Postural Control Priorities and Effective Motor Learning

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Background

Postural control is the matured ability to establish or restore one's balance in any position or during any motor activity. Previous studies on postural control and motor learning have shed light on how the central nervous system acquires, adjusts, and learns postural behaviors. However, interpreting these controlled behaviors presents challenges when conflicting postural control priorities arise. These include the trade-off between stability and flexibility, automatic versus voluntary control, and inherent versus compensatory mechanisms.

The adaptation of posture to environmental stimuli relies on sensory domains such as visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, or tactile feedback. Understanding postural control priorities will contribute to developing effective and personalized motor learning approaches for healthy individuals of different ages, as well as for rehabilitation and promoting daily healthy living in individuals with neurological diseases.

Research aiming to understand postural control priorities, which refers to individual preferences in postural control developed through adaptation to the environment, takes various forms. For instance, Kluzik et al. (2005) reported an inclined postural alignment in approximately half of the participants with eyes closed after standing on a tilting board when returning to a horizontal surface. This post-incline learning after-effect suggests a preferential reliance on proprioceptive somatosensory information for postural orientation over graviceptive somatosensory or vestibular information. Therefore, the effective learning approach for postural orientation may differ between learners and non-learners.

This Research Topic seeks to delve deeper into the interpretation of controlled behaviors focusing on postural control priorities to develop more effective learning approaches. The objective of this Research topic is twofold: 1) Establish an openly available resource that provides current evidence on postural control priorities, and 2) guide future investigations exploring the impact of postural control priorities on effective motor learning. Multidisciplinary approaches including biomedical engineering, neurophysiology, and computational neuroscience are encouraged as they are crucial to enhance understanding in this field.

The aim of this Research Topic is to advance discussions on recent advances, technologies, solutions, applications, and emerging challenges in the realm of postural control priorities and motor learning. Contributions are welcome not only for healthy subjects but also for individuals with balance dysfunction, including conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebellar ataxia, and cognitive impairments.

Original research, reviews, case reports, and short articles are invited for submission in this special issue. Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:
1. Research exploring kinematic characteristics and neural mechanisms of postural control priorities and motor learning.
2. Novel approaches to enhance postural motor learning, including exercise interventions.
3. Methodologies for assessing postural control priorities and postural motor learning.
4. Review articles that explore the mechanisms of motor learning and postural control priorities in healthy individuals and those with balance dysfunction.

Keywords: Postural Control, Motor Learning, Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebellar Ataxia, and Cognitive Impairments

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.

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