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motor control

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·October 6, 2024·3 min read

Hearing Loss Disrupts Speech Coordination

A recent study reveals that hearing plays a vital role in coordinating speech movements. Researchers found that when individuals briefly couldn't hear their own speech, their ability to control their jaw and tongue movements declined.

This shows a person standing still at a crosswalk.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 2, 2024·7 min read

Stop! Neural Mechanisms for Halting Identified

Scientists have identified two neural mechanisms, "Walk-OFF" and "Brake," that control stopping behavior in fruit flies. Using optogenetics, they activated specific neurons to halt fly movement under red light. These mechanisms are context-dependent, with "Walk-OFF" controlling stopping during feeding and "Brake" during grooming.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 26, 2024·7 min read

How Reflexes Shape Smooth Movement

Researchers have uncovered how the spinal cord helps modulate reflexes to allow for smooth, voluntary movements. Using simulations, the study shows how circuits within the spinal cord regulate stretch reflexes, preventing disruptions during skilled movements like reaching.

This shows a brain and a person playing piano.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 26, 2024·4 min read

Study Links Hippocampus to Control of Skilled Movements

The hippocampus, traditionally linked to memory, also plays a crucial role in skilled actions like typing, handwriting, and playing music. This study challenges the long-held belief that motor skills are exclusively managed by motor regions like the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·December 10, 2022·5 min read

Proprioception: Describing the Genes Associated With the Sixth Sense

Study identifies genetic markers in cells associated with proprioception. The findings provide new clues about how proprioceptive sensory neurons help control movement.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 26, 2022·5 min read

Brain Region’s Role in Mind-Body Communication Confirmed

The subthalamic nucleus in the brain communicates with the motor system to help the body stop an action, researchers confirm.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 17, 2022·5 min read

A Smart Jumpsuit Tracks Infants’ Motor Development

A newly designed baby jumpsuit that monitors motor development carries the possibility for assessing overall neurodevelopment in infants.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·June 8, 2022·6 min read

Three Distinct Brain Circuits in the Thalamus Contribute to Parkinson’s Symptoms

Neurons in the parafascicular thalamus project to three different parts of the basal ganglia. Targeting these circuits could be a new target for treating motor dysfunction and depression associated with Parkinson's disease.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 6, 2022·5 min read

Babies Exposed to COVID in the Womb Show Neurodevelopmental Changes

Babies whose mothers contracted COVID-19 while pregnant had greater difficulties relaxing and adapting their bodies while being held than those whose mothers did not contract covid. Additionally, babies born to infected mothers had greater difficulty in controlling their head and shoulder movements. Findings suggest prenatal COVID-19 infection may impact motor function development in babies.