Lee Baugh

Phone no: (605) 658-6348
Email id: Lee.Baugh@usd.edu

Website

My research interests lie primarily within the cognitive and neuropsychological foundations of skilled movement, and deficits in such movement that arise from both healthy aging and neurological damage.

 Although we often describe the brain in terms of generating thoughts and ideas, without having the ability to act upon them, these cognitions would serve little purpose. I have had the opportunity to examine questions related to how our brain represents and utilizes the information required to successfully interact with our surroundings. Although we can program computers that rival a Jeopardy™ superstar or chess grandmaster, we have yet to program a robot that can match the dexterity of a small child. How the motor system is able to attain this level of skill is a fundamental issue in cognitive neuroscience, breaching the gaps between the brain, the mind, and the outside world. 

To address this diverse topic, I have adopted a multi-disciplinary approach that encompasses the more traditional cognitive and psychophysics methodologies, neuropsychological patient investigations, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms, electromyography (EMG), and the advanced analysis of three-dimensional kinematic data.