conditions and functional status, and investigate how they relate to individual adaptive capacities. As main outcomes, we aim to provide sensitive markers of adaptive capacity based on motor and physiological variability, as well as insights into the origins of behavioural changes occurring across different aging trajectories.

 

(Planned) Secondments

Stichting Sint Maartenskliniek

LIME medical GmbH

Project updates

October 2025

My project investigates the relationship between behavioural variability and adaptability using a bimanual coordination task paradigm (see the picture below). The research involves four studies that integrate experimental methods, computational modelling, and data analysis. Currently, I have started the first study, which focuses mostly on data analysis, while two experimental studies are in the preparation stage.

October 2025

On 17-19 October 2025, I participated in the XIII edition of "Aspects of Neuroscience" at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland. During the event, I had the opportunity to co-deliver a keynote lecture together with my supervisor, Prof. Jean-Jacques Temprado, titled “When Physics Meets Neuroscience: A Dynamical Systems Approach to (Loss of) Motor Adaptability During Aging.”This was my first keynote presentation and an important milestone in my research journey.

In addition, I presented a poster entitled “Effects of Metronomes with Different Stochastic Properties on Motor Variability and Adaptability in Bimanual Coordination in Aging,” which provided a more detailed overview of the current progress and future directions of my PhD project.