About this Research Topic
This Research Topic is inspired by the 2018 Course of the School of Brain Cells and Circuits and is dedicated to multiscale investigation and modeling of the motor system.
Motor control is a fundamental function that characterizes the animal kingdom and has driven brain evolution toward cognition. Therefore, understanding motor control is a fundamental step for understanding how the whole brain is organized and operates. The Research Topic addresses the fundamental brain structures of vertebrates that are involved in motor control, which includes the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, the cerebellum, as well as brain stem and spinal cord. Special attention is also given to pathologies emerging from dysfunctions of the motor system. Different aspects of motor control can be addressed at the level of cellular physiology, computational modeling and integrated brain signals using electrophysiological techniques and magnetic resonance imaging. Mathematical modeling can also be considered for its effectiveness in tackling motor control problems and for explaining the function of the system across multiple complexity scales.
By bringing together different scientific communities and offering advanced teaching sessions and discussion panels on key topics, the Research Topic will foster future research in the field and will make a strong methodological case on how multiscale experimental and modeling approaches can be integrated in order to explain how the brain operates.
Motor control is a fundamental function that characterizes the animal kingdom and has driven brain evolution toward cognition. Therefore, understanding motor control is a fundamental step for understanding how the whole brain is organized and operates. The Research Topic addresses the fundamental brain structures of vertebrates that are involved in motor control, which includes the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, the cerebellum, as well as brain stem and spinal cord. Special attention is also given to pathologies emerging from dysfunctions of the motor system. Different aspects of motor control can be addressed at the level of cellular physiology, computational modeling and integrated brain signals using electrophysiological techniques and magnetic resonance imaging. Mathematical modeling can also be considered for its effectiveness in tackling motor control problems and for explaining the function of the system across multiple complexity scales.
By bringing together different scientific communities and offering advanced teaching sessions and discussion panels on key topics, the Research Topic will foster future research in the field and will make a strong methodological case on how multiscale experimental and modeling approaches can be integrated in order to explain how the brain operates.
Keywords: motor control, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, modeling, brain imaging, spinal cord, brain stem, cellular neurophysiology, system neurophysiology, ataxia, Parkinson disesase, movement disorders
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
