Null Ain't Dull: New Perspectives on Motor Cortex

Ta-Chu Kao; Guillaume Hennequin

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.005

Null Ain't Dull: New Perspectives on Motor Cortex

Trends Cogn Sci. 2018 Dec;22(12):1069-1071. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.005. Epub 2018 Oct 13.

Authors

Ta-Chu Kao¹, Guillaume Hennequin²

Affiliations

¹ Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
² Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: g.hennequin@eng.cam.ac.uk.

PMID: 30327256
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.005

Abstract

Classical work has viewed primary motor cortex (M1) as a controller of muscle and body dynamics. A recent brain-computer interface (BCI) experiment suggests a new, complementary perspective: M1 is itself a dynamical system under active control of other circuits.

Keywords: brain–computer interface; motor cortex; neural dynamics; optimal control; redundancy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Brain-Computer Interfaces*
Humans
Motor Cortex / physiology*
Nerve Net / physiology*

Grants and funding

202111/Z/16/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom