Résumé
Dr. Eric Roy’s apraxia research (i.e., a disorder of learned, skilled purposeful movement) is distinguished and internationally recognized by both basic and clinician scientists. In fact, Dr. Roy’s collaborative research with clinician Dr. Sandra Black provided important advancements in the diagnosis and identification of apraxia. This presentation will focus on three facets of Dr. Roy’s apraxia research. First, I will discuss how Dr. Roy’s understanding of the kinematics of reaching and grasping led to the development of a multi-dimensional scoring system that advanced the resolution of apraxia diagnosis beyond simple gesture recognition systems. Second, Dr. Roy’s research employed gesture pantomime and imitation evaluation to understand distinct pathways to action and to better understand apraxia typologies (e.g., ideational vs. ideomotor). Third, Dr. Roy’s career-long interest in manual performance and preference asymmetries translated to his apraxia research and provided an evidence-based approach indicating distinct apraxic movement deficits arising from unilateral left and right hemisphere stroke. This approach in movement disorders stimulated interest and continuing discoveries among Dr. Roy’s graduate students pursuing research in theoretical, experimental and clinical neuropsychology/neurology.