Research Projects
Neural mechanisms for flexible motor control
A Japanese proverb says "柔能く剛を制す" (ju-yoku-go-wo-seisu, "flexibility over rigidity"). One of the most important abilities of animals is to flexibly and appropriately adapt their behaviour to ever-changing environments. To achieve such flexible behaviour, animals need to correctly recognize the state of the environment and the body, predict changes in the future, understand the behavioural goal, and generate appropriate motor commands. "Optimal feedback control theory" is an unifying framework of these complex and diverse sensorimotor processes. Our research goal is to elucidate the neural mechanisms of voluntary motor control and movement disorders based on optimal feedback control theory. To this end, we integrate cortical and subcortical neural recordings in NHPs, analysis for the structure behind the neural signals, muscle activity recordings, computational simulations and artificial neural network modellings.
Selected publications [+]
Takei T, Lomber SG, Cook DJ, Scott SH (2021) Transient deactivation of dorsal premotor cortex or parietal area 5 impairs feedback control of the limb in macaques. Current Biology 31(7):1476–1487.
Takei T, Crevecoeur F, Herter TM, Cross KP, Scott SH (2018) Correlations Between Primary Motor Cortex Activity with Recent Past and Future Limb Motion During Unperturbed Reaching. Journal of Neuroscience 38:7787–7799.
Scott SH, Cluff T, Lowrey CR, Takei T (2015) Feedback control during voluntary motor actions. Current Opinions in Neurobiology 33, 85–94. [review]
武井 智彦 (2023) 未来を予測して身体運動の時間遅れを克服する神経メカニズム. Clinical Neuroscience 41(8), 1036-1039 [review, in Japanese]
井澤淳, 武井智彦 (2022) 確率論的最適フィードバック制御の脳内機構. 計測と制御 61:309–315. [review, in Japanese]
武井智彦 (2021) 動作の遅れを克服する予測のしくみ. 体育の科学. [review, in Japanese]
Neural mechanisms for dexterous hand movements
Dexterous hand movements are a motor function that evolved specifically in primates and are fundamental to our everyday and cultural activities. For the control of these hand movements, various evolutionarily distinct neural pathways have been shown to be involved, but their functional differences are still unidentified. We have electrophysiologically recorded neuronal activity involved in hand movements from the spinal cord, brain stem and cerebral cortex of NHPs during grasping tasks and have identified differences in their physiological and anatomical properties. We believe that these results will reveal the neural basis underlying the evolution of skilful paw movements in primates and the mechanisms of functional recovery after injury in the central nervous system.
Selected publications [+]
Song Y, Hirashima M, Takei T (2022) Neural network models for spinal implementation of muscle synergies. Frontiers in System Neuroscience 16:800628.
Oya T, Takei T, Seki K (2020) Distinct sensorimotor feedback loops for dynamic and static control of primate precision grip. Communications Biology 3:156.
Takei T, Confais J, Tomatsu S, Oya T, Seki K (2017) Neural basis for hand muscle synergies in the primate spinal cord. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA 114, 8643–8648.
Takei T, Seki K (2013a) Spinal Premotor Interneurons Mediate Dynamic and Static Motor Commands for Precision Grip in Monkeys. Journal of Neuroscience 33:8850–8860.
Takei T, Seki K (2013b) Synaptic and functional linkages between spinal premotor interneurons and hand-muscle activity during precision grip. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience 7:40.
Takei T, Seki K (2010) Spinal Interneurons Facilitate Coactivation of Hand Muscles during a Precision Grip Task in Monkeys. Journal of Neuroscience 30:17041–17050.
Takei T, Seki K (2008) Spinomuscular Coherence in Monkeys Performing a Precision Grip Task. Journal of Neurophysiology 99:2012–2020.
Funding Sources
We thank the funding agencies for their generous support for our research.
