Cognitive and sensory basis of motor learning

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This proposal requests funds for ongoing research into the neural control of human voluntary movement. The focus of my research program is to study the organization of central control signals for voluntary limb movement, and the neural, cognitive and sensory mechanisms underlying motor learning and sensory-motor adaptation. A combination of empirical and modeling studies are used to test hypotheses about how multi-joint limb movements are controlled and how motor learning is achieved. The studies outlined in this proposal are organized in two major themes: (1) Understanding the role of context in motor learning and (2) Effects of motor learning on sensory systems. The results of this research will add significantly to our knowledge of how the motor system is organized and how motor and sensory systems interact. This kind of knowledge may be useful in future efforts to understand the bases of sensory-motor deficits in brain damage, and may contribute to rational approaches to sensory-motor rehabilitation.