However, the neural system evolved along with the complex mechanical structures of the body; therefore, some of these computational mechanisms may even be encoded at lower levels such as in spinal circuitry (Bizzi et al., 2008). Although this review focuses primarily on the algorithmic part of sensorimotor control, we believe that the important open questions are where and how these computational algorithms

are implemented in the neural structures. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust. “
“The acquisition and long-term retention of motor skills play a fundamental role in our daily lives. Skills such as writing, playing golf, or riding a bicycle are all acquired through repetitive practice. Motor skill learning refers to the process by which

movements are executed Fulvestrant more quickly and accurately with practice (Willingham, 1998). Our understanding of the neural substrates underlying the acquisition and retention of motor skills has been boosted in recent years, owing in a large part to technological and methodological advances in neuroimaging, EX527 as well as in noninvasive brain stimulation in humans, coupled with dramatic new insights emerging from animal studies both in vivo and in vitro, providing additional information about the recruitment of specific neuronal circuits during the various stages of motor skill learning. This work has overall demonstrated a strong link between see more acquisition of motor skills and neuronal plasticity at cortical and subcortical levels in the central nervous system that evolves over time and engages different spatially distributed interconnected brain regions. Here, we review novel findings reflecting functional and structural plasticity associated with the acquisition, consolidation, and long-term retention of motor skills in humans and experimental animals while identifying points of convergence and dispute.

A variety of tasks and experimental paradigms have been used for studying motor skill learning, including juggling, visuomotor tracking, and isometric force-production tasks, to name a few. Of particular relevance to the current review are studies of tasks that require practice of sequential movements: tapping skills like typing or playing various musical instruments. Here, our main focus is on learning sequential motor skills that show lasting improvements beyond baseline performance over lengthy periods of time. Another model for studying motor learning, which does not necessarily involve the acquisition of a new skill, has been adaptation to externally induced perturbations, such as those induced by a force field (dynamic adaptation) or by visuomotor rotations (visuomotor adaptation). These perturbations are more commonly introduced while subjects execute simple motor tasks, for instance, point-to-point ballistic reaching movements (Krakauer, 2009, Shadmehr et al., 2010, Seidler, 2010 and Lalazar and Vaadia, 2008).