Workshop on Novel Approaches of Systems Neuroscience to Sports and Rehabilitation

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[ Talk 6 ] 16:00

Function of the meso-limbic system in motor control
Michiaki Suzuki
Graduate school of Medicine, Kyoto University / School of Life Science, SOKENDAI

In competitive sports and rehabilitation, motivation might be a key issue for improving motor performance. However, the neural substrate that linking the motivation system and motor system remains largely unclear. It is generally thought that the meso-limbic system including nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) regulates motivation-driven effort but is not involved in the direct control of movement. Recently, we clarified that the NAc has a causal role for motor control during recovery after spinal cord injury (Sawada et al., Sicence, 2015). In this workshop, I will propose the neural substrate for motivational regulation of motor control.