David Ostry

David J. Ostry is an engineer and neuroscientist whose research focuses on human motor control. He is a professor of Psychology at McGill University and a senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut. His areas of expertise include motor control and motor learning, speech production and biomechanical modeling. His research at Haskins Laboratories focuses on somatosensory function in speech. The aim is to understand how somatosensory inputs are used in both speech learning and control and to assess their possible influences on speech perception.

Representative Publications

 * Ostry, D. J., Gribble, P. L., & Gracco, V. L. (1996). Coarticulation of jaw movements in speech production: Is context sensitivity in speech kinematics centrally planned? The Journal of Neuroscience, 16(4), 1570-1579.
 * Gribble, P.L. and Ostry, D.J. (1996) Origins of the power law relation between movement velocity and curvature: Modeling the effects of muscle mechanics and limb dynamics. Journal of Neurophysiology, 76, 2853-2860.
 * Laboissière, R., Ostry, D.J. and Feldman, A.G. (1996) The control of multi-muscle systems: Human jaw and hyoid movements. Biological Cybernetics, 74, 373-384.
 * Gribble P.L., Ostry D.J., Sanguineti V. and Laboissière R. (1998). Are complex control signals required for human arm movement? Journal of Neurophysiology, 79: 1409-1424.
 * Gribble, P.L. and Ostry, D.J. (1999) Compensation for interaction torques during single and multi-joint limb movements. Journal of Neurophysiology, 82, 2310-2326.
 * Gribble P.L. and Ostry D.J. (2000). Compensation for loads during arm movements using equilibrium-point control. Experimental Brain Research, 135: 474-82.
 * Petitto L.A., Holowka S, Sergio L.E. and Ostry D.J. (2001). Language rhythms in baby hand movements. Nature, 413: 35-6.
 * Shiller, D.M., Laboissière, R. and Ostry, D.J. (2002) Relationship between jaw stiffness and kinematic variability in speech. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88, 2329-2340.
 * Tremblay S., Shiller D.M. and Ostry D.J. (2003). Somatosensory basis of speech production. Nature, 423: 866-869.
 * Ostry D.J. and Feldman A.G. (2003). A critical evaluation of the force control hypothesis in motor control. Experimental Brain Research, 221: 275-288.
 * Darainy, M., Malfait, N., Gribble, P.L., Towhidkhah, F. and Ostry, D.J. (2004) Learning to control arm impedance in statics. Journal of Neurophysiology, 92: 3344-3350.
 * Malfait N., and Ostry D.J. (2004). Is interlimb transfer of force-field adaptation a "cognitive" response to the sudden introduction of load? Journal of Neuroscience, 24: 8084-8089.
 * Malfait, N., Gribble, P.L. and Ostry, D.J. (2005) Generalization of motor learning based on multiple field exposures and local adaptation. Journal of Neurophysiology, 93: 3327-3338.
 * Shiller D.M., Houle G. and Ostry D.J. (2005). Voluntary control of human jaw stiffness. Journal of Neurophysiology, 94: 2207-2217.
 * Nasir S. M. and Ostry D. J. (2006). Somatosensory precision in speech production. Current Biology, 16: 1918–1923.
 * Mattar A. A. G. and Ostry D. J. (2007). Neural averaging in motor learning. Journal of Neurophysiology. 97: 220-228.