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motor skills

·September 21, 2016·4 min read

Prenatal Stress Accelerates Growth and Inhibits the Motoric Development of Unborn Monkeys

A new study using non-human primates found infants of mothers who were stressed during pregnancy grew faster but had slower motor development than their peers.

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·October 18, 2021·3 min read

Reactivating Memories During Sleep Improves Motor Skills

Performance of newly acquired motor skills can be improved by reactivating memories during sleep, a new study finds.

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·September 14, 2017·3 min read

Reactivating Visual Memories is a New Alternative to ‘Practice Makes Perfect’

Repeated, extensive practice can be replaced by brief memory reactivation to help boost learning, a new study reports.

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·November 27, 2020·5 min read

Real-World Neuroscience Experiments Show Diversity in Learning New Motor Skills

Researchers found the whole body changes as we learn new movement-based skills.

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·October 27, 2019·4 min read

Researchers Teach Rats to Drive

Researchers have trained rats to drive "rodent operated vehicles." The rats were able to navigate the vehicle in unique ways and utilized novel steering patterns to find rewards. The findings reveal rats' brains are more flexible than previously thought. Exploring how rats perform complex tasks may shed light on a range of mental health conditions and cognitive impairments.

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·November 19, 2021·4 min read

Scientists Key In on Brain’s Mechanism for Singing and Learning

Specialized brain cells associated with the neural process of learning in songbirds bear a striking resemblance to neurons associated with the development of fine motor control in humans.

Image shows a cartoon of a person multitasking.

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·June 21, 2017·4 min read

The Brain Mechanism Behind Multitasking

Reactivating a learned memory is key to our ability to multitask, researchers report.

Image shows a drawing of a brain in a chef hat, holding a frying pan.

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·March 4, 2017·3 min read

The Chef’s Brain

Researchers report a chef's skills and expertise are embodied in the cerebellum, an area of the brain associated with motor function and cognition.

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·August 16, 2017·3 min read

Therapeutic Cocktail Could Restore Motor Skills after Spinal Cord Injury and Stroke

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have developed a therapeutic cocktail of molecules that restored fine motor skills in mice with spinal cord injuries. When applied to mice who had experienced stroke symptoms, researchers observed increased axon sprouting in subcortical areas.

a cartoon of a boy and girl throwing a ball

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·June 5, 2018·5 min read

Throw Like a Girl? No, He or She Hasn’t Been Taught

Researchers say many children, especially girls, aren't taught basic motor skills like throwing or running. The researchers are developing an improved movement curriculum to increase motor skill competence in preschool aged children.

This shows a person making a metal bag, using hand tools

Featured Neuroscience

·November 13, 2021·5 min read

Tool Use and Language Skills Are Linked in the Brain: Practicing One Improves the Other

Fine motor skills utilized by using tools engage parts of the brain similar to those mobilized when we think about the construction of a sentence, researchers report.