Brain Plasticity and Motor Control—3rd Edition

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Motor Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 1204

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON L1H 7K4, Canada
Interests: sensorimotor integration; neural adaptation and learning; neurophysiology of musculoskeletal treatments; chronic pain processing; neural effects of exercise
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Guest Editor
Human Neurophysiology Lab, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
Interests: neurophysiology; exercise; movement; neural control; motor control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Brain plasticity is critical for motor control and learning. Adaptive or beneficial plasticity leads to improved motor control and performance. In contrast, maladaptive plasticity may lead to impaired motor control and decreased motor performance.

Intrinsic factors such as cortical dominance or genetics may affect the inherent capacity for plasticity during the acquisition of new motor skills. Extrinsic factors such as altered sensory input (e.g., due to pain, deafferentation, and dysafferentation) have the capacity to impact brain plasticity in either adaptive ways that lead to enhanced motor control and learning or through  maladaptive ways that impair motor control and task performance. In order to understand how any given factor impacts brain plasticity and motor control, it is important to include experimental measures of brain plasticity (e.g., electroencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and functional magnetic resonance imaging), as well as performance measures of motor control, in the study design. A better understanding of brain plasticity and motor control can help to guide rehabilitation strategies, as well as helping to prevent situations that lead to maladaptive brain plasticity.

This Special Issue extends upon the first two editions in this series. It aims to collect articles that explore factors that impact the capacity for brain plasticity, both adaptive and maladaptive. These factors may be intrinsic factors or extrinsic. Both experimental studies and clinical studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Bernadette Murphy
Prof. Dr. Kevin Power
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • brain
  • neuroplasticity
  • motor control
  • sensorimotor integration
  • sensory input

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1073 KB  
Article
Submaximal Unilateral Arm Cycling Produces Transient but Not Sustained Changes in Corticospinal Excitability in the Homologous Muscles of the Non-Exercised Limb
by Hiwa Rahmani, Hamid Amoozi, Ibrahim Saif Allah Ahmed Refai and Kevin E. Power
Brain Sci. 2026, 16(5), 514; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16050514 - 12 May 2026
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Abstract
Purpose: This study investigated whether an acute bout of submaximal unilateral arm cycling elicits sustained changes in corticospinal excitability (CSE) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) in the homologous muscles of the non-exercised, resting limb. A secondary aim was to determine whether prior exercise [...] Read more.
Purpose: This study investigated whether an acute bout of submaximal unilateral arm cycling elicits sustained changes in corticospinal excitability (CSE) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) in the homologous muscles of the non-exercised, resting limb. A secondary aim was to determine whether prior exercise induces a preconditioning effect on subsequent motor output. Methods: Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to assess motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude (single-pulse) and SICI (paired-pulse) in the resting non-dominant flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and extensor carpi radialis (ECR) muscles of healthy participants. Measures were obtained at rest, during a 10 min bout of unilateral arm cycling (30 W, 60 rpm), and throughout a 20 min recovery period. To assess potential preconditioning effects, measurements were repeated during a second 2 min cycling bout following a 20 min recovery. Rest and exercise conditions were analyzed separately due to differences in stimulation intensity (RMT vs. AMT). Results: Unilateral arm cycling did not produce sustained changes in CSE or SICI in the resting limb when both arms were at rest. Furthermore, unilateral arm cycling followed by a 20 min recovery period did not result in a preconditioning effect, as CSE in the resting limb was not enhanced during a subsequent unilateral arm cycling bout. Conclusions: Submaximal unilateral arm cycling induces a transient, state-dependent increase in CSE to the non-exercised limb without altering SICI. The absence of SICI modulation suggests that this facilitation is not mediated by GABAA-dependent intracortical mechanisms, and may instead reflect modulation arising from spinal and interlimb locomotor circuitry. The lack of sustained post-exercise effects indicates that low-intensity arm cycling does not induce a plasticity-permissive cortical state, highlighting a distinction between transient, movement-dependent facilitation and longer-lasting exercise-induced neuroplasticity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Plasticity and Motor Control—3rd Edition)
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