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Engagement and impact in Brain and Behaviour
We combine insights from cognitive science, vision research, eye‑movement analysis, and neuroscience to gain a detailed picture of how movement develops, adapts, and sometimes breaks down.
Our mission is to turn this scientific understanding into real‑world impact, informing better therapies, smarter training methods, and new ways to support people of all ages in moving with confidence, skill, and independence.
The BASES Expert Statement on the Effectiveness of Vision Training Programmes
This statement clarifies what vision training can genuinely achieve and where its limits lie. It helps the public, coaches, and clinicians distinguish evidence‑based methods from unsupported commercial claims. By promoting task‑specific, real‑world visual training, it supports safer, more effective practice across sport and rehabilitation.
This invited review celebrates the contribution that the American Journal of Psychology (AJP) has made to the area of perceptual-motor skill over its 125-year history. We highlight the articles published in AJP and trace the technical and theoretical developments that stem from this groundbreaking work. We conclude by identifying a number of areas associated with perceptual-motor skill where AJP continues to make an important contribution.
Evidence to support environmental adaptations to reduce risk of falls
Prof Mark Hollands’ research on riser and going size was cited as evidence in the final report produced for the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The consultancy undertaking the review drew directly on his findings when assessing stair design considerations for future policy and guidance.
Mark’s research was also cited by the National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia. The government public health report provides an evidence-based guideline on falls in older adults, combining national health statistics, risk factor analysis, and recommendations for prevention and healthcare policy.
Secondary impacts of COVID-19
Prof Mark Hollands’ research on how face coverings affect vision, balance and the risk of falls was used as an evidence source in policy guidance produced by the Health Quality & Safety Commission of the New Zealand Government. His findings informed the Commission’s review of the wider consequences of COVID‑19 control measures, contributing to their assessment of how mask‑wearing influences mobility and safety in everyday environments.
This book presents the constraints‑led approach, a major framework in motor learning and control. It explains how coordination and skill emerge from interactions among the learner, the task, and the environment.
It integrates neural, behavioural, and psychological levels of analysis and provides applied guidance for coaching, teaching, and rehabilitation.
is widely used as an upper‑level textbook in human movement science, sport science, and physical education
is influential in shifting practice toward ecological dynamics and nonlinear pedagogy
provides case studies and research spotlights that have shaped practitioner education
has over 1900 citations
Movement System Variability
Keith Davids, Simon Bennett and Karl Newell
This edited volume synthesises research on variability in human movement, arguing that variability is not noise but a functional and adaptive feature of motor behaviour. It spans biomechanics, motor control, development, ageing, and clinical applications.
helped reframe variability as a core principle in motor control and rehabilitation
is influential across biomechanics, physiotherapy, and sport science for understanding stability, adaptability, and performance
Development of Movement Coordination in Children
Geert Savelsbergh, Keith Davids, John van der Kamp and Simon Bennett
This book examines how children develop coordination across basic and complex skills (e.g., walking, reaching, throwing, kicking).
It integrates five major theoretical perspectives: neural maturation, information processing, direct perception, dynamic systems, and constraints theory. It includes applied chapters across ergonomics, health sciences, and sport.
is a foundational text in developmental motor science, used by researchers, educators, and clinicians
highlights both typical and atypical development, influencing approaches to paediatric motor assessment and intervention
Interceptive Actions in Sport: Information and Movement
Keith Davids, Geert Savelsbergh, Simon Bennett and John van der Kamp
This book provides the first comprehensive review of dynamic interceptive actions; Skills requiring precise timing and positioning, such as catching, striking, and tackling. It covers theoretical foundations and practical applications across vision, proprioception, expertise, and learning.
is influential in sport psychology, coaching science, and perceptual‑motor research
has helped establish interceptive action as a key domain for studying perception–action coupling
Blog posts or articles
VR in the preparation of Olympic athletes
Prof Simon Bennett collaborated on a research project with partners at Université Rennes 2, to study the benefits of virtual‑reality training for elite boxers of the French national team at the 2024 Olympic Games.
The project has been featured by major French online media outlets, including France 3, Ouest‑France and France Inter, each highlighting how athletes engage with realistic virtual opponents to rehearse anticipation, timing and defensive strategies in a controlled setting.
Testing England Cricket athletes: performance and vision
BBSRC funded scientists at the University of Bradford, Liverpool John Moores University and University of St Andrews worked with elite athletes including the England Women’s Cricket team to study how vision may contribute to excellence in sport. As well as studying if superior vision gives top athletes an edge, possibly because great eyesight can give them more time to react, the project helped understand how vision and skills can be developed could help create new ways to deal with injuries or disease.
Top-10 Author on Visual Performance and Sport
In a review of 667 articles that address sports vision, Prof Simon Bennettt appears in the top 10 of authors in the world for the number of articles published about athletes in sports including baseball, soccer, basketball, and cricket. This builds on Prof Bennett’s funded research by Nike Plc to study vision and perception in Premier League football players, which featured in major UK online media outlets, including the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Science Daily.
