Research
Scientists learned how to control physical movements by turning on just 20 individual cells inside the brain
Earth.com · By Eric Ralls ·
The Brief
- Scientists reported controlling physical movements by activating just 20 individual cells in the brain.
- The study concerns the motor cortex, where a pattern of activity appears each time a learned movement is performed.
- It is debated whether that cortical activity produces the movement or only echoes commands issued elsewhere.
Why it matters
The result bears on a long-running question about whether motor cortex activity directly generates movement, which matters for understanding motor control and brain-based interventions.
Who’s affected
- neuroscientists studying motor control
- #neuroscience
- #motor cortex
- #brain stimulation
- #movement control
Learning a tennis serve or a piano scale leaves a mark in the brain. It’s a pattern of activity that plays out across the motor cortex every time the movement runs. Does that pattern produce the movement, or just echo orders issued somewhere else? Scientists have argued over this…