Dissecting the neural code for skilled action planning and coordination

Effortlessly executing a sequence of movements from memory like typing to unlock a phone, or signing a document is something most individuals take for granted. However, when these dexterous movements are affected by neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions, as is the case for millions of people in the UK, it can have a profound impact on quality of life and re-entry into the workforce. Unfortunately, our understanding of how the brain organises and plans skilled sequences of movements across the brain for fluent and accurate execution is limited, which hinders the development of effective interventions and rehabilitation. This project aims to address this fundamental knowledge gap by conducting pioneering research on the brain-wide mechanisms underlying skilled action planning and coordination. By employing state-of-the-art multimodal neuroimaging, non-invasive neurostimulation, and developing a novel brain-computer interface (BCI) application, the project will focus on neural activity prior to movement onset and uncover how to causally modify the neural organisation of actions shortly prior to their initiation to promote fluent and accurate performance. First, the project will focus on establishing whether the type of action (typing vs handwriting), its movement characteristics (fused, discrete) and the way we practice (rigid vs flexible) influence how the brain pre-organises elements which make up an action sequence produced from memory. Here, magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) will be used concurrently to determine whether parallel pre-planning of movements is a universal mechanism employed across different types of dexterous actions and how it can be modified through practice. Next, the project will probe the relationship between dynamic activity - neural oscillations in key brain areas for the retrieval and control of well-trained actions, in particular the motor cortex, the striatum (basal ganglia), and the hippocampus. Concurrent EEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will facilitate the source reconstruction of electrophysiological signals from subcortical areas. This will shed light on how the brain's electrical and characteristic oscillatory pattern changes across the brain contribute to the information transmitted during the planning and execution of sequences, settling long-standing debates in the field of motor control and cognitive neuroscience. Finally, this project will pioneer non-invasive brain stimulation to modify neural activity patterns during the planning to enhance the fluency and coordination of action sequences. This will be done by applying non-invasive brain stimulation, and by designing a brain-computer interface to help individuals recognize and learn beneficial activity states that enhance the correct pre-organisation of movement patterns before their execution to improve fluency and accuracy of the movements. The outcome of this innovative research will pave the way for future applications in clinical settings involving behavioural training, non-invasive stimulation of subcortical areas and brain-computer-interface technology, particularly for individuals with neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions who are affected dexterous skill learning and production.