“If we understand how the acquisition of motor skills is regulated in the brain then perhaps one day we can help patients with stroke or Parkinson’s disease regain those skills during the rehabilitation process." - Dr. Simon Chen
What are the cellular underpinnings of how this motor learning process works? In a study published this week in Neuron, a research team led by Dr. Simon Chen of the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine offers new and valuable insights into this enduring mystery of neuroscience.
His lab is focused on unraveling how memories are encoded and stored in the brain, particularly with motor learning, the complex process of how we move and coordinate the muscles of our bodies. With this latest study, Dr. Chen’s research team explored the mechanisms involved in regulating the process of motor memory acquisition and consolidation during repetitive practice.