The laboratory extensively studies the problem of head motion in functional MRI (fMRI) and anatomical MRI. For example, movement of the head during an fMRI examination introduces "artifact" signals that can potentially degrade data quality and substantially confound the interpretation of brain activity. Motion artifacts are more likely in patient populations, and robust strategies are required that suppress the problem so that medical applications of fMRI can be made practical. Work on this theme has explored several different suppression strategies, including a) careful characterization of head motion during motor tasks in stroke patients, and development of behavioural tasks that produce less head motion during fMRI; b) development of "fMRI simulators", or realistic mock-ups of MRI systems that can be used to optimize experimental design or to train individuals to remain still prior to scanning; and c) use of optical position tracking systems that measure head motion at high temporal and spatial resolution. In particular, we have designed and constructed several such tracking systems for compatibility with the MRI environment, and demonstrated substantial reduction of motion artifact, by adaptively moving the scan plane as determined by the tracking data. This approach provides greatly enhanced image quality and will continue to be a subject of future investigations in the laboratory.