Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sensorimotor Learning and Plasticity: Novel Advances and Future Perspectives

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1494

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Interests: cognitive neuroscience; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS); paired associative stimulation (PAS); TMS-EEG; cross-modal integration; visuo-motor integration; action observation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sensorimotor learning is the process by which we acquire and refine our ability to perform tasks that involve both sensory perception and motor control. It consists of learning how to coordinate sensory information (e.g., sight, touch, and proprioception) with motor actions to achieve specific goals or tasks. Sensorimotor learning is essential for functions ranging from basic motor skills like walking or grasping objects to more complex activities like playing a musical instrument or performing sports, and its importance also encompasses cognitive functions like social cognition or action understanding. Furthermore, an impairment in the ability to correctly integrate sensory inputs and motor outputs characterizes different neurological and psychiatric conditions. Nevertheless, despite the vital importance of sensorimotor learning for correct brain functioning, the plastic mechanisms underlying it at a neurophysiological level are still debated and have been underexplored.

This Special Issue aims to present recent and cutting-edge findings providing novel insights into the neurophysiological substrates of sensorimotor plasticity and learning in the human brain.

As a common feature, the works in this Special Issue should explore sensorimotor learning and plasticity to better establish the anatomo-functional underpinnings of these phenomena, integrating different neuroscientific methodologies to deepen their functional (or dysfunctional) mechanisms. These explorations could be from a neurophysiological or cognitive perspective, focusing on both the healthy and the damaged central nervous system. We welcome the submission of studies using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (like transcranial magnetic or transcranial electric stimulation), electroencephalography, and behavioural paradigms. Narrative reviews or meta-analyses investigating the state of the art of this topic are welcomed, too.

Dr. Giacomo Guidali
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • sensorimotor learning
  • brain plasticity
  • cognitive neuroscience
  • neurophysiology
  • non-invasive brain stimulation
  • EEG
  • neuromodulation
  • motor system
  • visual system
  • somatosensory system

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1541 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Effects of Joint-Biased Rehabilitation and Combined Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Chronic Ankle Instability: A Single-Blind, Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial
by Yunseo Kim, Hyunjoong Kim, Jihye Jung and Seungwon Lee
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(5), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15050458 - 27 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The ankle joint is among the most frequently injured joints in daily life, with approximately 25% of young adults reporting chronic ankle instability (CAI). This study investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a type of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The ankle joint is among the most frequently injured joints in daily life, with approximately 25% of young adults reporting chronic ankle instability (CAI). This study investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a type of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technique, combined with joint mobilization and active joint mobilization on CAI. Methods: A total of 36 participants (mean age: 20.81 years; 63.89% female; mean body mass index: 21.68) were randomly divided into three groups: (1) tDCS with joint mobilization (n = 12); (2) active joint mobilization (n = 12); and (3) tDCS with active joint mobilization (n = 12). Dynamic balance, range of motion (ROM), static balance, and ankle instability (Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool, CAIT) were evaluated at multiple time points. Interventions were conducted three times per week, for 15 min per session, over four weeks (12 sessions total). Results: All three groups showed significant improvements over time in dynamic balance, ankle instability, ROM, and static balance (p < 0.05). However, no significant interaction effects were observed between time and group (p > 0.05). The tDCS with active joint mobilization group demonstrated the largest effect sizes across most outcome measures, particularly for ankle instability, ROM, and static balance, in both immediate and post-intervention assessments. Conclusions: tDCS combined with active joint mobilization appears to be particularly effective in improving CAI. This approach, targeting both top-down mechanisms through non-invasive brain stimulation and local joint function, offers a promising alternative to traditional interventions that focus solely on the ankle joint. This study was registered with the Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) under the identifier KCT0009566. Full article
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14 pages, 2634 KiB  
Article
Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Ankle Control and Walking Speed in Individuals with Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
by Jasmine M. Hope, Anastasia Zarkou, Cazmon Suri and Edelle C. Field-Fote
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(4), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15040405 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 211
Abstract
Background/Objectives: After spinal cord injury (SCI), poor dorsiflexor control and involuntary plantar-flexor contraction impair walking. As whole-body vibration (WBV) improves voluntary muscle activation and modulates reflex excitability, it may improve ankle control. In this study, the dosage effects of WBV on walking speed, [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: After spinal cord injury (SCI), poor dorsiflexor control and involuntary plantar-flexor contraction impair walking. As whole-body vibration (WBV) improves voluntary muscle activation and modulates reflex excitability, it may improve ankle control. In this study, the dosage effects of WBV on walking speed, dorsiflexion, and spinal reflex excitability were examined. Methods: Sixteen people with chronic motor-incomplete SCI participated in this randomized sham-control wash-in study. Two weeks of sham stimulation (wash-in phase) were followed by either 2 weeks of eight repetitions (short bout) or sixteen repetitions of WBV (long bout; intervention phase) per session. Walking speed, ankle angle at mid-swing, and low-frequency depression of the soleus H-reflex were measured before and after the wash-in phase and before and after the intervention phase. Results: A significant dosage effect of WBV was not observed on any of the measures of interest. There were no between-phase or within-phase differences in ankle angle during the swing phase or in low-frequency depression. When dosage groups were pooled together, there was a significant change in walking speed during the intervention phase (mean = 0.04 m/s, standard deviation = 0.06, p = 0.02). There was not a significant correlation between overall change in walking speed and dorsiflexion angle or low-frequency depression during the study. Conclusions: Whole-body vibration did not have a dosage-dependent effect on dorsiflexion during the swing phase or on spinal reflex excitability. Future studies assessing the role of corticospinal tract (CST) descending drive on increased dorsiflexor ability and walking speed are warranted. Full article
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16 pages, 2796 KiB  
Article
Tracking Changes in Corticospinal Excitability During Visuomotor Paired Associative Stimulation to Predict Motor Resonance Rewriting
by Giacomo Guidali and Nadia Bolognini
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(3), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15030257 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 798
Abstract
Background/Objectives. Mirror properties of the action observation network (AON) can be modulated through Hebbian-like associative plasticity using paired associative stimulation (PAS). We recently introduced a visuomotor protocol (mirror–PAS, m-PAS) that pairs transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) with visual [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives. Mirror properties of the action observation network (AON) can be modulated through Hebbian-like associative plasticity using paired associative stimulation (PAS). We recently introduced a visuomotor protocol (mirror–PAS, m-PAS) that pairs transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) with visual stimuli of ipsilateral (to TMS) movements, leading to atypical corticospinal excitability (CSE) facilitation (i.e., motor resonance) during PAS-conditioned action observation. While m-PAS aftereffects are robust, little is known about markers of associative plasticity during its administration and their predictive value for subsequent motor resonance rewriting. The present study aims to fill this gap by investigating CSE modulations during m-PAS and their relationship with the protocol’s aftereffects. Methods. We analyzed CSE dynamics in 81 healthy participants undergoing the m-PAS before and after passively observing left- or right-hand index finger movements. Here, typical and PAS-conditioned motor resonance was assessed with TMS over the right M1. We examined CSE changes during the m-PAS and used linear regression models to explore their relationship with motor resonance modulations. Results. m-PAS transiently reshaped both typical and PAS-induced motor resonance. Importantly, we found a gradual increase in CSE during m-PAS, which predicted the loss of typical motor resonance but not the emergence of atypical responses after the protocol’s administration. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the motor resonance reshaping induced by the m-PAS is not entirely predictable by CSE online modulations. Likely, this rewriting is the product of a large-scale reorganization of the AON rather than a phenomenon restricted to the PAS-stimulated motor cortex. This study underlines that monitoring CSE during non-invasive brain stimulation protocols could provide valuable insight into some but not all plastic outcomes. Full article
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