When we learn a new motor skill—whether mastering a piano passage or refining balance while walking—the brain must reorganize the circuits that control movement. For decades, this process of synaptic ...

Anyone who’s ever learned music probably remembers reaching a point when they just played without “thinking” about the notes. It turns out that a little bit of disconnect goes a long way in learning ...

Researchers have discovered that the dorsal premotor cortex serves a 'meta-learning' function, overseeing and regulating physical movements. Once believed to be limited to movement planning, this ...

A new research study has examined the results from data generated by citizen scientists using a simple web-based motor test. The big data approach provides researchers with a unique way to explore how ...

Aya Takeoka at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan and colleagues have discovered the neural circuitry in the spinal cord that allows brain-independent motor learning. Published in ...

A research team at the University of Osaka has identified a crucial brain region involved in motor learning during reaching movements. The parvocellular division of the red nucleus, a small but ...

A new study has identified a marker in the brain that controls the ability to reach and grasp, a fundamental fine motor skill that is often impaired in motor or neural injuries such as a stroke. The ...

For nearly a century, scientists have recognized that different regions of the brain’s cortex are responsible for controlling various body movements. This understanding dates back to the 1930s, when ...