The human brain has developed to actively behave and interact with the surroundings. Cognitive processes are required during motor planning and execution to appropriately respond to environmental and task demands. In fact, a continuous updating of motor and cognitive behaviors is required to pursue goal-directed actions, especially in daily-life situations (e.g., avoiding an obstacle). This suggests that higher cognitive functions are understood as integrated sensorimotor processes. Cognitive performance can be measured with different methods such as questionnaires and imaging techniques, as well as through the objectification of the quality of the movement. The motor-cognitive integration can therefore provide important information about the complex brain architecture other than the planning and execution of the movement itself. Although higher human cognitive functions have been successfully studied for years through several imaging approaches, they present the great limitation of not being able to investigate cognition during movement.
As a result, several open questions regarding brain dynamics and the underlying complex motor and non-motor behaviors are still open. Today, scientific studies employ different simultaneous techniques aiming at grasping the neural complexity behind the realization of even simple coordinated movements. Indeed, non-invasive recording of human brain activity (e.g., EEG, fNIRS, fMRI) during active motor tasks has also been implemented to study the complexity of human-environment interaction. Although several pieces of research have already been conducted on motor behavior, many neural aspects related to the execution of the motor gesture are still unknown. This Research Topic is therefore aimed at collecting scientific contributions concerning the investigation of “cognition in action”.
On the basis of solid scientific proof, the submitted contributions will have to pursue the investigation of cognitive and neural processes underlying motor behaviors. Considering that non-invasive recordings of human brain dynamics during motor tasks may also have clinical implications, studies with neurological populations will be welcome.
The human brain has developed to actively behave and interact with the surroundings. Cognitive processes are required during motor planning and execution to appropriately respond to environmental and task demands. In fact, a continuous updating of motor and cognitive behaviors is required to pursue goal-directed actions, especially in daily-life situations (e.g., avoiding an obstacle). This suggests that higher cognitive functions are understood as integrated sensorimotor processes. Cognitive performance can be measured with different methods such as questionnaires and imaging techniques, as well as through the objectification of the quality of the movement. The motor-cognitive integration can therefore provide important information about the complex brain architecture other than the planning and execution of the movement itself. Although higher human cognitive functions have been successfully studied for years through several imaging approaches, they present the great limitation of not being able to investigate cognition during movement.
As a result, several open questions regarding brain dynamics and the underlying complex motor and non-motor behaviors are still open. Today, scientific studies employ different simultaneous techniques aiming at grasping the neural complexity behind the realization of even simple coordinated movements. Indeed, non-invasive recording of human brain activity (e.g., EEG, fNIRS, fMRI) during active motor tasks has also been implemented to study the complexity of human-environment interaction. Although several pieces of research have already been conducted on motor behavior, many neural aspects related to the execution of the motor gesture are still unknown. This Research Topic is therefore aimed at collecting scientific contributions concerning the investigation of “cognition in action”.
On the basis of solid scientific proof, the submitted contributions will have to pursue the investigation of cognitive and neural processes underlying motor behaviors. Considering that non-invasive recordings of human brain dynamics during motor tasks may also have clinical implications, studies with neurological populations will be welcome.
