Motor behavior

Recent articles

Neuromechanical models deepen our understanding of animal motor control

Thanks to recent progress in physics-based simulators and robotics, it has never been easier for neuroscientists to use neuromechanical modeling to test hypotheses about animal movement.

By Auke Ijspeert
9 September 2026 | 0 min watch
Child sitting on a trampoline.

Study questions DSM-5’s combining of autism traits

Sensory traits and restricted and repetitive behaviors are best understood as distinct but related characteristics, the new work suggests.

By Lauren Schenkman
23 July 2026 | 5 min read
Brain scans showing sex-based activation differences.

Brain’s sex differences are subtle and contradictory, large MRI study finds

Sex-based behavioral differences do not match with variations in brain activation or structure in a study of almost 1,000 people.

By Lauren Schenkman
8 July 2026 | 5 min read
Mosquito.

What mosquitos lay bare about proprioception

By comparing the proprioceptive systems of mosquitos and fruit flies, Sweta Agrawal aims to uncover fundamental features of the ability to sense self-movement.

By Calli McMurray
1 July 2026 | 5 min read
A white brain model is surrounded by bright, detached sensory organs mounted on colorful wires.

Single-neuron recordings zoom into ‘blurry map’ of human motor cortex

The motor cortex is organized into an "intermixed jumble of tiles" to generate meaningful movement.

By Claudia López Lloreda
17 June 2026 | 5 min read
leech illustration.

What leeches reveal about movement

Lidia Szczupak turned to the animals to explore how the nervous system coordinates movement.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read
Sanguessuga medicinal.

O que as sanguessugas revelam sobre o movimento

Lidia Szczupak recorreu a esses animais para investigar como o sistema nervoso coordena o movimento.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read
La sanguijuela medicinal.

Lo que las sanguijuelas revelan sobre movimiento

Lidia Szczupak recurrió a los animales para explorar cómo el sistema nervioso coordina el movimiento.

By Claudia López Lloreda
1 May 2026 | 6 min read

Facial movements telegraph cognition in mice

If you give a mouse a decision, its thought process may show on its face.

By Lauren Schneider
30 September 2025 | 0 min watch
Book cover of What Is Intelligence.

‘What Is Intelligence?’: An excerpt

In his new book, published today, Blaise Agüera y Arcas examines the fundamental aspects of intelligence in biological and artificial systems. In this excerpt from Chapter 4, he examines temporal difference, a reinforcement learning algorithm.

By Blaise Agüera y Arcas
23 September 2025 | 9 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

How does a control theorist explain cognition?

Maxim Raginsky draws on control theory, engineering and philosophy to explore what makes biological brains intelligent, what artificial intelligence is missing, and what principles underlie biological autonomy.

By Paul Middlebrooks
7 October 2026 | 1 min read

Holographic mesoscope reads, writes from different cortical regions simultaneously

The tool could help reveal how information transmission between areas relates to perception, cognition and behavior.

By Simon Makin
7 October 2026 | 0 min watch

Susana Carmona on the neurobiology of pregnancy

In a Q&A about her new book, “A Mother’s Brain,” Carmona shares key moments in her career that led her to study the neuroscience of motherhood and discusses some of the major questions the field still needs to address.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
6 October 2026 | 8 min read